Your air conditioner is an item you likely use in your home pretty much year round, especially if you live in a warm locale like Jacksonville. While you may not run it as much in the winter, that doesn’t mean your air conditioning maintenance routine should be forgotten.
The fact is that an air conditioner that isn’t properly serviced and working in the winter won’t perform well when you need to cool your home in the spring and summer. You might also be looking at a big repair bill to get your air conditioner back up and running again.
Read on to learn more about your air conditioner and air conditioner maintenance so you can keep your unit in tip-top shape all year long.
Change Your Filters
It might seem like a no-brainer to many people, but changing your air conditioner filters can keep your system from becoming sluggish or taking on more serious problems. Unfortunately, many people simply forget to change the filter in their air conditioner on time.
This can lead to your system getting overloaded, performing poorly, and in severe cases, actually getting damaged. Your heating and air conditioning system won’t do as good of a job removing pollutants like dust, pollen, and pet dander from the air either.
To make sure you change your filters on time, try putting the day you need to change the filter on your calendar. You can also write the date on the filter before you install it in your home so you’ll know when it’s time to toss that one and replace it with a new one.
Perform a Visual Inspection
One of the hardest things to do for the average homeowner is to handle all of the air conditioning maintenance that comes with a home. Most homeowners simply don’t have the technical skills to take on all the tasks associated with a modern air conditioning system.
What you can do is go outside and visually inspect the parts of your air conditioning unit that you can see. Things like rust on the outside of the unit or standing water in the area are obvious no-no’s, even for inexperienced consumers that don’t know much about air conditioner maintenance.
If you spot signs of trouble, try to remedy them if possible. For example, cleaning up standing water can help keep your air conditioner from malfunctioning. Once you do that, make sure to test your air conditioner to see if it has suffered any damage.
Keep Your Air Conditioner Clean
Your air conditioner unit is likely on the side of your home or situated somewhere out of the way. You probably don’t even see it unless you’re looking for it. That’s one big reason why air conditioner maintenance for homeowners should really involve keeping the unit clean.
Changing filters is a good start, but visually inspecting your air conditioner and removing leaves, branches and any other debris from the physical space is important as well. Shielding your air conditioner from dust in the winter with a cover can also be a wise idea if your unit is exposed to the elements.
Schedule Professional Service
You can’t do everything on your own, and if you want an air conditioner that runs perfectly, you should have regular service scheduled. For homeowners, heat and air conditioning maintenance service should be scheduled bi-annually, before the coldest and warmest parts of the year.
Contact Snyder Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Electric to learn more about air conditioner maintenance. Snyder can also help you get your HVAC unit in tip-top shape for Spring and Summer.
