May 31, 2019

5 Tips On How To Keep Your Air Conditioning Clean



Summer is just around the corner and warm days are already starting to creep up on us. Since the transition from winter to summer has been almost instantaneous in the past few years it would be wise to be prepared when the first heat wave hits. 

What this means is see to your air conditioning and make sure everything is in order, because you don’t want it to break in the middle of the season or worse, to blow out dirty air.

I decided to take care of my unit and looked for some piece of advice from the experts at Howell’s Heating and Air. Here are some maintenance tips on how to keep your air conditioning fresh, working and ready for the upcoming season.

Clean The Air Filter


This is the most common maintenance there can be for air conditioning and it is important to do it often during heavy use. You can do it at least once, or twice a year by cleaning your old or buying a new filter. When you locate the filter, and it is placed differently depending on the model you own, you need to take it out, clean it, or replace it completely.

Dirty air filter might not blow enough air out, causing the engine to work harder than needed and probably overheat and make a lot of noise. It is also not good for your health as it can easily trigger allergies or asthma.

Replacing a filter is a pretty common practice and you shouldn’t have any trouble doing that, bud if you do, you can always call a professional to help you.

Check The Inside


It would be worth checking the inside of your air conditioner, just to make sure everything is fine, especially if it’s an older model that’s been active for years. Before venturing further it is important to turn off both the unit and the power source which is probably located on the main panel above your entrance.

First, you can check the condensing unit by taking down the access panel. You are looking for signs of overheating like melted or burned wires. You can also check how electrical connections are doing and make sure they are well plugged. If you are not sure about the above or just don’t feel confident qualified enough you can always refer to a professional.

Check The Thermostat


It can easily show you that something is not right. If the temperature it shows is not correct then something is wrong. This can also be a reason to replace your old, mechanical thermostat with a new, digital one. The good thing about the digital one is that it allows you to manipulate temperature when you are not at home, allowing you to start the unit and nicely cool the house before you arrive.

Don’t Forget The Condenser Fan


The unit that sits outside also needs some love. You should check its fan to see if nothing is broken, you can replace the blades if you think they are at the end of their life span, or even the entire fan. Another thing to consider, especially with older models, is to oil the fan motor because it’s a machine just like any other and in order to work properly it needs to be oiled maybe once a year.

Exterior Unit


Now that you’ve checked the fan you should also look closely to see if there’s any gank inside the exterior unit. Debris and dirt can also prevent the fan from rotating fully and that reduces the amount of air the flows through. You can easily get rid of the debris with a water hose. However, if not kept in check the debris could damage the delicate fins, causing a problem only a good HVAC repair company can fix. To prevent this, take some time to keep the debris out.

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