Your home’s air conditioner is essential to keeping your household comfortable. To keep your heating and cooling system running smoothly, it’s helpful to perform regular maintenance. While there are small maintenance tasks you can do yourself, it’s a good idea to schedule regular maintenance with the professionals at ABA Heating and Cooling in Austin. Here are ten tips for maintaining your cooling system:
- Keep your unit clean. Cleaning an air conditioner in the spring before you start running it will help it perform better through the dog days of summer. Vacuum the fins of your AC unit clean with a soft-bristle brush. Note the fins are fragile and can easily be bent or crushed. You’ll have to unscrew and lift off a metal box on many units to get at them.
- Fix fins in the condenser by realigning any bent or crushed fins with gentle pressure from a dinner knife. Don’t insert the knife more than 1/2 in.
- Fix a sinking home air conditioner pad if you notice strain on your unit. The concrete pads under home air conditioner and heat exchanger units tend to settle over the years. A sunken pad is okay as long as there’s no strain on the copper coolant tubes and electrical lines and the unit stays dry and level. But you’ll need to fix the sinking air conditioner pad if the sinking pad pulls the lines tight or water puddles around the unit.
- Get a programmable thermostat to help you save money and manage your cooling without constantly hovering over the dial. Installing a programmable thermostat is easy to complete in less than a day.
- Unclog the condensate drain tube if you see water puddling around the furnace with the AC running. Condensation from air conditioning coils contains bacteria that can form slime and clog the condensate pan drain tube.
- Replace the filter. Turn off the power to the furnace at a nearby switch or at the main panel. Then pull out the furnace filter and check it for dirt buildup. Change it if necessary.
- Check the insulation. Condensation that forms on your outdoor AC lines reduces efficiency and raises your energy costs. But you can improve your unit’s efficiency by replacing damaged or rotting insulation around your outdoor AC lines.
- Invest in a fin comb. Fin combs perfectly separate bent fins on a small room air conditioner. Be sure to wear gloves to protect your hands from getting cut.
- Use a foam cleanser and a brush to scrub crud off a small room air conditioner.
- Locate air leaks in your home. Close all the windows in the house, turn off all the fans and exhaust fans and shut off the furnace. Light some incense and walk slowly around the outer walls of the house. Anywhere you notice the smoke blowing away from something or being sucked toward something, there’s probably an air leak.
Your heating and cooling system should run efficiently year-round. But, if you notice any problems with your air conditioner, call our team ASAP! The experts at ABA Austin can repair or replace your current unit. Or, if you’d like to learn more about professional air conditioning maintenance services, be sure to contact our professionals.
