Spring is here! It’s a great time to clean your home and maintain your air conditioner. There’s only a couple of months left until you start running your air conditioner non-stop.
If you’re someone who enjoys fixing or repairing things yourself you’ll love this article. Below we provide you with a maintenance “checklist” of things that you can maintain on your A/C yourself and things that you should leave to the professionals.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Air Conditioner Maintenance
Step 1 – Before doing anything to your air conditioner you should shut off the power to your condenser.
Depending on the age of your home, you should be able to turn off the power to the a/c by pulling the safety disconnect that’s near your outdoor unit, or you can turn off the power via the breaker in your subpanel.
Step 2 – After shutting off the power from your a/c, you should next remove the debris that’s in your condenser. To do this you should remove the fan from the top of your air conditioner using a screwdriver and carefully scoop out any dirt, leaves, or other debris which may have collected inside the unit.
Step 3 – Next, you should clean your air conditioners fins. To do this, use your garden hose and gently wash off the dirt that has accumulated on the inside of your unit then use a can of compressed air to clean the outside of your air conditioner's fins.
If the fins have accumulated a lot of dirt and debris over the years, you should use commercial “fin cleaner” to remove the tough-on dirt.
Step 4 – Once the fins are clean, the next thing you should do is use a fin straightening tool to straighten any bent fins. This is important because bent fins can affect the airflow and performance of your air conditioner.
When you’re straightening the fins just be sure to be gentle because they are very easy to bend and can easily be damaged.
Step 5 – Last of all, but most important, you should remove debris away from your air conditioner including trash, dirt, and yard waste. The debris can easily get into your a/c and affect performance during the year.
What Air Conditioner Maintenance to Not to Do Yourself
Even though DIY air conditioner maintenance is fairly easy for most parts of an air conditioner, the reality is that there are some things you shouldn’t do yourself including the following:
Electrical – The reality is that most people are not skilled when it comes to dealing with high-voltage electricity and shouldn’t attempt to fix any electrical parts, wires, or electrical issues with their air conditioners.
Replace air conditioner components – Let’s say that your air conditioner needs a new fan or condensing unit, in this case, you should consider hiring an air conditioner maintenance company like Air Care Heating & Air Conditioning to replace those components for you.
Replacing major components requires skills, years of training, and special tools. If not installed properly, they can cause major damage to the unit.
Change the thermostat – Another thing that’s better left to the professionals is the replacement of your thermostat. It appears simple, but we can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen homeowners replace their thermostats and end up creating major issues with their systems.
Get an Air Conditioner Tune-Up
Does your air conditioner need a tune-up? If so, contact Air Care Heating & Air Conditioning today by calling us at (949) 482-2911 or click here to connect with us online.