Get Your Home Air Conditioning System Ready for Summer
No one wants to think about home repairs and servicing vital home systems if they don’t have to, especially during the cold days of winter. However, summer is fast approaching and while you would probably prefer to sit in the Lazy-Boy watching March Madness or your favorite WWF stars on your new flat screen TV, you might want to consider taking a look at the home air conditioning unit to make sure that it is ready for the dog days of August.
Chances are that the last thing you want to do is to look at the home air conditioner to make sure that it doesn’t need any repair or servicing before the summer heat hits you square in the face. Servicing home heating and air conditioning equipment is not for everyone, which makes it even more important to give the AC a look see because if it does indeed need a little work to operate at peak efficiency, it’s better to get the repair man over now, when he’s not too busy rather than wait until he is back-logged with appointments as we get closer to the summer.
If you are able and willing to take care of the AC unit on your own, and honestly, it isn’t all that hard but if you have trouble distinguishing between and open-end wrench and a hammer, it’s probably best to “call the guy.” Otherwise there are a few main items to service and check for maintenance in order to ensure that you house isn’t converted into a Turkish Bathhouse come July.
The first thing to look at is the filter or filters in your unit. A simple window, room unit will have one small filter that is easily removed and cleaned with soap and water. A dirty filter is the first point that can cause problems with your AC unit and is by far the easiest to tend to. A dirty, clogged filter will allow more dirt and dust to make its way into the cooling area of the unit where it will affect the ability of your evaporator coil to absorb heat. Clean air filters can cut energy consumption by 5 to 15% according to the Department of Energy.
The next part of getting your air conditioner unit ready for the summer would be to clean the fins and the coils located inside the AC. There are two sets of coils and fins, one for the cold side, or the indoor side, and the other for the hot side that takes hot air in from the outdoors. The metal fins are attached to the coils and often they can collect a great deal of dust and sometimes other dirt and deposits. Clean off all these fins and coils with compressed air or a soft brush to make sure that they are able to function properly. If there are tough to remove deposits on the fins or coils simply use a steam cleaner or hot water and a soft chemical solution. Dirt and mold on your fins and coils can decrease the cooling capacity of your unit by almost 30%.
The last bit of maintenance that you can do yourself on your AC unit is to clear the drain lines that funnel condensation away from the AC and into a drip pan. This is easily accomplished by running a stiff wire through the tubing to clean any debris that may be blocking the flow of condensed water away from the unit.
With a few easy to do steps you can make sure that your AC unit, whether a central air unit or individual window units, are ready for the heating season. Cleaning and maintaining your cooling system will save you on costly repairs or replacement and will ensure that you can watch the ballgame from the comforts of your cool man cave.
To know more about Marion County Florida Air Conditioning please browse Marion County Florida Air Conditioning
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