Your air conditioner is getting ready to start working full time to keep you cool this summer. But what have you done for your air conditioner lately? We depend on our AC to keep us cool on the hottest of days, but there are some things you can do to help it get ready.
The air conditioner experts at City Wide Heating and Cooling have created an AC Prep Checklist to make sure your air conditioner is ready to do battle against the Kansas City heat. Follow these tips to give your AC a fighting chance.
Air Conditioner Maintenance Tips:
- Give it some room – Make sure nothing is within one foot of your air conditioner. Trim back any trees or bushes around your outdoor AC unit. Your air conditioner needs air to circulate through the outdoor coil, so if there are obstructions in the way it has to work harder. This leads to earlier breakdowns and a loss of efficiency. Don’t plant any plants within a few feet of your air conditioner.
- Give it a bath – Rinse off your AC unit to clean off dirt & dust that has accumulated over the months it spends outside. Make sure the power is off to the air conditioner, either by flipping the breaker on your electrical panel or removing the disconnect on the outside electrical box. If you are not comfortable with this, call a professional to handle it for you. Do not use any chemicals or soap when rinsing it. Don’t use a pressurized nozzle or turn the hose on full blast. Just rinse any dirt, leaves, or debris off of it. And, once you are done, let it dry for 30 minutes before turning your air conditioner back on.
- Replace your filter – Make sure your indoor air filter is clean so your entire air conditioning system can work as efficiently as possible. Your furnace blower is responsible for blowing that cool air around your house, and a dirty filter makes it work harder. This leads to higher utility bills and a potential for earlier breakdowns.
Related Read: City Wide’s Ultimate Guide to Residential Air Filters
Help Your Air Conditioner Help You
Your air conditioner is a machine designed to do one thing – keep your home cool. If you want to get the most out of it, these simple tips will help keep it running at peak efficiency. If you have any questions about air conditioner maintenance, give the heating and cooling experts at City Wide Heating and Cooling a call and one of our AC technicians will be happy to help. Call us at (913) 384-6006 or (913) 236-5555.