Flowers are beginning to sprout up, the sun is shining a little bit more each day, and the birds are singing – this can only mean that spring is near! For many people, as soon as the winter weather breaks and the sun peeks through it is time to pull open the curtains, raise the garage door, and break out the gloves – it’s spring cleaning! Organizing, de-cluttering, and deep cleaning are all tasks that land on most of our spring cleaning to-do lists. However, let’s not forget to add the word maintenance – especially for the air conditioner!
Spring is a time to clear off the layer of dingy that accumulated over the winter and start fresh and new. Proactively scheduling a maintenance appointment for your air conditioner provides a great ‘fresh start’ for this very important appliance and ensures that you won’t have to deal with any malfunctions during the hot summer weather.
A maintenance check-up of your air conditioner should include:
- Lubrication of all parts. If any parts of your air conditioner do not have proper lubrication there will be friction and an increase in power usage
- Double-check of the setting on the thermostat. The thermostat determines to what temperature the air conditioner cools the room to – making sure the thermostat settings are working properly will prevent over or under usage
- Check electrical connections and wiring. If the wiring or electrical connections of your air conditioning unit are faulty, your system could overheat, not work at all, or even cause a fire.
- Check operational components. This includes changing or cleaning the filter, making sure all fluid levels are accurate, and coils and drains are clean
Although there may be a few more winter days still left to brave, the first day of spring is not far away and that means that the weather will only get hotter and hotter as we get closer to summer. Take this time during the spring to contact a professional HVAC technician to come out and inspect your air conditioning unit. Once the first day of hot summer weather hits – you will be glad you did!
