Home maintenance will keep your house it top shape and save you money. Air conditioning is a must living in Texas. Forget The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, what Texans fear the most is when their air conditioner stops working. Here are five simple maintenance tips that will keep that nightmare only a bad dream.
1. Wash Your Condenser. Your condenser is your outside unit. Its job is to reject the heat. It takes the heat that was inside your home and puts it back outside where it belongs. It does this by drawing cooler air through a coil and pushing it out through the top of the condenser. When you place your hand over the fan the air will feel much hotter than the outside air temperature. When air passes through the coil it carries dirt and debris which begins to clog the small gaps in the coil. When these small gaps are clogged less air is able to pass through to absorb heat. Less heat absorbed means your air conditioner must work harder to cool your house. Now let’s get that coil clean. First either shut off the air conditioner at the thermostat or pull the disconnect located within eye sight of your condenser. This will keep the unit from turning on while you are cleaning. Next, get your garden hose and attach a sprayer or just use your thumb to concentrate the water into a spray. Be sure the water spray is not so strong that it will bend the fins on your coil. Now, spray your coil beginning on one side moving up the spray up and down to knock off dirt and debris. Do this all the way around your condenser. Once you are complete put the disconnect back in or turn on the thermostat. Your unit is clean and happy. Great work!!
2. Remove Vegetation. Vegetation like tall grass or bushes growing near your condenser will inhibit air flow. Good air flow is essential for your air conditioner for peak performance. Trim any bushes or tall grass away from the condenser coil. A good rule of thumb is trim to a minimum of 18”; the more the better. Grass clippings and leaves are a problem too. Grass clippings from your lawn mower are easily sucked onto the coil blocking air flow. Leaves are also easily sucked onto the coil. Best tip is to remove all debris around your condenser.
3. Change Your Air Filter. The job of your air filter is often two fold. Its primary job is to filter out dust to keep the evaporator coil clean. If your evaporator coil is dirty then the hot air coming from inside your house has a difficult time passing through to cool off. Dirt plus moisture plus darkness equals mold, yuck!! Nobody wants mold growing on their evaporator. The second job of your air filter is to filter out dust to keep the air cleaner. Most filters will filter out dust, but some more advanced filters will filter out pollen and viruses in your home’s air. When your air filter is saturated with dirt (clogged up) less of the hot air in your home is allowed to pass through. Less air passing through means your air conditioner must work harder and longer to keep your house cool. So get out and change that air filter
4. Keep That Condensation Line Clean. The job of every air conditioner is to not only keep your home cool, but to remove moister to reduce the humidity level in your home. It does this through condensation. Just like a glass of your favorite cold drink develops water drops (condensation) on the outside on a hot day your evaporator inside your home condenses the water vapor in the air to liquid when the hot air from your house passes through the cold evaporator to cool off. The natural effect of this is condensation. The water drips off of the evaporator into a drip pan and into a PVC drain pipe. Older air conditioning systems drain the water on the ground, but newer systems drain the water into your home’s sewer line. Over time and without maintenance algae will grow stopping up the drain line. Water will eventually fill up the drain line and overflow causing water damage to your house eventually leading to mold problems. A simple, but effective method is to pour some bleach down the drain line. The bleach will inhibit the growth of algae and keep the drain flowing.
5. Yearly Maintenance. A good air conditioning contractor will check your system for proper charge, inspect the electrical system, wash your condenser and check your evaporator to ensure proper drainage and function. Yearly maintenance check may uncover a faulty capacitor or burnt wire needing repair. A faulty capacitor will cause problems for your compressor or fan motor. A good air conditioning repair contractor who understands how to properly read his gages is worth his/her weight in gold. Too often poorly trained contractors over fill systems with too much refrigerant thinking that will solve the problem, but it may make things worse. Air conditioners are like porridge, not too much and not too little refrigerant, but just right makes for proper and efficient operation.
Advisory: When in doubt contact a professional to service your air conditioner. We work with service professionals so let us know if we can help.