Schedule Your Essential AC Maintenance Before the Cold Hits

As summer is ending and as the cooling season comes to a close, you hear that this is the perfect time to have your air conditioner serviced and cleaned. It’s between cooling and heating season, so repair calls are fewer. The system doesn’t need to work as hard, so a couple of hours of downtime will not impact the indoor temps much. The weather and timing are perfect for the task.

Since this particular task includes inviting someone into your home for a couple of hours, it might be good to know what to expect. How long will this take? What spaces will a technician need to access? What will they be doing? Here are the basic AC maintenance answers to these questions and more.

First, you must make the call. Unless a previous arrangement has been made, the air conditioner professionals will not automatically arrive. Find a convenient time for both the AC maintenance technician and your family. Someone will need to be present for this inspection and service.

Expect the service to last an hour or more, depending upon the size of the home, the number of units, and their location. If air conditioning components are in hard-to-reach areas, it could take a little longer.

6 Step Guide to Homeowner’s AC Maintenance Guide

 Basic AC maintenance cleaning and servicing tasks will include:

1. Changing the air filter. The filter for central air systems is found near the base of the air handler closet, usually found in a utility closet or area. The entire volume of air in the house passes through the filter every couple of minutes during a cooling cycle. It removes the vast majority of airborne particles, things we don’t typically think about much, including dust, pollen, dander, and even many viruses. Changing the filter is essential for maintaining indoor air quality; the filter will need to be changed quarterly to keep the system running smoothly and the air clean.
2. Cleaning and servicing the condenser unit. The outdoor portion of an air conditioner is called a condenser. Its walls consist of a network of tubes and very thin fins, designed to release the heat that the system captures from inside the home into the great outdoors. A technician will clean away the sticky pollen, dust, and lawn waste that might be sucked onto the coil of tubes. The technician usually accesses the refrigerant levels at this location, as well, to ensure the pressurized gas has not escaped from the network of tubes. The compressor pump and some critical electronics are found in the condenser unit as well. All will be checked and tested.
3. Back inside, the electronics of the system will be tested and inspected. These sensors and switches regulate refrigerant and air temperature, calling for a cooling cycle as needed and ending the cycle when the desired temperature has been reached.
4. Inside the air handler closet sits the evaporator coil, the drain pan, and a drain line that releases condensed humidity. This is the area where the air conditioner captures the heat from indoors and transports it to the condenser unit outdoors. Removing heat results in cooling the indoor air. Since the evaporator coil is cold, excess moisture condenses on the coil and drops to a pan underneath. A drain line transports the water (several gallons per day) either outdoors or to a floor drain. Since algae grows well in dark, moist settings, it often grows on the drain pan and inside the drain lines. When the growth is left unattended, it will clog the drain line, cause a big mess and potentially damage the floors, walls, or ceilings (depending on the location).
5. The thermostat is the ON/OFF switch for the air conditioner. It is battery-powered, so the technician will change the battery and check to make sure it is calibrated correctly.
6. The final stage will be a performance check of the entire system to ensure that all of these components are functioning properly, resulting in efficient cooling and comfortable results.

Professional AC Maintenance from Doctor Cool

With the cooling season winding down, now is the ideal time to schedule your comprehensive AC maintenance. Don’t let dirt and algae turn into costly repairs or water damage next season; our professional AC maintenance secures your system’s long-term health. Take the next step toward worry-free air quality and performance by calling us today for your convenient service appointment. 

Contact Doctor Cool to book your visit and give your air conditioner the essential care it needs!

Let Doctor Cool assist with all of your AC maintenance questions. Call Doctor Cool & Professor Heat today at 281-516-5935 or email Doctor Cool and let our professional AC repair contractors assist with all of your AC repair, AC maintenance, and installation needs.