3 Essential Things To Ensure A Functional Air Conditioner

Are you getting ready to start using your air conditioner for the year? Have you been concerned that it may not actually work as well as you'd otherwise want? As much as we might hope otherwise, nothing lasts forever. This includes our air conditioners. But while they don't last forever, there are still things we can do to help them last longer than would otherwise be possible. By doing these things on a regular basis, an air conditioner may last years beyond its otherwise-expected lifetime. This will save you money in the long run because you won't have to replace your air conditioner so often. Some of the most important things that you need to be doing include:

Call a professional: Although there are some aspects of air conditioning maintenance you may be able to do yourself, there is plenty that needs to be done by a qualified professional. For instance, if the wiring becomes frayed or damaged somehow over time, it should be a professional who fixes this issue instead of you trying to resolve it. Since you can't tell from just looking at a unit whether or not professional assistance is required, it's a good idea to have a yearly inspection done either in the fall after shutting the appliance down for the year or as early in spring as possible before it starts getting used for the summer.

Replace filters: A lot of issues and air conditioning maintenance problems can be eliminated simply by changing your air filter or filters in a timely manner. Filters typically say that they are good for a certain period of time, such as "up to 30 days" or "up to 90 days". A lot of people take this to mean that they only have to replace the filter every 1-3 months. While nominally true, a filter is also going to get clogged a lot faster in some areas and need to be changed out to avoid damaging the air conditioner. If you live in an area where there are high amounts of pollen or dust in the air, the useful life of an air conditioning filter may be cut in half or it may be even less. Talk to an air conditioning professional for recommendations.

Winterize unit: If you live in the part of the country where you may actually have to cool your home sometimes in the winter, winterizing is an aspect of air conditioning maintenance that you can safely skip. But if you live in an area where snow is often expected, this is something that should be done in the autumn. Proper winterization includes covering the unit to protect it from direct contact with snow and to help prevent insects and small animals from taking refuge in the unit over the winter. This will help keep your unit working for longer than it might if you don't bother to winterize your unit properly.