Can I Do Air Conditioning Maintenance on My Own?

The answer to this question is a little bit of “yes” and whole lot of “no.” Let’s start with the “no” part first.

No, You Must Leave Annual AC Maintenance to HVAC Professionals

We cannot exaggerate how important regular air conditioning maintenance is to the performance and longevity of a cooling system. For every year that an AC misses its spring maintenance tune-up and inspection, it will lose around 5% of its energy efficiency and it will also be at an increased risk of suffering from malfunctions or even a complete system breakdown. Regular maintenance will prevent around 85% of repair needs and help a system work for 15 to 20 years without a major loss in efficiency.

But the only way to receive these benefits is leave the work to experienced professionals. Only trained technicians know how to properly inspect an air conditioner to determine if there are places that need repairs, or take care of jobs such as checking and recharging refrigerant, chemically cleaning the condenser coil, lubricating motors, recalibrating the thermostat, and checking pressure levels. The job is a fast and easy one for a professional to perform, but nearly impossible for anyone else.

Yes, There Are a Few Maintenance Jobs You Can Do Yourself

After you’ve had your professional AC inspection and tune-up done, there are a number of smaller maintenance tasks you can take care of over the summer. If you need help with any of these jobs, ask your technician to give you instructions during the maintenance visit.

• Changing the air filter: The filter for an HVAC system needs to be changed every 1 to 4 months. The more you use the AC, the more often you should check the filter to see if it’s ready to be swapped for a new one. Less expensive filters will need to changed more often.
• Keeping the outdoor cabinet clear: You need to make sure there are no plants growing within a foot of the outdoor condenser and no gravel or other debris that could enter the cabinet.
• Checking room vents: Make sure that none of the air vents in the rooms are shut or blocked, since this will lead to an increase of pressure inside the ventilation system and create damage and air leaks in the ducts.

Are you ready for your annual air conditioning maintenance? Then call the team at Oasis Heating, A/C & Refrigeration. We serve Arlington, VA and all of Northern Virginia.

Tags: Maintenance
Tuesday, May 9th, 2017 at 11:00 am | Categories: Air Conditioning |