Every spring, you need to arrange for an HVAC professional to come to your home and provide a thorough inspection and tune-up for your air conditioning system. This routine maintenance will help keep your AC in top shape for the summer, working energy-efficiently and with as few repair issues as possible.
One of the important steps of maintenance is cleaning the air filter that protects the interior of the AC. But this is a step that you must learn to handle on your own, since it needs to be done every month during the rest of the summer or else the filter will become clogged. Here are the steps to take to do this monthly maintenance job:
- Locate the filter: This can be a bit tricky, since there are multiple locations where the filter might be. Check first at the place where the return air vents connect to the indoor cabinet of the air conditioner; the filter may be in a slot on the intake side of the air handler. The filter is sometimes located behind the vent cover over the return air vent inside the house.
- Remove the filter, and then use a vacuum with a hose attachment to suction up the dust, dirt, and clots of lint collected in the fibers of the filter.
- Use a garden hose to wash off the rest of the filter. To avoid causing damage to the filter mesh, keep the hose on low pressure and direct the water from behind the filter (the direction that air moves through it).
- Lay the wet filter on a towel outside and allow it to dry. Only replace the filter into the air conditioner when it is thoroughly dried.
If you need to schedule air conditioning maintenance in Arlington, VA, just call on OASIS Heating, A/C & Refrigeration, Inc. We also offer expert air conditioning repair!
