Nothing is worse than suffering through a heat wave without air conditioning. Your air conditioner probably wouldn’t be on the fritz if you regularly maintained the unit. Don’t beat yourself up. Admit your mistake and follow these steps to keep your air conditioner in tip top shape.
If you’re maintaining your unit on a budget you can perform some of these inexpensive, low maintenance tasks. Changing filters, clearing shrubs and maintaining efficient indoor temperatures are easy, cheap ways to ensure that your AC unit is at peak performance. Hire pros to handle a more comprehensive, critical walk through once a year.
Change Filters
This simple, easy to follow tip helps your air conditioner to work effectively. For a small investment in time, money and effort you can avoid many common, annoying AC problems by changing filters every 6 to 12 months. If you don’t know how to change filters do a quick web search for the instructions. Invest a few dollars and a minute or 2 now to avoid some major league headaches when you’re burning up through a heat wave.
Clear the Shrubs
Stop placing a heavy burden on your air conditioner by promoting airflow from the outside of your unit. AC units need a steady flow of fresh air from the outside environment to function properly. If you want a cool indoor environment head outside with a machete. Or you can simply grab a less aggressive pair of hedge clippers to clear vegetation from by the unit.
Prune bushes, cut back weeds, and remove branches or other debris which interfere with air flow. If you aren’t in great shape ask a family member or friend to do the light work for you. Clearing debris – or moving that chair you had absent-mindedly placed by the air conditioner – make a huge difference. Instead of sitting in puddles of your own sweat you will be cool, calm, and collected on Freezy Street.
Establish a Comfortable Temperature
If you’re wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts indoors during a severe heat wave you’re asking for air conditioning problems down the road. Taxing your unit by setting the thermostat to Arctic temperatures places a heavy burden on your air conditioner. Toss away the fall and winter wear. Set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature. Doing so helps the unit to work efficiently, which will keep it humming along without incident.
Raise the temperature by a few degrees when you’re asleep or at work. Since you won’t be in the house save money and lessen the workload on your AC unit. Do keep your pets in mind before raising the thermostat.
Hire Pros
Hire air conditioning repair specialists to perform regular maintenance to keep your unit humming along during hot weather months. Pros see what you cannot see with their year’s worth of experience. These folks can make the tiny repairs which could lead to monstrous, budget-busting investments if the needed upgrades go undetected. Have air conditioning repair done after warm weather seasons to spot pressing problems immediately.