Do you know how to maintain your air conditioner?
Did you even know you were supposed to? The good news is air conditioner maintenance is
super easy and in this video we’ll tell you the 8 Air Conditioner Maintenance tips
you can do on your own to help keep your air conditioner running as smooth as possible
all summer long. It’s just super bright out here, Come on… It’s OK, I live here. Just like rotating the tires and changing
the oil in your car, air conditioner maintenance will help prolong the life of your air conditioner,
help it run more efficiently and cool your home better.
You know In real estate they say the most
important thing is location, location, location…well, when it comes to your air conditioner the
most important thing is air flow, air flow, air flow. And that’s why 3 of our air conditioner
maintenance tips are related around air flow. We’ve broken your system down into 3 major parts.
The outdoor unit, the indoor unit, and the thermostat. I’ve got a list of helpful maintenance
tips for all 3…I just have to find my list first. Oh, Thanks. Unless you plan on using your "bear" hands, here’s
a list of tools you’ll need Garden Hose New Filter Level Thermometer Raincoat (Optional) Rope Swing (Optional) OK, Let’s head to the outdoor unit.
Your system pulls air in through the coils,
and blows it out the top. And if your coils are blocked it can severely decrease the efficiency of your unit. There’s a couple things you can do. The
first thing you should do is cut power to the unit, the preferred method is to flip
off the breaker. If you don’t have a breaker, pull the disconnect. Next you want to clear the debris away from
the unit. Two feet around is a good rule of thumb to make sure the leaves, debris
and grass clippings are away from the unit. If you have bushes or shrubs you want to trim
those back as well.
Take your garden hose and rinse off the coils.
Reach what you can with the garden hose and spray from the inside out. Let the water flow
down the coils for a while, until it looks like you’ve gotten all the dirt off. Then
spray off the debris you see on the outside. The fins on the unit are very fragile, be
careful that you don’t bend them over. See if the unit looks level, if it’s too
far off center you may want to have a professional level it up.
Check the electrical connections – make sure that there’s no exposed wires. Check the
insulation around the lineset to make sure it’s still good. Now reconnect the power,
careful when you slide the disconnect back into place, you shouldn’t have to force it. Now let’s go to the indoor unit, where your
filters are. Start by cutting the power. Check the filters to make sure you can still see light through it. When replacing the filter, be sure to pay attention to the direction
that the air is flowing. Make sure that the arrow on the filter lines up with the direction
that the air flows through your unit.
Replace filters as often as needed, this can be different
for each home. So be sure to check it at least once a month. If you have a humidifier, remember to turn
it off in the summer. Pour some water down the drain line to make sure that it's not clogged.
Some people add a little bleach to the water to clean the line. Ok, now we’re at the thermostat. Really
the only thing you need to do to check and make sure it working properly is verify the
temperature on the display matches the temperature in the room.
An easy way to do that is to
just get a visual read thermometer and make sure they match. As long as you’re within
3 degrees or so, you’ll be fine. These Air Conditioner Maintenance Tips that
we’ve shared with you are things that anyone can do on their own. But manufacturers actually
recommend that you take it one step further. In the owner’s manual it actually says that
you should have your system inspected regularly by a properly trained technician. So, as part
of your Air Conditioner's Maintenance, once a year, you should have a Certified HVAC technician
come out and tune-up and inspect your unit. They’ll have the specialty tools and gauges
to go more indepth. They’ll check voltages, check the capacitor, see if there’s any
obvious concerns, check the refrigerant levels, those hard to reach components and more. They
should review their findings with you and answer any questions that you have. If you have a friend or neighbor that works
on Air Conditioners, you might be able to get them to do this for you but if you don’t
know anyone…in your local market you should be able to find a certified HVAC Contractor
to come to your home and perform this annual service.
If you’re in the Utah market, give Any Hour
Services a call. They’ll send a certified HVAC technician to your home to perform a
23 point Air Conditioner Tune-Up. Call 801-503-0130 If you’ve found this air conditioner maintenance
video helpful and entertaining, give us a thumbs up. If there’s other stuff you want
to know about how your electrical, plumbing, heating or air conditioning system works in your home,
leave your suggestions in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe so you can get
notification when the new videos come out. Have a great day and thanks for watching!.