Yearly Air Conditioning Maintenance

Maintenance on your homes air conditioning system is crucial to get performed prior to the temps reaching above 100 degrees. Here in the Dallas area we are prone to long hot summers over 100 degrees for weeks in a row with no rain. When these outdoor conditions are present you need your house air conditioning system to be in top performing condition. We can make sure this happens more often than not when you get your AC inspected and maintenance performed in the springtime before the temps rise above 100.

Maintenance on your air conditioning at home is a simple task that many homeowners can perform themselves. This is comprised mostly of changing the indoor air filter every 30 days and cleaning the outside unit at least once a year. The outside unit needs to be cleaned in order to completely condense the freon going inside back into a liquid. After that the main thing that a licensed and insured air conditioning company is going to do is check the freon. Now many homeowners will not have the ability to check their freon so we will recommend that you call a local professional to help complete this task.

The most common filter size on residential air conditioning systems is going to be 1 inch thick. they come in different shapes and sizes but they are all 1 inch thick. The next most common filter would be the 4 or 5 inch thick filter depending on the brand. The brand will determine the actual thickness of the filter. Each brand has a different thickness of their actual size on their larger thickness filters. Keep this in mind when purchasing replacements for these because some will be just too loose and others will not go in without you jamming it in.

The 1 inch thick filters have a life expectancy of 1 month. This is going to be based on usage. So in the Dallas area we are mostly going to be using the air conditioning so we want to make sure that we change the filter every month when we are in summer. When we are in the shoulder seasons or in winter we can check the filter every month but it may not be dirty until 2 or even 3 months. Now leaving it in for 3 months in the winter without checking it can lead to your unit not working correctly due to the filter being dirty, so check the filter every month at the same time so you do not forget.

The 4 or 5 inch filters all have the same capacity, which is going to be 3 times that of the 1 inch filter. So in the summertime around the Dallas area you will be looking to change this filter out every 3 months. In the shoulder seasons or in the winter you can check the filter every 3 months but you may be able to get 6 months out of it. When the unit does not run as much as it does when it is above 100 degrees outside you will be able to get about twice the length of use out of it.

Remember when you purchase new filters for your indoor unit make sure you buy enough for a year so you have extra. When you have filters you can check the filter that is being used more often, if it does not need to be changed then leave it for another month. If it is bad you will have a stockpile of them in the garage. Do not leave your filters in the attic if they are not in a closed box or wrapped in plastic. The dirt and dust from the attic will prematurely reduce the life of your filters. Turning off the indoor unit will also help the filter slide in the filter rack. The air pressure from the fan pulling it into the unit will prevent you from being able to get some filters in and out well.

The outside unit needs to be cleaned once a year minimum in the Dallas area. In some locations when conditions are right you will have to clean your outside unit 2 or 3 times a year. Excessive amounts of dust due to construction or being out in the country can easily double your cleaning per year. The special tree we have around this area also, called the cottonwood tree is prone to destroying blocks of air conditioning systems every year per tree. These trees release a cloud of cotton looking seeds that collect on your air conditioning unit and clog the air-flow. This is hard to get off without soap and can accumulate more that 2 times a year, mainly in the springtime.

Make sure you turn off the unit at the service disconnect which should be within 5 or 6 feet of the outdoor unit. When cleaning the outside air conditioning unit make sure you are not using a ton of water pressure. The pressure washer is out of the question under all circumstances. The water hose is almost always enough water pressure to handle the job. Some water pressure will be too much for your outside air conditioner. So the key is to use a mild soap like car wash soap or go to The Home Depot and get some condenser coil cleaner in the plumbing section. This will help release more dirt without using more water pressure than the coils can stand. When you start washing the outside unit the vertical sides are where the dirt will collect. Watch when you start with the water pressure to make sure you are not bending the fins over any, this will be the opposite of what we want and will not be able to be fixed once it is damaged. This is where you will apply soap and water from the outside toward the inside of the unit. This will take some time, about 15 to 20 minutes on each unit. it takes a lot of water to wash away the dirt from in between the fins of aluminum.