4 Tips For Maintaining A Central Air Conditioner System

Curious about what you should be doing to your air conditioner to maintain it? Make sure to follow these four tips to improve the appliance's overall longevity.

Level The Condenser

Have you noticed that the condenser is no longer level? This could be due to the air conditioner being installed on a brick slab that is now sagging or due to the erosion of the ground underneath the air conditioner. Unfortunately, a condenser that is not level can be bad for the health of the unit. That's why you should take some steps to level the condenser to improve its operation. All it may take is using a shovel to prop up the condenser and throwing some bricks underneath the slab. Just be careful of the lines for refrigerant that are coming out of your home so that they do not become damaged. 

Test The Condenser Early Each Year

Don't make the mistake of testing your air conditioner on the day that the temperature finally gets hot enough to use. If you discover that the unit is not running on a very hot day, you'll end up paying more for a repair since that's when everyone else is running into problems as well and local technicians will be busy. Try running the air conditioner early in the spring to verify that it is working. As long as the temperature outside is above 60°F you will not cause any damage to the compressor.

Know How To Locate The A Coil

You may have some difficulties locating the A coil of your air conditioner inside your home, especially when it is combined with all of the furnace components. A good trick is to follow the insulated refrigerant line into your home. It is going to go directly to the housing component where the A coil is located, which is where you'll need to go to perform routine maintenance.

Clean The A Coil

The A coil of the air conditioner works by extracting heat from the air and moving it outside your home through the refrigerant. You'll want to look at the coil and clean it if it looks dirty since having dust settle on the coils will prevent it from absorbing heat. There is a cleaning spray that you can buy at your local home improvement store that is a foam that you spray directly on the coils. It works its way into the dirt and debris to remove it, and you don't even need to clean the foam off the coils when it is finished.   

If you don't feel confident completing any of these tasks, contact an AC maintenance professional for help.

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