This summer surely has been a hot one! If you're like most homeowners, you've been really thankful for your air conditioning as the mercury as risen in the thermometer. But while your air conditioner is perfect for keeping cool, the extra hot summer temperatures can be tough on this appliance, too. It's a good idea to take extra special care of your air conditioner this season so it does not break down and leave you in a lurch on one of the hottest days. Here are some maintenance tasks to help you accomplish that goal.
Change the filter more often.
The hotter it gets outside, the harder your air conditioner needs to work. And the more debris gets caught in your AC filter, the harder the appliance has to work. In cooler weather, your air conditioner may have no trouble operating with a partially clogged filter, but in hot weather, you really don't want to make it face that extra challenge. Change your AC filter once a month to ensure it's always operating with as clean a filter as possible. With AC filters available for only a few dollars in most hardware stores, this is not a huge investment.
Keep the windows closed at night.
When the temperature drops at night, it can be tempting to open the windows and let in the fresh air. But this is actually terrible for your air conditioner. When you let in the fresh air, you are also letting in a lot of humidity. And then the next day, your air conditioner has to work overtime to remove that humidity from the air while it's already fighting to cool your home in the scorching heat. Don't make your AC work so hard that it dies -- keep your windows closed day and night.
Trim around the outdoor condenser.
Some homeowners let weeds and even bushes grow up around their air conditioners as they want to hide the air conditioners from sight. But as ugly an addition your air conditioner may be to your landscaping, letting weeds and other plants grow near it is a bad move, especially in very hot weather. The weeds or plants keep air from flowing freely into the air conditioner, forcing it to work hard to suck in the air. Combine this with the extra work of cooling in a super-hot climate, and you just might overwork your air conditioner.
Contact a service, like Miller Services HVAC Inc., for more information.
A few years ago, I could tell that we were having serious furnace problems. In addition to dealing with a house that was constantly too cold or too warm, we were also plagued by a noisy, smelly furnace that seemed to have trouble on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I didn't know enough about furnaces at the time to spot the problems quickly. One day, the entire system died, and it was beyond repair. After having that experience, I learned a lot about HVAC systems, so that I could troubleshoot future systems. This website is all about teaching you what you need to know so that you don't end up in the same situation.