subject: Air Conditioner Maintenance - Tips To Do It Yourself [print this page] Air conditioner maintenance is one of the household maintenance that is mostly neglected. According to doityourself.com air conditioner maintenance is as important as any household maintenance. It is something you must do it regularly along with other maintenance such as house painting or rooftop cleaning etc. Here are some awesome air conditioner maintenance tips you can do it yourself and you dont need to hire an air conditioner service.
1.Clean your air conditioner twice a year. If you cant bring it in for air conditioner service at least do some cleaning yourself. Just make sure to clean the coils, the casing, the vents and the duct works for central air conditioners.
2.Depending upon the type of filter you have change your filters regularly. The flat type ones should be replaced every 30-60 days, the pleated type can be changed every 6 months refer to your manufacturers manual.
3.If it is not yet time to replace filters you will have to clean them in between replacements. Use warm water with soap and drain as much water as you can. Dry the filters before replacing them back. Any damaged filter must be replaced immediately.
4.Vacuum the coils and the grill at least once a month during the summer season. Do this delicately as coils then to break easily.
5.Another once a month chore during the summer is cleaning and flushing the drainage system. Step one remove the air conditioner drain tube. Next, check blockages and other elements on the tube. If there are use a bottle brush or a piece of wire to remove these blocks. And lastly, make sure to wash the tube with soap and water and must be dried before re-installing.
6.Keep your outdoor condensing unit free from any debris from your backyard like tree branches, leaves, grass or weeds.
7.Clean the drain tray .You can do this by putting a few drops of bleach in the tray and letting it set for about 10 minutes. This will allow the dirt be eliminated by the bleach. Spray the tray with a water hose with spray nozzle set to medium pressure only.
8.Make sure that the fins are not bent that blocks any air passage. If there are dents use a fin comb to straighten them back.
9.Also during the summer months make sure the vents are free of dusts and debris by cleaning once a week.
10.If you have a window type air conditioner and you plan to remove it for storing after the summer, make sure that the unit is clean before storing away. Make sure to cover the actual condensing unit to prevent bugs and rodents for settling in as their home and to keep it from dusts as well.
These are some air conditioner maintenance tips you can do yourself if you want to avoid professional air conditioner service fees. But if you have the budget to spend hiring air condition service then why not. But the trick is to make sure it is clean and the parts are functioning at least twice a year.
