subject: Air Conditioning - Routine Maintenance [print this page] There are several routine upkeep procedures you can take to keep your air-con system running at top potency. In Frederick Maryland where I live, it's important to typically maintain the air-con and heat pump unit to help in keeping use costs down, and it's critical where you reside too.
In order to keep your air conditioning running at its highest efficiency, it is always best to have your unit or units periodically serviced by a professional. Whether this is done by the contractor who installed your HVAC units, or another contractor that you have a set up a service agreement with, you should have them service your air conditioning at least once a year.
However, there are many things that you can do between professional servicing that will extend the life of your system and lower your electricity costs as well.
Doubtless the most vital process you can perform is to scrub the air filter each month. Not only will this keep the system going nicely, it decreases the quantity of airborne dust and mud from being transported thru your house. There are several different kinds of filters that may be employed in an air-conditioning system, and it's necessary to know how your filter for your particular system works.
There are some filters that must be washed with soapy water and then laid out to be dried then was re-installed into the unit itself. These kind of filters can persist for a few years, and if cleaned each month, will keep your system running at optimum condition.
Then there are some filters that will need to be gone over with a vacuum. These filters will need to be replaced every year. Your service technician can tell you more about what type of filter that you have in your air conditioning system and can give you the servicing routine for each type of filter.
Then there's the outside units themselves. First if your outside units are in a corner of the house, make certain that you clean the area round the units intermittently. Any mulch, grass clippings and waste should be removed from across the units, and every 6 months, you must take away the griddle cover and take a garden hose and wash down the fins on the unit. Just be careful not to spray with too much pressure against the fins on the air con unit. This'll help the outside parts of the system going well.
Also, if you live in a less warm climate and receive any sort of snow or snow in the winter, make sure you protect the units from sucking in the snow into the fins. This will ultimately turn into a solid block of ice if left unrestrained. As the unit is attempting to heat your house, the snow will be pulled into the unit, filtering in thru the fins and becoming frozen. Install a shelter round the units leaving almost 3 feet of clearance round the unit itself, even on top. This could keep any unwelcome ice and snow from amassing in or on the unit.
