When is the Best Time to Service an Air Conditioner?

Once you become a homeowner for the first time, a lot of things start to enter your mind that didn’t when you were renting or leasing before. Now, you’re concerned about the cost of watering your yard. You’re having to think about mowing, pulling weeds, tightening loose cabinets, weather stripping, caulking bathtubs, and servicing your HVAC system, which includes your home’s air conditioning unit.

Now that it’s warm out, lots of people are thinking about their air conditioning units, and reasonably so! Should they be routinely maintained and is so, how often and when? After all, the last thing you want is your AC to give out on a hot summer day.

Am I Supposed to Maintain My AC?

Just like anything else mechanical (e.g. your car or your furnace), you are supposed to maintain your home’s air conditioning unit. Since you’ll need your AC the most during the summer, our advice is to service your AC unit before you need it – in the springtime when the weather is still moderate and comfortable without AC.

“How often should I service my home air conditioning unit?” is another frequently asked question from our customers. We suggest servicing your AC unit once a year, and that’s the same for your heating. When the spring rolls around, you can crank it on and see if it works efficiently.

If everything is running well, you don’t necessarily have to call in a professional because you can change the air filter yourself. To do this, you locate the filter slot on the unit. Slide out the old filter and replace it with a brand-new one. As you do this, make a mental note of which side of the air filter is supposed to face outward. Before replacing the air filter, be sure to read the unit’s manufacturer’s instructions as to the type of filter to use and how to replace the old one.

Note: At the bare minimum, AC filters should be changed every 90 days, sometimes more often if the homeowner has pets or children with allergies.

When to Call an AC Professional

If you turn your AC unit on and it makes an odd noise, or if it’s not blowing cold air, it’s time to call the professionals, and the sooner the better. You don’t want to run your unit when there’s something wrong, because doing so could cause further damage and require a premature replacement when a simple repair could have done the trick and saved you money.

At Winters® Home Services, we do more than perform thorough AC checkups; we also service heating units. Remember, heating units need to be serviced annually too. All you have to do is contact us and we’ll send a technician out to take care of everything for you.