The AC Whisperer: 5 Maintenance Things Your Air Conditioning May Be Trying to Tell You

April 05, 2010

Air conditioning is one of the things homeowners don't really think about much--until it stops working. The fall and winter months are the ideal time to service your AC in preparation for warmer seasons to come. Here are five things your air conditioning may be trying to tell you and how to answer its call.

1. Change My Filter. Asthmatics take note. A dirty AC filter can cause sneezing, snoring, and sinus infections. Change it every three months and use an anti-allergen filter. It's more expensive than basic models, but you'll be repaid several times over in health benefits. The location of the filter varies with each unit, so consult your manufacturer's guidebook for the location of your filter.
2. Clean my Casing. Leaves, pine straw, grass clippings and other debris can seriously impact the performance of your air conditioning unit. According to home improvement expert Don Vandervort, brushing and hosing the unit periodically will keep it humming right along. Be careful not to get water into the mechanical portions of the unit or you'll short out the system.
3. Leave My Thermostat Alone. He likes it warm. She likes it cool. Between the two, the thermostat gets quite a workout. Nothing taxes the performance of your AC unit like a revolving thermostat. Find out the acceptable seasonal temperatures recommended by the manufacturer and stick to them. You'll not only save your unit, you'll save energy in the process.
4. Give Me Freon. Freon is the chemical that gives air conditioning its cool qualities. It must be refilled periodically. Freon is a potentially caustic chemical that must be handled with care, so this might not be a do-it-yourself project. In some cases, the Freon system must be recharged--a considerably more involved and expensive process but necessary nonetheless.
5. Call a Technician if I Confuse You. In that spirit, many of the highly-technical procedures require a trained and certified AC technician. Never work your unit with the power on and never touch anything that looks like it could carry an electric current. In short, call the pros if you don't know what you're doing.

June is no time to discover your AC has been talking to you. If a stitch in time saves nine, showing your air conditioning just a little attention could save you thousands of repair dollars when you need cooling off the most.

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