Tips on Maintenance for Air Conditioner Filters and Coils

by | Mar 21, 2012 | Home Decor

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Air conditioning contractors in Kanawha County strongly recommend that consumers schedule routine maintenance on their air conditioner units and systems in order to increase product longevity and effectiveness. All too often, people tend to take their air conditioning systems for granted until it’s too late. The fact is that the less routine care and maintenance given to an air conditioning unit, the more money you will spend on energy bills. Performance will go down, and it will take more energy to maintain the same level of activity, thus leading to higher monthly bills in the hot months of the year.

Some maintenance can be done quite easily by air conditioner owners and doesn’t necessitate hiring air conditioning contractors in Kanawha County in order to keep things running smoothly. This includes taking care of filters, coils, and fins.

Your air conditioner’s filters need to be changed or cleaned at least once or twice per month in the summer months when the air conditioner is being used the most. This is especially important if you have pets whose fur can blow up into the return ducts, along with dust and other particles. When air filters become too dirty or even become obstructed, the flow of air can more easily carry detritus into the evaporator coil and damage its capacity to absorb heat appropriately. This degrades performance and may eventually lead to damage that requires the skill of professional repairmen or air conditioning contractors in Kanawha County.

Even with clean filters, an air conditioner coil can collect a substantial amount of dirt and detritus over a long period of time. Usually, coils are located outside in the packaged air conditioning unit and can become soiled more quickly.  It’s important to check the coil regularly during seasons of heavy use, clean it and its fins, and keep shrubbery, branches, and tree branches trimmed at least a distance of two feet away. Also check the fins, which are made out of aluminum, on the evaporator and condenser coils to make sure they are not bent, which would block proper airflow. If they are bent, you can straighten them with a flat screwdriver or a tool called a “fin combo” that will get them back into their pristine shape.

Other types of maintenance, such as a professional inspection of your entire system for energy efficiency, including the air conditioning unit, the thermostat, and duct-work, can be performed by professional air conditioning contractors in Kanawha County. Most every air conditioning professional recommends having an inspection at least once a year.