Thomas J. Fannon & Sons

A lot of devices and appliances will start to develop problems if they haven’t been used in a while. Fortunately, your air conditioner isn’t one of them. As long as you keep it well-maintained, it’s unlikely to suffer issues even if it’s gone through a significant amount of downtime. To be certain, however, there are precautions you’ll need to take to ensure it works as it should and provides sufficient indoor cooling. Here are five things you should do:

Check your compressor unit. Your outdoor compressor unit should be cleared of debris before you turn on your air conditioner. Remove weeds, debris, nests and anything else blocking it. However, you should never open your unit. If you want to get to the interior components, call in an HVAC technician instead.

Clean or replace your filters. Your filters should be cleaned or replaced at least once a month. This will ensure that there’s no dust buildup on your filters that will make it hard for the air conditioner to cool your home. In addition, dirty filters will not only compromise your unit’s performance, but also impact your indoor air quality. If it’s been a long time since you used your air conditioner, it makes sense to check your filters.

Run it in fan mode. Don’t immediately turn your air conditioner to the highest, coldest setting. Make sure to turn your thermostat to fan mode for at least 10 minutes first. This will ensure that any dust and debris make their way out of the system before the AC starts cooling your home.

Check for refrigerant leaks. Refrigerant leaks can lead to a faulty AC unit. If you’ve noticed that your AC isn’t cooling your home as intended, you’ll want to get in touch with your HVAC technician as soon as possible for an inspection. They’ll check the inside of your AC unit, identify whether there is indeed a refrigerant leak and fix it if there is.

Schedule routine maintenance. Your AC unit should be maintained by a professional at least twice a year. It’s best to schedule these visits in early spring and late fall. If you didn’t schedule an inspection last season, make sure to do it now. Whether you’re using a window-type AC unit or have a ductless split system, you need to maintain it to ensure your unit is always running in top condition.

With the weather warming up, you may be tempted to start using your air conditioning unit again. Before turning it on to beat the heat, let our technicians from Thomas J. Fannon & Sons take care of its maintenance for you. Call us now at (703) 549-5700 or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.