Why should you get air conditioner maintenance before spring?
Simple. After spring comes summer, and that means hot days and a stuffy house.
You want to have your air conditioner checked and, if needed, repaired before then or else you’ll have to deal with unsatisfactory cooling during the warm seasons. It’s pointless and frustrating to spend money on an air conditioner that doesn’t even do its job.
Getting air conditioner maintenance now means you don’t risk your system breaking later on and needed more costly repairs. If that happens, you may have to suffer several days without air conditioning while waiting for an expert to find and fix the problem.
Keep reading to learn the signs that mean you should get air conditioner maintenance.
Do I Really Need Maintenance?
That depends.
You should schedule routine maintenance for your air conditioner at least once a year. If your air conditioning system already had repairs after last summer, you may not need them quite yet.
If you haven’t had any maintenance done on your system in over a year, you definitely should get it looked at.
Signs You Need Air Conditioner Maintenance Right Away
Whether you haven’t had system maintenance in multiple years or got it a few months ago, if you notice any of these signs, your air conditioning system needs repairs right away.
Some of these repairs can be overlooked for a few days, but others are serious and pose a health risk to you and your family. If you spot any of these system repair signs, don’t waste time waiting.
1. No Cold Air
Obviously, if the air isn’t cold something’s not working right in your air conditioning system. Most likely it’s a problem with the compressor.
If this is the case, no matter how high you blast the air, it won’t make much of a difference. But don’t assume the air has to actually be warm to show the compressor has failed. Sometimes the air is still cold, just not as cold as it used to be.
In some cases, air that’s not cold could mean your Freon levels are too low. This is a more serious problem, and it usually means you have to replace your entire air conditioning unit.
2. High Energy Bill
You may not notice anything else wrong with the air conditioner, but a high energy bill means your system isn’t running quite right.
In this case, the air conditioner needs extra energy to help it cool down the house how it should, meaning you’re spending extra money to make that happen.
An expert can find and fix the problem, saving you money in the long run.
3. Weak Air Flow
There are a few different sings of poor air flow. One of these is just poor air flow, meaning there’s not very much air coming out of the AC vents. This is another symptom that your compressor is failing.
Poor air flow can also mean some rooms get cold while others stay warm. The problem here is most likely inside your ductwork, and it’s a little more serious.
Debris like dust, hair follicles, dirt, and other contaminants can build up in your air condition vents over time. This blockage can grow so large that it can cut off air flow to entire sections of the house.
Worse than that, if the cold air does get through those vents, it spreads all that debris around the air in your house. Breathing in all that debris can make you or your family sick.
This isn’t something you want to wait on. Call a professional to clean or changes those vents right away.
4. Loud, Unusual Sounds
These could sound like loud grinds of metal against metal or high squealing. Sometimes the sounds might seem normal, just unusually loud.
These sounds mean there’s something wrong inside the system.
Generally, if you hear anything that you think you shouldn’t be hearing, you should probably schedule a maintenance check.
5. Bad Smells
Different smells mean different things, so it’s important to know what kind of scent you’re smelling. These scents will drift out of your air conditioning vents.
A foul smell means your systems wire insulation burned out.
A must smell means there’s mold growing somewhere inside your ductwork. The air that blows through these ducts will carry that mold through the rest of your house, which can have a very negative health effect on your family.
Make sure you call someone right away if you start to smell anything funny.
6. One or More Leaks
Sometimes leaks can be so small they are nearly impossible to find. But finding moisture around your air conditioning system is a sure sign you have some kind of leak.
A prime leak location is the drain tube. This tube is what disposes of the system’s condensation. If this breaks, you may find small puddles of water around your air conditioner.
However, a leak could be much more serious.
If your refrigerant leaks you’ve got a much bigger problem on your side. This refrigerant is a huge safety risk for your family, and if you suspect a refrigerant leak, you need to call an expert as soon as possible.
7. Thermostat Problems
In some cases, the only thing wrong with your air conditioning system is your thermostat. You can tell if your thermostat is broken if you can’t seem to get it to work the way you want it to.
This could mean only some places in your house cool down while others stay hot.
Make Sure You Get the Right Air Conditioner Maintenance
If you notice any of these symptoms, your air conditioner needs repairs before the hot season starts. In some cases, your system may need repairs right away if it poses a health risk to your family.
We at Williams Service Co. can get your the air conditioning help you need. Give us a call or send us a message and we’ll make sure your system is in good shape for summer.