If they’re not careful, many homeowners are going to find themselves fixing air conditioners come the springtime. Ice, snow, sleet, hail, and water runoff all pose serious threats to HVAC units.
Luckily, there are steps you can take to ensure that you’re not one of those homeowners stuck fixing air conditioners come the thaw. Here are just a few smart ideas.
Cover Your HVAC Unit.
One of the main reasons homeowners spend the beginning of their springs fixing air conditioners is because they left their units uncovered all winter. These covers not only protect the units from blowing debris, but from melting snow as well. The water runs off, and drips in to the unit, where it freezes and ruins the unit’s mechanisms. These problems can be easily avoided if a cover is put on for winter.
Clean Your HVAC Unit.
One of the easiest and most obvious ways homeowners can avoid fixing air conditioners in the spring time is to clean them before the winter begins in full. Cleaning air conditioning coils of debris that’s collected up over the spring, summer, and fall, will prevent the unit from rusting and corroding. Though it seems too simple to work, residential HVAC cleaning is crucial.
Change Your HVAC Unit’s Filter.
Homeowners who want to avoid fixing air conditioners at the end of March would be wise to change their units’ filters. These get all gunked up in the busy months and cause all sorts of problems when they’re dirty. It’s a simple, easy, low-cost fix that can be done to ensure that units are in good working order. Once new filters have been put in, homeowners would be wise to clean them every month for optimal efficiency.
Winter is a dangerous time for HVAC units, but it doesn’t have to mean your unit is doomed. As long as you take the necessary, preventative steps, you’ll be fine. If you have any questions about fixing air conditioners, feel free to ask in the comments.