AC Repair Steps That You Can Take

When your air conditioner works well you are so thankful to have it; but when it does not, you sometimes feel like kicking it in frustration. AC repair cannot come by way of a kick however! This is not the way to fix it properly.

The summer season is often the time when those with air conditioners find themselves having problems, because that is when cooling units are used the most often. In fact, you may have your air conditioner running practically all day and all night on the most sweltering days of the season.

You will know right away that your air conditioner is not working properly if suddenly you find yourself sweating profusely when you felt cool and relaxed only a short time before. Your first thought might be to go to your computer and search for an AC repair company or to take a look through the telephone book. Doing this can be expensive and is not always necessary.

Before you pick up the telephone and call up an AC repair business there are some very basic steps you can take to remedy the problem yourself. After doing these things if you find that an issue still exists, then you may have come to the point where getting a repairman to come to your home is a necessity.

To start, you need to ascertain if the filter is dirty or not. To do this, locate the AC return vent, which should be relatively easy to find because it is within your residence. Once you have found it, open it up and take a close look at the filter. If the filter is dirty then changing it is a requirement and not something that you can ignore.

If the filter does not appear to be dirty, but you know for a certainty that it has not been changed in some time, then you should go ahead and change it. This can dramatically improve the functioning of the unit. There can be dirt trapped inside of the filter that is not obvious to the human eye. A dirty air filter can easily cause an air conditioner to freeze up. This can cause a sudden rise in the temperature in your dwelling that you did not see coming. You will know that you need AC repair if this occurs.

A dirty air filter is a cause for AC repair, but so is a dirty condenser coil. If you are not sure what a condenser coil is, then you may have to ask someone more in the know about cooling units to point it out to you. It can be found on the outside of the air conditioner. You can clean the condenser coil by using a garden hose.

Before you attempt to clean it, turn the air conditioner off. Make sure that the garden hose is held approximately four inches from the condenser coil, and then, using a slow motion, move the hose from right to left, as if you were painting or drawing a picture. The vast majority of dirt that is clogged in the coil will not be obvious to you.