Spring has finally arrived! And with it comes warmer temperatures and longer days. But that isn’t the only thing that spring brings.

With a dormant air conditioner, stale air, and melting snow, spring could also mean air conditioner repairs, reduced air quality, and potential water damage if you’re not careful. But by cleaning and inspecting your home and air conditioning system, you can keep your home cool all summer long and avoid costly repairs. And considering the fact that summer is a busy time for cooling experts, roofers, and other home improvement services, spring is the perfect season to dive in.

To make sure your home is ready to cool effectively and efficiently before the hottest parts of the year, follow these spring central air conditioner cleaning tips.

Air Conditioner Cleaning Checklist

Make sure you know how to clean your air conditioner with our central air conditioner cleaning checklist. This way you can inspect your system and see if you need repairs before the busiest (and hottest) times of the year, June and July.

1. Cut the power to your air conditioning unit.

Before attempting any maintenance, the AC unit needs to be turned off. This will prevent you from causing damage to the air conditioner and also help protect you from getting hurt in the process.

2. Clear away leaves, pollen, dirt, and grass from your unit.

Spring is a great time to tidy up around your air conditioning unit. With the change of the season, you’ll notice that a good deal of dirt and debris have built up around and on top of your outdoor unit. Leaves, pollen, dirt, and grass clippings should all be cleaned away. To clean the top of the unit, take a garden hose and apply light water and pressure to wash away the gunk. Allowing debris to build up on your unit could lead to problems in cooling down the line.

You’ll also want to trim any shrubs or plants that have grown within a few feet of your unit. You want your unit to be easily accessible in case it requires maintenance during the summer.

3. Remove covers and condenser coil blankets.

If you protected your unit with a plastic covering or blanket during the winter, pat yourself on the back. After you do that, make sure you go out to your unit and remove the covering. Leaving the covering on throughout the year is a common mistake made by homeowners and can cause severe damage to your system.

4. Repair or replace damaged pipe insulation.

You’ll want to take a look at the pipe insulation that leads into your home and see how it held up during the winter. Insulation can be damaged throughout the year by a variety of factors including the sunlight, humidity, animals, and particular to winter, by moisture and ice being trapped in the foam of the insulation.

If you notice damaged or missing insulation, it’s best to make the repair with your unit turned off. The insulation sizing measurements can be found on your piping.

5. Inspect the condensate line.

Now that you’ve taken care of your outside unit, it’s time to make some indoor inspections.

Over time, moisture and gunk can build up in your condensate drain and/or hose. You’ll want to inspect the drain to ensure there isn’t any clogging, as build-up in the drain can lead to extensive water damage and flooding inside of your home.

6. Install a high-efficiency pleated air filter.

High-efficiency pleated air filters are your best bet when it comes to air filters. What enables pleated air filters to be so effective is that they feature an electrostatic charge that acts like a magnet, grabbing up the microscopic particles that sneak past your average air filter. Allergens and pollutants are far more common during the spring and summer than in the winter.

By sucking up those hard-to-catch particles, your HVAC system pumps out much cleaner air. As you transition from heat to cool this spring, it’s a great idea to install a pleated air filter. As the summer progresses, a good rule of thumb is to replace your filter every 90 days.

7. Turn on your AC.

Once you’ve completed the checklist, it’s time for you to switch over your AC and see how it’s working. It’s best to wait for the first 70 degree day of the year to switch over your AC. Once you turn it on, give your system a few hours to cool down. Then, walk throughout your home and feel the vents to ensure your system is pushing out cool air and distributing it throughout your home.

8. Schedule an inspection.

As with furnaces, your air conditioner should be professionally inspected once a year to ensure that there are no problems affecting your air conditioner’s functionality or your family’s safety. Homeowners should note that air conditioners gradually lose energy efficiency if they’re not carefully maintained. If it’s been a while since your last inspection, save on energy bills and avoid problems in the future by scheduling an air conditioner maintenance appointment with your local heating and cooling experts.

5 Steps for Improving Your Air Quality

Cleaning your air conditioner can go a long way towards improving your home’s cooling, but there are cleaning steps you should check off to improve your air quality once winter has passed.

Step 1: Shut off your furnace.

It’s (finally!) time to give your furnace a break and let your cooling system take on the workload. With the furnace off, your air conditioner can cool more efficiently as it won’t have to fight a heating system as well as the outdoor temperature.

Your furnace has served you faithfully all winter; simple maintenance will ensure that it will be ready to work reliably next winter too. Start by replacing your furnace filter, so that you can flip on the heat and get toasty as soon as temperatures start dropping next fall. As a reminder, your furnace filters should be changed every month during periods of heavy use.

Also, if you didn’t schedule a furnace maintenance visit last fall, spring is a great time to do this to ensure that your furnace is ready for the next heating season. During a furnace maintenance visit, HVAC professionals will thoroughly clean and inspect your furnace for functionality and safety concerns.

Step 2: Deep clean carpets and rugs.

Your carpets can sometimes serve as glorified filters that collect dust, pet dander, pollen, and other particles that could affect your air quality. Giving your carpets a deep clean every spring, or even every season if you have pets, can really help clean up the air circulating in your home. To get that deep clean, you can hire professionals for a modest amount, or rent a commercial carpet cleaner for even greater savings. You’ll feel the effects immediately as your house will feel fresh and smell new.

Step 3: Install an air cleaner.

An electronic air cleaner keeps the air in your home clean and minimizes allergens for those who may suffer from seasonal allergies. If you have pets or are concerned about mold spores, having an air cleaner installed on your home heating and cooling system will keep your home smelling springtime fresh year round!

Step 4: Check your roof for winter damage.

At some point, all snow has to melt. If snow has been piling up on your roof, areas could suffer floods of water that threaten to create leaks. Once a leak sets in, mold may build up and cool air could potentially escape. Give your roof a once over to check for signs of damage like:

• Missing shingles
• Curled, blistered, or split shingles
• Loose shingles
• Exposed nails
• Clogged valleys
• Depressions, especially near vents and flashing

If any damage is spotted, make sure to call a roofing company to patch things up before more water and elemental damage seeps in or your cold air escapes.

Step 5: Replace batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Because many air conditioners operate through natural gas systems, it’s important to install carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in your home. In fact, Minnesota law requires all residents to install both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Since most fire and carbon monoxide deaths occur at night in residential homes, it is recommended that you install smoke alarms in all bedrooms, as well as in the furnace room. A carbon monoxide detector should also be installed in or near the furnace room to warn you of dangerously high carbon monoxide levels.

The batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should be changed at least once a year to ensure consistent performance. Adding this task to your spring cleaning checklist is a great way to ensure that it gets done.

Spring Is in the Air

Cleaning your air conditioner and other areas of your home is a great way to make sure your home stays cool all summer long. From a leaky roof to a clogged condensate line, there are several areas of your home that can impact your air conditioner and its effectiveness.

Didn’t feel any cool air after turning your AC on? Contact us right away to schedule an appointment so we can help your home become cool and comfortable.