Summers in Arlington Heights, IL get hot and humid, making a working air conditioner a necessity. When problems with your unit occur, you should schedule repair service for it. However, outside of repairs, it’s still important to take care of your AC so it keeps your home cool when you need it to. The best way to make sure your air conditioning unit stays in top shape is to get it tuned up.
There are various tasks associated with AC maintenance that our technicians from IBBOTSON Heating & Air Conditioning Co. can handle to ensure efficient operation of your system.
Checking and Refilling Refrigerant
Your air conditioner’s refrigerant helps in the process of cooling the air inside your home. When the coolant level drops too low, your AC will have a hard time generating cool air. During your maintenance appointment, we will check your AC’s coolant level. If it’s low, then we will replenish it.
Our technicians will also look for signs of refrigerant leakage during your tune-up. This is important as coolant is a dangerous substance that can damage your health if you get exposed to it. If you do happen to have a leakage, you should notice a chemical type of odor from your AC. Reach out to us right away in this instance.
Calibrating the Thermostat
Your thermostat is the “brains” of your HVAC system; it tells your air conditioner when to turn on and shut off, among other things. If your thermostat develops an issue with how it communicates with your AC, your cooling unit might not work as it’s supposed to. You might notice an issue such as short cycling. This is when your air conditioner starts up its cycle as usual but then stops before it achieves the temperature setting on the thermostat.
To help prevent issues like short cycling, IBBOTSON Heating & Air Conditioning Co. will assess your thermostat during your tune-up. We will perform a complete recalibration if we think it needs it. This should help the thermostat to function normally going forward.
Tightening or Replacing Loose Components
As you use your air conditioner each summer, it will accumulate wear and tear, which is normal. Some of this strain on your system may cause issues with its internal workings. For example, some parts may come loose or break off entirely. You’ll notice this if you suddenly hear a rattling noise coming from your AC.
We will check for things like loose or broken components as we perform your AC maintenance. We will tighten up anything that came loose or just replace older parts if we deem this necessary.
Checking and Testing Electrical Connections
Your air conditioner relies on wires and other electrical connections to help it operate. Our technicians will check all of this during your tune-up service. This will help prevent serious issues like electrical fires from developing.
Lubricating Moving Parts
Various parts inside of your air conditioner rely on lubrication to help ensure smooth operation. Over time, these parts may need lubrication added to help prevent friction between them. This is yet another AC tune-up task that we can handle for you as we inspect your cooling system.
Cleaning the Condensate Drain Line
The condensate drain line helps drain away moisture from your air conditioner. If this drain line can’t do its job, you’ll experience excess moisture buildup within the system. Over time, if left unchecked, this excess water could cause mold or mildew to develop. This is not good as you could become sick if you breathe in mold spores that get distributed throughout your home. IBBOTSON Heating & Air Conditioning Co. will check the condensate drain line and clean it out, if needed.
Inspecting the Outdoor Unit
Your air conditioner consists of two separate units, one indoors and one outdoors. We’ll assess your outdoor unit in addition to your indoor one during your appointment. We’ll look for any issues that might hinder AC performance and get them fixed promptly.
Cleaning the Condenser and Evaporator Coils
We won’t forget about the evaporator and condenser coils while assessing your cooling unit. We’ll clean these vital parts to help ensure ideal system operation.
Things You Can Do to Help Your Air Conditioner
While you should leave the majority of tune-up tasks to our experts, there are a few things you can do yourself. One is replacing the air filter consistently. It’s typical to swap out your AC’s air filter roughly every 90 days. However, if you have smokers and/or pets in your home, you may want to replace the filter sooner than this. Also, if you run your AC nonstop during the summer, consider replacing the filter every month or two.
You can also clean around the outdoor unit. Clear away any debris or dirt around the unit and other obstructions. This will help in the overall functioning of the system.
Also check your thermostat’s battery. Sometimes, when this crucial part malfunctions, it’s usually because of a dead battery. Simply put in a fresh one and see if that helps.
When to Get an Air Conditioner Tune-Up
To make sure your air conditioner’s ready to handle a big workload during the summer, get it checked out sometime in the spring. If you do this, you will be ahead of the curve. Summers are typically quite busy for IBBOTSON Heating & Air Conditioning Co., with available appointment times at a premium. Avoid the rush of the busy season and get your air conditioner tuned before summer arrives.
Benefits of Yearly AC Maintenance
A tune-up is not an optional service. It’s something you should have done at least once a year. One huge benefit of maintenance is that it will help extend the life of your air conditioner. It’s possible you could get up to 15 years’ worth of use out of it. However, this will only happen if you get it checked out regularly.
Your air conditioner also has a warranty. It’s not exciting reading, but it’s important to familiarize yourself with it. The terms will state plainly that you must get your AC maintained on a routine basis. You must also ensure this gets done by professionals trained in HVAC systems. Failure to schedule regular maintenance could void the warranty entirely. The consequences of this mean you’ll then have to pay for all future repairs since you will have lost coverage.
Annual AC tune-ups will also help keep the costs of owning and running your air conditioner down. When your unit runs more efficiently, it won’t cycle unnecessarily or run for longer than it needs to. This will help keep your monthly energy bills down. Routine servicing of your AC by a professional cooling company will also help prevent it from needing expensive repair work.
Contact Us Today
At IBBOTSON Heating & Air Conditioning Co., we’ve served Arlington Heights and surrounding communities since 1946. We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, attesting to the quality of our services. We can not only help with your air conditioning system’s maintenance but also with repairs. If you need a new unit put in, we can do that, too. Call us today to set up service.
