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Schedule Professional Maintenance Twice a Year

Here’s a quick, comprehensive guide to maintaining your own HVAC.

The best way to maintain an efficient and effective home HVAC unit all year round is to hire an HVAC technician to inspect and perform maintenance on your system every fall and spring. They’ll be able to do a much more detailed inspection that the average homeowner and are capable of cleaning wiring and mechanisms of the unit, which can be a bit more challenging.

That being said, there are some things you can do on your own to increase the lifespan and efficiency of your home HVAC unit if you follow these simple steps:

Buy a Better HVAC Air Filter

The high-efficiency pleated filters available for nearly every home HVAC unit today have an electrostatic charge that works as a magnet. This collects even the tiniest of particles that could otherwise enter your home and reduce your indoor air quality.

Keep 2 Feet of Clearance Around the Outdoor Unit

Make sure that there’s at least 2 feet of space around your outdoor HVAC units.

Clean Debris From Your Outdoor Unit

Remove leaves, dirt, pollen, dust, and twigs from your outdoor home HVAC unit weekly throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Check that lawn clippings aren’t getting lodged into the unit when you’re maintaining your yard.

Check the Refrigerant Line Insulation

At least once a month, inspect the insulation on refrigerant lines that lead into your home. If damaged or missing, replace as soon as possible.

Make Sure Your HVAC Unit Is Level

Each year, make it a point to check and see if your unit is level on firm ground. Inspect the pads underneath for any wear and tear that could cause it to slide or become uneven.

Flush the Condensate Line to Prevent Clogs

Once a year, pour a cup of bleach mixed with water into the air-conditioner condensate to prevent clogs. The mixture will keep mold and algae from building up.

Don’t Close More Than 20% of Your Registers

Don’t close more than 20% of your home’s registers. This ensures that unnecessary strain isn’t being put on your HVAC system as it attempts to run.

Replace Your Carbon Monoxide Detector Battery

Every single year, make sure to replace the battery in your home’s carbon monoxide detector to protect the safety and well-being of your family

AC Tune-Ups and HVAC Service in Dayton & Cincinnati

Everything above is homeowner-level work, and it genuinely extends equipment life. What it can’t reach is the inside of the system: coil cleaning, refrigerant charge, capacitor and contactor condition, blower amp draw, and the electrical connections that account for a large share of mid-summer failures. Those get checked on a professional tune-up, and the reason we recommend spring and fall rather than annually is that the cooling and heating sides of a split system fail for different reasons and at different times — an AC tune-up in April catches what a furnace inspection in October won’t.

A-Abel has serviced heating and cooling systems across Dayton, Cincinnati, Middletown, and the surrounding communities since 1955. Schedule an AC tune-up before the first hot stretch, or call us if your system is already running long, short-cycling, or not keeping up.