There’s nothing worse than being stranded in your house on a hot day and discovering that your air conditioner isn’t working correctly to keep you cool. AC units can be fickle equipment that refuses to function correctly when you fail to maintain them.
Even though AC units are meant to be used in the summer, they still require your care to withstand the severe weather of the changing seasons. Ice, water, and debris accumulate in and around your unit over the winter. Your AC unit can get clogged, rust, and even decay if it is not properly secured against the coming cold.
Repair companies, like Countryside for example, are ready to assist you with either repairing or insulating your unit when the time comes. Here are four tips for winterizing your air conditioner.
Clean Your Unit
The air conditioning system can become covered with falling leaves and bird droppings throughout the autumn season. The longer debris is allowed to accumulate on your system, the more probable it is to cause a failure. Remove any twigs, grass clippings, leaves, dead bugs, bird droppings, dust, and filth. Wash your device with a garden hose before the weather gets chilly. Throughout the winter season, you should also clear debris from your air conditioning unit regularly, particularly after storms.
Insulate The Pipes
To have protection against freezing, install tubular foam or rubber insulation around the pipes. Make sure you pick self-adhesive insulation with tees and elbows that conform to curves and bends to create a tight seal. To ensure a close fit, start with the tees and elbows. Throughout the winter season, you should also test your insulation to ensure it hasn’t gotten loose.
Cover Up Your AC Unit
AC systems are designed to endure rain, ice, and snow, but they have limited protection against leaves, nuts, and seeds. To keep debris away, it’s important to cover your system throughout the autumn. However, you should not just cover your system with an old tarp since moisture may collect below. Furthermore, animals may regard the tarp as a haven from the weather. Many manufacturers provide coverings that are mainly intended for air conditioners. If you can’t locate one, utilize a plastic or vinyl covering that goes over the system and allows approximately a yard of the open area above the surface for air to circulate through.
Conduct Routine Checks
Even if you did an excellent job winterizing your AC, you should still examine it each week to ensure the covering is secure. You should also brush away water puddles, snow, and ice regularly, as well as remove twigs, leaves, and pine cones. It may appear to be an unneeded hassle, but annual inspections may mean the difference between an effective AC and one that requires lots of money for servicing due to negligence. To ease the process, you should contact HVAC experts from Magnolia Heating and Cooling to perform annual checkups on your AC unit.
If you follow the four tips above, you can be confident that your air conditioning unit will be operational come winter.