Getting Your Air Conditioner Ready for Summer

Most of us don't give our air conditioners a thought till that first hot, insufferably humid day. But with a little cleaning and maintenance beforehand, you'll be sitting cool when everyone else is lugging their AC to the repair shop. Moreover, an annual inspection and cleaning ensures lower operating costs and a longer life for your cooling equipment, whether it's a central air conditioner or a window- or wall-mounted room unit.

Room Air Conditioners
You can leave room units in place all year long and cover them when they're not in use, but they'll last longer if you remove and store them during the cool season. Before you reinstall a room air conditioner in its window opening, inspect and clean the cooling fins and coils on its outside exhaust surface. (The unit should have an access panel you can remove to clean them; consult your owner's manual for instructions.) Because these coils are constantly wetted during the cooling season, they're real dust magnets. Make sure the unit is disconnected from power, then brush or vacuum out the dirt and debris as best you can. Also check for clogs in the drain channels, located at the bottom of the unit toward the outside. If drains are clogged, excess moisture will condense and water will collect that can drip on and discolor walls or carpeting. Clean the channels by passing a stiff wire through them.

Next, check the air filter. This usually requires removing the unit's front grille; again, check your manual for instructions. Vacuum the filter or wash it in warm sudsy water, then rinse and dry it completely before you reinstall it. If the filter is torn or shows wear, replace it with a new one from the same manufacturer. With the filter still out, you'll be able to get to the intake cooling coils that sit directly behind it. Vacuum any dust from the coils—dirt here is the most common cause of poor cooling efficiency.

When you mount the unit, choose a window in a shaded spot on the home's north or east side if at all possible. Direct sunshine on an air conditioner decreases its efficiency markedly—as much as 10 to 15 percent. Trees or shrubs near the air conditioner can offer useful shade; just make sure they don't block the airflow.

Before you set the air conditioner into the window, check the unit's support structure to make sure it's in good shape and it's fastened to the frame properly. Replace any badly rusted screws or bent brackets. After you mount the unit, inspect the seal between the window frame and the air conditioner. Gaps can let moisture in and allow cool air to escape from your home. Replace the gasket if yours doesn't seal well. Also, make sure that the air conditioner is level, or sloping slightly down and away from the window, to ensure that condensed moisture won't drain into the house.

Because a central system relies on the furnace's blower to whisk cool air around your home, check the furnace filters and replace them if they're dirty. Clogged filters increase energy consumption and can even make the heat exchanger's cooling coils freeze up. Therefore, it's wise to check these filters monthly.

If you have any questions about the condition of your central system—or reservations about its performance—have it professionally inspected and tuned up.

Sandor Nagyszalanczy has been a professional journalist for 15 years and is a former senior editor of Fine Woodworking magazine. With 23 years of experience designing and building custom furniture and cabinetry, Sandor is the author of six books on tools and woodworking published by Taunton Press.

Tools

Vacuum

Scrub brush

Materials

You'll need:

Air conditioner gasket

Rust-Oleum®

Furnace filter

Room AC filter