You’ve likely been running your air conditioner all summer, and if problems have developed, you might not have been able to treat them the right way. But with summer officially over and fall here, now is the time to get your air conditioner checked for problems and repaired if issues have arisen. It gives you the maximum amount of time to treat the issue and ensures that your air conditioner will be ready to go as soon as you need it in the spring.
MAINTENANCE HELPS
Ideally, you should schedule a maintenance session with a qualified air conditioning technician to check your system for any problems that may have developed over the summer. It’s a kind of tune-up for your AC, and allows the technician to correct little problems like loose bolts as well as checking for bigger ones that might require a formal repair service. That’s an easy and efficient way to make sure your system gets the attention it needs.
LOOKING FOR SIGNS YOURSELF
If you’re not able to schedule maintenance, or a technician serviced the system at the beginning of the summer and you don’t feel a second session is merited, you can still check your AC for signs of any unusual activity. Only a trained professional should examine the interior of the system. Air conditioners contain potentially dangerous components like refrigerant, and only professionals can properly determine the cause of any issue.
That doesn’t mean you can’t notice when something is wrong however. Anything that doesn’t match your air conditioner’s regular functioning should be cause for concern. More specifically, look for the following common signs of a problem.
- Strange noises. These include anything you don’t recognize as part of your system’s normal noises: bumps, grinds, hum, whistles or clangs. In most cases, the strange noise will start and stop when you turn your air conditioner off and on.
- Reduced cooling levels. If you turn the system on and only warm air comes out, you can probably deduce the need for repairs. But it doesn’t need to be that overt. Sometimes, it can be as simple as cool air coming out of the vents that doesn’t feel quite as cool as it normally does.
- Low air flow. If the air doesn’t emerge from the vents as swiftly as it normally does, there might be a blockage or a breach in the ducts. It can also be caused by problems with the fan or fan motor, all of which require a service technician’s attention.
- Higher bills. In some cases, the problem doesn’t manifest with anything overt, but components in need of repair or replacement will reduce your system’s efficiency: driving your monthly bills up. If you found yourself paying more for air conditioning on a monthly basis this summer, even if you didn’t use the system more than normal, it might be time for a repair call.
For quality air conditioning repairs and maintenance throughout the Portland, OR area, call on the friendly technicians at Western Heating & Cooling today!