With the summer cooling season now underway, air conditioners across North America are humming along to provide precious household cooling. Millions of people rely on AC in the summer, but the cooling units won't work forever without a little care and attention. With regular cleaning, you can ensure that your air conditioner operates at top efficiency and you will protect your indoor air quality at the same time. If you are diligent about your air conditioning maintenance, your air conditioning will take care of you.

Maintaining Healthy Lungs

Your HVAC system functions as your home's lungs, especially if you operate on a duct network with a forced air furnace and central air conditioning. Maintenance to your systems is critical to keep them functioning in peak form. Otherwise, the dust will build up in the system, hamstringing its efficiency and circulating through the house and into your own lungs. Instead, follow these tips to keep the HVAC system running cleanly and efficiently:

  • Change out or clean the air filters in your AC unit monthly, or at whatever interval your manufacturer recommends. This is a simple task that you can complete yourself. If the filters get clogged with dust and dirt, the unit will have to expend more energy and potentially overwork or damage itself. Furthermore, that dust will just end up getting blown through the house, lowering the air quality and aggravating allergies and asthma for you and your family.
  • Have the entire unit cleaned and maintained at least once a year. This is a job for an air conditioning maintenance expert who will give the machine a thorough inspection to make sure everything is operating as it should and that the internal parts are clean and undamaged. Your AC unit can lose up to 5 percent efficiency each year that it isn't properly maintained.
  • Don't forget about the ducts themselves. If the furnace and air conditioner are the lungs, the ducts make up the bloodstream that carries treated air around the house. Ducts don't need regular maintenance, but you should have them checked every few years to make sure they aren't accumulating excessive dust and grime and aren't broken or leaking at any point.
  • Install a ventilator in your home if you don't already have one. That way, your system will flush out old, stale air and bring in fresh oxygen from the outside so you aren't just cycling the same dirty air through the house again and again.

If you have any questions about air conditioning maintenance or want to make an appointment to have your system cleaned, contact your local HVAC professional today.