An air conditioner is a household appliance that cools and dehumidifies the air. It can be used to regulate the temperature in a single room or an entire building. An air conditioner that is not properly maintained can cause several problems, including decreased efficiency, higher energy bills, and even health risks. Cleaning and servicing your air conditioner can help it run more efficiently and extend its lifespan.
Air conditioning Central Coast owner Kelly Palmer explains that some homeowners may not be aware that regular cleaning is necessary for their cooling system. Of course, the best way to keep it working well is to treat it like you would any other appliance in your home and maintain its proper use. A dirty air conditioner will run less efficiently than one that is properly maintained, so care should be taken to ensure the unit is kept clean.
If your air conditioner is showing the following symptoms, have it cleaned by a reliable technician immediately.
- The air conditioner emits a funny smell when turned on. If your cooling system has been running for a while and smells bad, it might need to be cleaned because the coils and fins of the system have probably accumulated dirt and dust. You need to get in touch with an air conditioning service provider to get your unit cleaned so you can breathe fresh air again.
- The air coming from the vents is not cool enough or there is hardly any air coming out. This might suggest that your cooling unit needs servicing, as there could be other problems like blockages stopping the refrigerant from flowing freely through the condenser coil, making it harder for the air conditioner to produce cool air. A technician can help you with this problem and make sure your unit is ready for any upcoming warmer days.
- The air coming out of the vents feels damp or stuffy when you turn it on in a room where the temperature is cooler compared to outside temperatures. This could mean that moisture has built up inside your home’s ventilation system, which is caused by dirty evaporator coils in the air conditioner restricting the airflow from blowing into your living space. When this happens, you will need to look at getting your air conditioning unit serviced before it becomes more problematic and expensive to fix later on.
- Your energy bills have been going up lately but there have not been any changes in your lifestyle or usage of the appliances in your home. If this is the case, then you might have a leak in your air conditioning unit that is causing it to use more electricity than normal and causing your energy bill to go up. You need a service provider to diagnose and repair this problem in your cooling system if there is a leak in it.
- There have been some major changes when it comes to exterior temperatures when compared with indoor conditions. This means that there could be issues with either an airflow imbalance or problems with air distribution inside your ventilation system. When airflow imbalances happen, you will find that perhaps one room does not get cool enough while other rooms are too cold which can cause comfort levels to be off in your living space. Air distribution problems similarly result in either too cold or too hot rooms inside the home when the cooling unit is operating so you will need to have a service provider look at your system to see why this is happening and how it can be rectified.
- The exterior fan of your air conditioning unit seems not to be working anymore despite all the other components inside the air conditioning unit that seem to function just fine. This could suggest that there is a problem with the blower assembly on your appliance, which serves as a solution for blades that turn when you switch on the compressor. This part is quite delicate and can stop functioning if dust accumulates on it (which can happen if lint from the air filters clogs it up) so you will need to have it cleaned and/or replaced if it’s beyond repair.
- Ice has formed on the exterior of the air conditioning unit. This is a sign that there is a problem with either the refrigerant charge or the airflow inside the unit which is causing the ice to form on the outside. You should never try to remove the ice by yourself as this could potentially lead to injuries. Contact an air conditioning technician who can help you find and fix the root of this problem.