Your air conditioner represents a significant investment, so you want to do everything you can to keep it in great working condition. You probably understand the importance of having a qualified AC service technician visit your Raleigh home at least once or twice a year to give your heating and cooling system a routine checkup, but if your Air Conditioning is acting strange, and you suspect you might need to call a local Raleigh AC repair company, it’s best to take care of everything you can do on your own before you make that call. After all, many AC repair companies charge for labor on an hourly basis, which means that whatever you can do to make their jobs quicker will save you money. Besides, many common AC problems can be rectified by some well-placed DIY maintenance, so here’s what you should be looking at before you schedule a service call from the pros.
The first thing you should do is make sure your home has power. Calling out an HVAC technician to fix your AC won’t be worth the money if the problem can be solved by calling your electricity provider. You should also check to make sure that your gas service is working if your AC is part of a central system and powered by natural gas.
Next, have a look at your air filters. Dirty filters can prevent air from moving through your HVAC system properly, causing your AC unit to work harder without actually cooling your home. This major inconvenience can be expensive if left untreated until your next utility bill arrives and it’s one of the most common AC problems out there. Fortunately, if caught in the early stages, it’s also one of the easiest to fix. Just check your air filters every few weeks, and replace them if they’re dirty.
Once you’ve looked over your air filters, move on to your thermostat. Make sure it has full batteries and that the display is lighting up properly. After you’ve taken care of that, look at the circuit breaker in your home to make sure it hasn’t tripped. Then examine your indoor AC unit. Some indoor units have switches to power them on and off, so make sure yours is set to “on” if applicable. Your outdoor AC unit has a switch too, but be careful with this one as it is usually connected to several hundred volts of electricity.
Finally, move on to your condensate drain and look for a leak. If there’s water in the pan underneath, there might be a blockage in your drain line causing the drain itself to back up and overflow. Flushing out the line will solve this problem. Once you’ve tried all these things, run your system for a little while and see if the problem has gone away. If you’re still experiencing problems, you’ll be able to call in a local Raleigh AC repair company knowing that you’ve done everything in your power to fix things by yourself.
