4 Reasons Annual Cleaning Of Your Central Air Conditioner Is Important

When you're busy or money is tight, you may not want to be bothered with air conditioning maintenance. Skipping maintenance could be a bad idea since it could cause you to spend more time or money later on. Here are four reasons annual cleaning of your central air unit is important.

1. A Dusty AC Could Affect Air Quality

The filter keeps a lot of dust out of the air handler, but it can't keep it all out, especially if you forget to change the filter. When dust accumulates, it can be stirred around and blown through the ducts and in your home. You might notice your furniture gets dusty fast.

The dust that accumulates on your furniture floats in the air first and can affect your allergies if you're sensitive. Cleaning out the air conditioning system and putting in a new filter might make the air in your home cleaner and cut down on circulating dust.

2. Dirty Coils Keep Your AC From Cooling Your Home

Refrigerant passes through the evaporator coils in the air handler. When those coils get coated with dust, the refrigerant can't pull as much heat from your home, so your home won't get as cool as you want even if the air conditioner runs continuously. An air conditioning service will clean these coils when needed so there is no buildup on them and so your AC will be more efficient.

3. A Dirty Blower Fan May Struggle To Turn

Air circulates through the AC system because the blower fan spins when the AC kicks on. When the fan or motor controlling the fan gets caked with dust, the blower struggles to keep turning. This causes the AC to overheat, and as a built-in safety measure, the AC may shut down until repairs are made.

4. Dirty Condenser Parts Can't Cool The Refrigerant

The outside condenser has coils that cool down the refrigerant so it turns from a gas to a liquid. If the fan can't blow enough air because the condenser is dirty, then the refrigerant won't cool your home very well. Since the condenser is outside, it can get dirty quite easily.

The fan and coils can get grimy. Even the fins can be blocked with dirt and grass clippings so air can't circulate through the unit. When your AC is cleaned in the spring, the technician services the indoor and outdoor unit so both are clean and ready to work efficiently. While the AC service cleans the condenser thoroughly, you may also have to clean it yourself as summer progresses to keep grass clippings and debris out of the fins.

Contact an HVAC company to learn more about air conditioning

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