The Number One thing you can do to keep your HVAC unit running optimally the longest is to keep the air filters clean. We’re sure you’ve heard the standard of once a month swapping them out, but really it can vary. As often as your conditions require it, you should change out your air filters. In Arizona we are in a high dust environment, as such, you might find your filters could use a more vigorous filter swap schedule. Swap out your old one and check it weekly, noting when it is completely covered. If anyone in your house has allergies, or you have more than a single pet it could need changing as frequently as 20 days.
Another facet of maintenance that you might not think of, and we, unfortunately, can’t keep up to date for you, is the conditions of the area around the unit. If you have an AC unit that sits on the ground in your backyard look to trim back all the foliage about 2 feet away. This will keep anything foreign from getting sucked into the unit and causing damage or poor performance.
These are just two of the easier things a homeowner can do to help improve. There are other things, such as cleaning the coils but if you’re not comfortable around electric don’t stress it. The last thing you want to do is risk injury doing something that we got covered. Next time on the blog, we’ll go over what exactly we do when we maintain your HVAC unit.