The summer will soon be upon us, and the temperatures are only going higher every summer throughout the world. India is already a hot and humid country, and the coming summer will bring along exceedingly high temperatures. So, you might want to be ready to beat the heat this year. If you own an AC, you should know how to maintain it and how to be completely ready before the summer hits. In this article, we will explain how you can maintain your AC easily.
Top 7 Tips To Maintain AC Before This Summer
These are the seven most common but effective tips to keep your AC maintained before the summer arrives so that you can be completely ready to beat the heat without seeing huge electricity and repair bills.
1. Clean The Air Filters
Keeping an AC clean not only increases its cooling efficiency but also improves its lifespan. Air filters are an important component of any AC, as they keep the airflow clean from dust and dirt. However, they also get clogged pretty easily, usually after 2-3 months of usage. Hence, they should be cleaned regularly, especially before the summer arrives. The best way to clean an AC’s air filter is to remove them and clean off the dust using warm running water.
2. Get Your AC Serviced Regularly
Just cleaning the air filter isn’t enough, though. Even the evaporator coil, which is placed behind the air filters, catches a lot of dirt and dirt. However, it isn’t as easy to clean as the air filters, and you need specialised tools to clean the evaporator coil without damaging its fins. Water pressure washers are a popular choice for cleaning an AC’s coil and fins. However, if you don’t have experience in cleaning ACs, you should consult a reliable AC service provider that has experienced engineers that can do it for you.
If you don’t take regular care of the coils, it may lead to corrosion and leakage of refrigerant gas. While small leakages can be easily repaired, sometimes the entire coil may need to be replaced, and that can cost upwards of ₹5,000.
Also Read: 10 Most Common AC Problems & Their Solutions
3. Check For Leakages
Since air conditioners primarily work by moving heat to cool a room, they should not have leakages. If there is a leakage in any part of the AC, it doesn’t run as efficiently as it should, consuming more electricity and not cooling as much as it should. Prolonged usage in such a condition can even result in an AC’s breakdown. Our internal data shows that more than 50% of AC breakdown cases involve low gas pressure, which is mostly a result of leakages. Hence, you should get your AC checked for leakages by your service engineer before the summer hits.
4. Unclog The AC Drain Pipe
The AC’s drain pipe, which removes moisture from the AC’s indoor unit, can sometimes get clogged. And that can result in standing water or even mouldy smell. Even if that is not the case, you should unclog the AC’s drain pipe at least once every year, especially before the start of the summer season so that the AC can run as efficiently as possible when it is needed the most. It is recommended to use a thin and stiff brush along with warm water to unclog the AC’s’ drain pipe.
5. Clean The Outdoor Unit
The AC’s outdoor unit, which is usually located outside the window or on the terrace, has a compressor, a condenser coil, and a fan. Since it is placed in the open, it can get dirty pretty easily. Although outdoor units are designed to work even in tough conditions, cleaning off dust and debris only makes it more efficient.
6. Use The Correct Temperature Settings
It is usually people’s habit to turn on the AC and set it to the lowest possible temperature setting (16°C or 18°C) so that they can feel relieved from the heat as soon as possible. However, that is not the right way to use the AC and it can reduce the AC’s lifespan and result in high electricity consumption. India’s Ministry of Power recommends setting the AC’s temperature to 24°C because sets a fine balance between cooling, experiencing a comfortable temperature, and power consumption. It is also recommended by some experts to use the AC in combination with a ceiling fan to reduce power consumption.
7. Replace The Batteries Inside The AC Remote
In India, most people who have an AC installed in their home keep it unused throughout the monsoon and the winter. And when the summer comes, they turn on the AC to find it not functioning as well as it should. A lot of times, the AC’s remote control doesn’t work because its batteries are out of charge. If you don’t want to face this issue when the summer comes, replace older AA or AAA batteries in your AC’s remote control unit with newer ones beforehand.
If you follow these seven AC maintenance tips, you can keep your AC completely ready and enjoy the summer rather than spending money and time in getting it fixed if something goes wrong.
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