HVAC maintenance can make the difference between keeping cool all summer and being caught in the heat and humidity when your equipment breaks down. Annual maintenance by a professional is necessary for your warranty, and it's also important for preventing breakdowns. In the spring and summer, maintenance is done on the condenser outside and part of the air handler indoors. Here are some parts of the air handler that need maintenance to keep your AC going.
The Condensation Drain And Pan
Refrigerant runs through the evaporator coil in the air handler. This makes the coil cold. Warmer air from the house is pulled into the air handler and blown over the cold coil. This causes condensation to form and drip off of the coil and land in a pan. The pan has a drain connected to it that the condensation runs down to the outside of your house.
If the drain is clogged, water can't get out, so it builds up in the pan and eventually rolls over onto the floor. During a routine maintenance visit, the HVAC maintenance technician can blow out the drain to make sure it doesn't have any clogs, and then treat it with a product that kills algae so you won't have to worry about algae clogs during the summer.
The technician can also check the pan for rust and holes and make repairs if needed. If the pan has a float switch, the technician will test it too since the float switch will shut the AC off if water gets too high as a prevention against water damage.
The Evaporator Coil
The evaporator coil may not need to be serviced unless it is dirty. If dust blows through the air handler and lands on the wet coils, the dry dust turns to wet grime. If the grime builds up, the coil might ice over. Even if no ice forms, the grime can cause your AC to be inefficient. If the coil is dirty, the HVAC maintenance technician needs to clean it.
The Blower
The blower moves air through your house, so it's an important part. Like the evaporator coil, if the blower is clean and in good shape, it may not need much maintenance. However, the blower can get clogged with dust, and when that happens, the blower should be cleaned out so it works optimally. The technician might also check the blower motor to make sure it is still in good shape and ready to last another summer.
If these parts of the air handler are in good shape, your AC should put out cool air at a volume that cools your home. However, it's also important to change the filter regularly through the summer. Plus, the HVAC maintenance technician also has to check and service the condenser outside to wrap up the annual tuneup.
Reach out to a local HVAC maintenance service to learn more.
Share1 June 2023
Think about how different your life would be without plumbing. To get water, you would have to walk outside and pull it up from a well. To use the bathroom, you would have to venture out to an outhouse, which would certainly not be pleasant in the winter. We really have to thank plumbers for the work that they do, since it allows us all to stay comfortable and do our business inside of our homes. Life has been transformed, in so many ways, by the plumbing profession. Join us in honoring plumbers by reading the articles on this website.