A window air conditioning unit can be an economical way of cooling a room in your house. Unfortunately, homeowners will often fail to adequately care for these devices, and this can lead to serious problems. If you rely on window air conditioning units to keep your home cool, you should be following three key maintenance tasks.
Clean The Interior Vents
The interior vent of the air conditioner can be easy to overlook, but it will accumulate large quantities of dirt and dust. Cleaning the vent with a damp cloth will allow you to remove these particles before they can lower the air quality in your home or contribute to mechanical problems with the unit. You will want to perform this maintenance at least once a month if you are to keep your air conditioner as clean as possible.
Keep Plants Away From The Exterior Of The Window Unit
Allowing foliage to grow near the exterior of the air conditioner can be a serious mistake. These plants will impede the air from being pulled into the system, and they can contribute to debris getting lodged in the air conditioning system. Regularly trimming the foliage away from the exterior will prevent these issues from interfering with the performance of your unit. If your unit is on an upper floor, you may want to talk with a company like Air Time Heating & Cooling. A professional will be able to trim away any tree branches as this can be a dangerous task to do.
Treat The Unit For Insects
Insects are often attracted to air conditioning units for a number of reasons. In particular, they offer shade from the intense heat and shelter from storms, and there is often water available due to condensation. Once these insects are living in the air conditioning unit, they will easily be able to enter your home. Regularly treating the window unit with pesticides can be vital for neutralizing these pests. However, there may be a smell of pesticide for a few minutes after you first activate the unit. During this time, you may want to keep your windows open to allow the system to fully vent.
If you use a window air conditioning unit, you will want to have a thorough understanding about the needs of these systems if you are to get the best performance out of them. Learning about the need to keep the interior vent clean, trim plants away from the exterior unit, and treat it for pesticides will allow you to minimize potential performance problems.
