Maintenance on Your Air Handler
As the weather warms up, everyone will be starting up their air conditioning units, if they haven’t already. Whether you’re running your furnace because you live at ahigher altitude or you’re turning on your AC unit, proper air handler maintenance isessential. Strouse Home Inspections looks at ducts and air handler systems specifically. We want to ensure that they are in good condition and working properly. We also label specific items around the house, so that you know what you’re looking at when it comes to important valves, shuts offs, and maintenance items.So how do you maintain an air handler?
The first thing, when you turn the unit on, listen for any rattling or unusual sounds.If there is rattling, it could be as easy as changing the filter. Or another possibility, would be motor failure. Motor failure will be a bit more difficult to repair and a greater expense than just a filter change. Please be assured, whatever the problem, Strouse Home Inspections will help you to identify the issues and go through your maintenance check list.
Please turn off the unit before proceeding with maintenance.
Here are some of the essential maintenance items:
- Filters: The filters should be changed every three months throughout the summer. Dirty filters restrict proper air flow, this can create extra stress on the fan and motor. Unusual noises from your unit maybe addressed with a simple filter change.
- Drain Your Condensate: The P-Trap should be drained at least once per year. The location of the P-trap will be specific to each HVAC unit. Once you locate the P-trap on your unit, place a bucket underneath it to catch the water runoff. Keep in mind, if there is not any water drainage, then the trap may be clogged.
- Check for any loose wiring. Any loose wires should be firmly pushed back into place.
- With a light damp rag, clean and dust any debris from the unit. A clean unit will aid in identifying leaks that may develop over time. Leaks can be identified by the formation and appearance of rust and corrosion on the unit. Periodic cleaning will help with early leak detection.
As you can see, AC units require regular care. Routine maintenance helps to keep your unit operating safely and efficiently. What other areas of maintenance may your specific unit require? Let Strouse Home Inspection help you with your AC maintenance program. Please be sure to check out our next blog, we will cover AC unit start up maintenance.
By Strouse Home Inspections 5-26-2020
