Do you want to extend the life of your home's air conditioning system?
The average residential AC unit is only designed to last for somewhere between 12 and 15 years. But you can improve the life of your system by doing routine AC maintenance on it.
In some cases, you can maintain your AC on your own to make it more efficient. But in other instances, you should bring a professional on board to lend a hand with maintaining your AC.
Make sure you make the right decision when choosing between DIY vs professional AC maintenance. The last thing you want to do is make a crucial mistake when attempting to maintain your AC yourself and cause it to conk out on you sooner than it should.
Let's take a closer look at DIY vs professional air conditioner maintenance to see when you should choose each option. It'll give you a better understanding as far as which jobs you can take on yourself and which you'll need to leave to the pros.
DIY: Cleaning the Space Surrounding an AC Unit
After a long winter, there is a good chance that the AC unit on the exterior of your home will be surrounded by all kinds of things. From leaves and sticks to dirt and even garbage, the area around your AC unit will be a mess.
Feel free to clean these things up yourself to keep the area spotless. This will prevent things from finding a way into your AC unit and causing problems.
You should get into the habit of sweeping and even hosing down the space that surrounds your AC unit on a regular basis. It'll stop things from wreaking havoc on your AC system as a whole at the start of the summer.
Professional: Providing an AC System With an Annual Tune-Up
You can take care of cleaning up the space surrounding an AC unit on your own. Even if you don't have a lick of experience working with HVAC, it's a job that you won't be able to screw up.
But when it comes to DIY vs professional AC maintenance, one job that you shouldn't try to tackle on your own is providing your AC system with its annual tune-up.
Most homeowners have a tune-up performed on their AC system right before they begin using it at the end of the spring or the beginning of the summer. They call on the professionals to do it for them so that they're able to get a clean bill of health for their AC systems.
DIY: Changing the Air Filter in an HVAC System
Your HVAC system contains an air filter in it that's designed to keep the air that circulates throughout your system as clean as possible. It filters things like dust, pollen, pet dander, and more out of the air that moves through your system.
Generally speaking, you should try to replace this air filter every three months or so. You may also need to change it more frequently than that if your house has poor indoor air quality.
The good news is that changing an air filter isn't a job that needs to be done by professionals. You can buy an air filter and put it in yourself in a matter of just a minute or two.
Make sure you label your air filter with the date it was installed so that you know when you'll need to replace it again.
Professional: Replacing Broken Parts in an AC System
Are there strange sounds or smells coming from your AC system? Or is your AC system struggling to keep your home cool these days?
These are both signs that you might have a big problem on your hands with regards to your home's AC system. They're also signs that you need to contact a professional to come and check out your AC system to see what's wrong with it. In the DIY vs professional HVAC repair debate, going the professional route is always the right answer.
Look for an HVAC company in your area that provides residential AC repair services. They'll be able to diagnose the issue with your AC system and get it back up and running in no time.
DIY: Adding Insulation to a Home to Help an AC System
When is the last time you climbed up into your attic and took a look at the insulation levels in it? If you don't have enough insulation or if your insulation is on the older side, it could be taking a big toll on your AC system and preventing it from doing its job.
Fortunately, it's easy enough to add or replace insulation to an attic space as necessary. These guidelines will help break it down for you and make adding insulation to your attic a breeze.
Professional: Installing a Brand-New AC System
One of the big reasons why the right answer in the DIY vs professional air conditioner repair debate is always going the professional route is because the pros can analyze your AC system better than you can and tell you if it needs to be replaced.
They can also handle the installation of a brand-new AC system for you if you need one. It's most definitely not a job for the average DIYer and could prove to be more trouble than it's worth if you attempt to do it on your own.
Understanding DIY vs Professional AC Maintenance Is Essential
As you can see, you don't need to call on a professional to help you with air conditioning maintenance every time you need to have it done. But you also shouldn't insist on doing it yourself in every instance.
Instead, you should think about the DIY vs professional AC maintenance scenarios that we've presented here and choose which approach you take to maintaining your AC wisely. It could be the difference between getting a job done right and getting it done in a way that's going to affect the longevity of your AC system.
Browse through the articles on our blog to get more information on maintaining your home's AC system.
Posted by PreReal™ Prendamano Real Estate on
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