DIY Tips and Care for Your 1.5 Ton AC Unit

An operational air conditioning system is one of the keys to a comfortable home, especially through the brutal summer months. There’s nothing quite as refreshing as coming inside after a scorching hot day and enjoying the pleasures of crisp, cool climate control, not to mention lower humidity.

However, like all fine-tuned machines, air conditioning systems need periodic maintenance and a dose or two of TLC in order to ensure that they continue to run at peak performance. Whether you have a 5 ton or a 1.5 ton AC unit in your home or business, some of these tips and tricks should be able to help you get some extra mileage from your system.

At-Home DIY Maintenance Tips, Tricks and Advice

While you should call a professional to service your 1.5 ton AC unit at least once per year, you can perform some of these basic maintenance procedures right at home, usually fairly easily. Just make sure you shut off power to the unit before you perform any of these maintenance items.

-Change your air filter - Changing your air filter is one of the most basic and important steps you can perform in terms of at-home, DIY maintenance for your air conditioning system. A clean filter will help your system run efficiently, take strain off the blower motor, and protect you and your family by improving the quality of the air circulating through your home.

Every system is a little bit different, but each system should prominently label air filter access. Shut off your system, remove your filter, and inspect it. If it is dark gray or dusty, it’s time to replace it. Otherwise, you should make a habit of replacing it about once every three months at least, whether you think you need it or not.

Otherwise, simply get a new filter of the same dimensions and replace it in the same slot from which you removed the old one. Just be certain that the airflow arrows on the filter are aligned with the flow of air through the system, as indicated.

-Clean your vents

Make sure all of your indoor vents are clean. If your vents are dirty or covered with dust, that will not only diminish the quality of air in your home, but it will decrease the efficiency of your home’s air conditioning system. Simply brush them off or vacuum them using a hose brush attachment.

-Unclog the condensate drain tube

Clogged condensate drain tubes will strain your air conditioning system, regardless of size or seasonal energy efficiency ratio, and can make it difficult for your system to effectively remove humidity from the air. You can pour a mixture of bleach and water down the tube of the outside unit to discourage the growth of algae, mold or other microbes, as well as to check that the drain is clear. If it isn’t you’ll want to clear it.

-Straighten and clean the fins on your outside unit

Bent fins on your outdoor AC condenser unit will drastically reduce the efficiency of operation of your system. Realign bent fins either with a butter knife or a fun realignment tool. Be gentle with the fins; they are typically made from vey soft aluminum and easy to damage. All you need to do is straighten them out so air can flow between them.

If your fins are straight but clogged that’s another similar issue. Occluded fins will also hamper heat transfer and air circulation. Brush them out gently or use a vacuum cleaner with a hose brush attachment to remove dirt, dust, leaves and other debris from between the fins.

-Clean the area around the unit

While you’re working around the outside condenser unit, it’s a great time to make sure that the area around the unit is clear. This will help prevent leaves, dirt, and other debris from getting sucked into the fan or getting blown into the fins. Make sure that the area extending two feet away from the unit in all directions is clear.

-Pro tip: keep the blinds drawn!

While this doesn’t involve actual maintenance to the unit itself, it’s a good idea to keep the blinds drawn in the summer. Not only will this help prevent the interior of your home from getting too hot, it will also work alongside the insulation to prevent the cool air from being lost too quickly. Keeping the blinds drawn can work in your favor to keep your system from working too hard.

How Often Should a Professional Service my 1.5 Ton AC Unit?

While the tips and suggestions in this article should be helpful for most homeowners and business owners, none of them should be considered to constitute a suitable substitution for routine professional service. Your 1.5 ton AC unit should still be serviced by a professional at least once per calendar year, although we suggest professional service two times per year, in the Fall and Spring.

If you’re only going to enlist the help of an HVAC specialist once per year, we recommend having a professional service your unit in the Spring, since that’s the period before which you’ll likely be relying on it heavily.

Contact your professional HVAc service provider in the Spring and set up a time with them to come visit your air conditioning system and tune up any components that are not working as intended. Throughout the rest of the Summer (or at any other time during the year) if your system is making weird noises, not blowing cool air, or blowing slightly cooled air that is very humid, something is wrong and you should contact a service provider right away.

Call Us for Additional Assistance!

If you avy any questions about any of the tips or suggestions in this article, feel free to get in touch with our HVAC specialists here at Budget Air Supply. You can reach us by phone at 855-473-6484 or by email at info@budgetairsupply.com. Get in touch with us and let us know how we can help!

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