Spring Cleaning

Here are some spring tips that will improve your heating and cooling system’s performance.

1. Schedule an air conditioner tune-up

The best thing you can do to ensure your air conditioner works great all summer long is to schedule a tune-up. With a tune-up you are bringing your system up to its peak performance and efficiency levels. This is the best way to avoid breakdowns this summer and keep your cooling bills low.

2. Stock up on air filters

Your air filter should be checked and/or changed every month. By stocking up on filters now, you’ll never be tempted to procrastinate on changing it.

3. Replace batteries in alarms

Spring and fall are the two seasons when you should change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. This will ensure that those detectors will go off if your air conditioner begins to operate in an unsafe manner.

4. Seal air leaks around doors and windows

Some people think that it’s only important to seal windows and doors during the winter months, but that’s not true! Air leaks will waste money all year long. During the cooling season, they allow cool air from your air conditioner to seep outside and warm air from outside to seep indoors. By sealing up your doors and windows with caulk and weather stripping, you can keep your home more comfortable, lower your cooling bills and improve your family’s allergy symptoms.

5. Perform spring cleaning

Spring cleaning is great because it allows you to declutter your home and make everything look fresh and new. It’s also a good way to improve your home’s air quality at the source, because you can remove dirt and dust from around your home that would otherwise get caught up in your home’s airflow and clog up your filter.

6. Change the direction of your ceiling fans

If you changed the direction of your ceiling fans for winter, now is the time to change them back for the summer. Ceiling fans produce a wind-chill effect that make rooms feel cooler, which allows you to raise your thermostat setting in order to save some energy.

7. Put drapes or curtains on exposed windows

The sun is a significant source of heat gain in your home if you have uncovered windows that face its rays. By installing drapes or curtains on windows that get a lot of sunlight, you can block out some of that heat gain and ease the load on your air conditioner.