Servicing an air conditioner can be expensive, especially if you are following a regular schedule, and many people are left wondering if they could perform the service themselves. Typically, this is not recommended due to the refrigerant and electrical components, which can be dangerous to handle. You don’t want to risk hurting yourself, others, or causing more damage to the unit. But there are some basic repairs and maintenance that you can carry out to keep your air conditioning unit running smoothly. Today ,let us walk you through why you shouldn’t service your air conditioning unit yourself.
Servicing an air conditioning unit yourself
Servicing an air conditioning unit yourself is generally not recommended. It is best to leave a professional to carry out your service, ensuring that it gets the right care and attention. These days, you need the correct tools, equipment, and expertise to access parts of air conditioning systems, making it impossible to service them yourself. It is not recommended that you attempt to open and carry out any servicing on your air conditioner yourself as you could damage the system, hurt yourself, and invalidate the warranty. The main reasons why you should not service an air conditioner yourself are detailed below:
You could injure yourself or others
Air conditioners have lots of electrical components that can cause a serious injury or even death if they are handled incorrectly. You also have pipes carrying refrigerant which can be dangerous to work with. In Australia, you need a license to handle refrigerants, so carrying out a service on your own air conditioner could be illegal. While working with refrigerant and electrical components, you could injure yourself or others in your home, leaving you with serious injuries that can impact your quality of life. It is not worth the risk and you should leave the servicing to the professionals.
You could invalidate your warranty
Carrying out services yourself can cause you to invalidate your warranty. To inspect your air conditioning unit, you need to remove covers to access the electric components and motors. When this is done by yourself and not a technician, you can void your warranty, leaving you unprotected should anything go wrong. SHould the air conditioning system fail under warranty and the manufacturer finds out you have carried out work yourself, your warranty will be void and you will be responsible for any repair and replacement costs.
You could miss areas that need repairs
As you don’t have the same training and experience as technicians, you can easily miss signs or areas that need repairs. Experienced technicians have a range of manufacturer specific tools that help them diagnose issues with specific air conditioning systems. Technicians can also look for potential issues that could arise in the near future, pinpointing potential problems and creating solutions to them.
The experience and access to tools technicians have is something that homeowners do not have, and it is better to let them carry out their work. During your service they can diagnose issues early, preventing further damage or other problems that can be expensive to repair.
You could damage the air conditioning system
If you do not have the experience or training to service air conditioning units, you could end up damaging them. There are many intricate parts that make up an air conditioning unit, and without realising it, you could damage them, leaving you with costly repairs or replacements.
You can easily damage any ducting on your system. Especially if you enter a roof space. You can crush the ducting without realising, which will need to be repaired or replaced, and can be expensive. It is best to leave inspecting and servicing ductwork to the professionals, who are able to disconnect ducts where needed to prevent damaging the entire system as they work.
Air conditioning maintenance you can carry out
While we do not recommend servicing your air conditioner yourself, there are a few things you can do to maintain your air conditioner, keeping it running smoothly and efficiently, including:
- Cleaning and replacing filters that become dirty and clogged to keep air moving freelyÂ
- Cleaning your evaporator coil yearly and checking it regularly for signs of dirt
- Using a fin comb to push aluminum find back into their original positionÂ
- Using a stiff wire to poke your air conditioners drains to prevent blockagesÂ
Book your air conditioning service today
A professional should always be contacted to service your air conditioner, ensuring that any issues are spotted and addressed quickly, without posing any harm to you or others in your home. You can enlist the help of the experts at Sun City Air, who can perform regular servicing and ensure your air conditioning unit runs as efficiently as possible. Contact Sun City Air Conditioning today to book your service.