Winterizing your Air Conditioner

It is winter, it is snowing-now what do I do with my air conditioner?  That’s a good question, because even though it is so cold that you may not even remember you have an air conditioner, you should remember to follow these couple of steps for you air conditioner:

•  If it is still warm enough out, rinse out your unit with a hose of any debris or dirt that is already there from the summer.  That way it will not be sitting there all winter.
• Cover your unit!  However, do not cover it all the way.  Keep about 5 or 6 inches uncovered at the bottom.  This allows air to come in and keep the unit dry, otherwise condensation can build up underneath the cover.
• Make sure to cover the top-Even if you do not cover anything else, cover the top so that leaves and debris do not get into your unit and block drain holes and also so that snow is not sitting on the blades all winter long
• Shut the power off to your air conditioner.  You can switch the breaker off on your circuit board in the basement, or pull the disconnect switch.  The disconnect switch should be located outside on the wall of your home near your unit.  It can often just be turned around and plugged back in.
• Throughout the winter, check your air conditioner to make sure that there is not too much of a snow or ice build up on top of the cover.  Clear off the snow, so that it won’t weigh down the unit and strain it.

FLAME Furnace is happy to help you with any of these steps, whether over the phone or by coming out to help.  FLAME also offers custom made air conditioner covers and can help you with your disconnect switch or finding the air conditioner breaker in your basement.  Even if the last thing on your mind is your air conditioner when it is freezing out, try to remember to take care of it during the winter months.  It takes care of your during the summer ones!