Is it really almost summer again? Warm weather is approaching, and in some areas, it's already arrived (looking at you, southern Arizona). If you were getting your air conditioner ready for warm weather and found that parts of it were broken or worn out, it's good that you found out early enough to get the repairs done before temperatures reach into the 80s, 90s, and above. While you wait for your appointment, you can do more to get the system and your home ready. When the air conditioner is fixed, the steps you took should make cooling your home much more efficient.

Smaller Tasks Within the Air Conditioning System

If you haven't completed these yet, do so now. Change all the filters. If you're in a large house, you might have more than one filter compartment in the wall, especially if your house has more than one zone or story. Change the battery in the thermostat and double-check the programming. Depending on what needs to be repaired, you might have to reset the thermostat again, so write down the settings you want. Dust all vent and air-return openings, and clear leaves and debris from the unit outside. Prune surrounding bushes if there are any.

Getting Your House Ready

You want to ensure your house has a minimum of drafts and leaks. If you've already been around your house to do this in the past, that's great, but it's time to take another look to see if anything has changed. Make sure you have a draft excluder for the door (that will help keep cool air in during hot weather), and that the one you have is still in good shape. If your pets decided it was a toy, you might need to replace it. Look at weatherstripping around all the doors and windows and arrange for any cracked seals to be replaced. Check outlets for drafts by holding a plastic bag over them and sealing the edges with your hands; if there's a draft, you'll see the bag expand as air pushes against it. Get outlet insulator inserts if you do find drafts. Fixing your air conditioner will help cool your home only so much if you have a ton of drafts and leaky spots that will let cool air out.

Peripheral System Tasks

If it's been a while since you had the ducts cleaned, you might want to arrange for that. That should help with any odors that seem stuck in your home and reduce the amount of dust that could potentially fly around. Verify all the vent louvers work and that each room's vent is open.

When you have the air conditioner fixed, you'll be ready to go for summer. Getting all these tasks done before the repair means you'll have less work to do afterward and more time for relaxing in the sun. 

For more information, contact an air conditioning system repair company near you.