How You Should Get Your Air Conditioner Ready for the Off Season

Now that winter is on the way, it’s time to get your outdoor unit ready for the season. Winterizing the air conditioner isn’t difficult, but it can pay dividends by keeping the equipment clean and protected from damage caused by nesting rodents, corrosion, or falling ice.

Steps to Take to Safeguard the A/C For the Winter

It only takes a few simple steps to make sure that your air conditioner is well-protected over the winter. First, gather a few necessities, including a garden hose, some tubular foam pipe insulation, a fitted cover or a square piece of plywood and a couple of bricks or a concrete block. Once you’re prepared, here’s what to do:

• Clear away dead leaves, grass clippings and other yard debris from around the unit.
• Using the garden hose, gently rinse off the unit to remove dust, dirt and bugs. Then, let it dry thoroughly before proceeding further.
• Next, locate the unit’s shut off switch, open the lid and flip the switch to disconnect the power supply. This protects the condenser in case your thermostat accidentally gets switched from heating to cooling mode.
• Then, cut the foam pipe insulation to size and cover the coolant pipes to protect them from freezing.
• Once the A/C is clean, dry, shut off and insulated, install a fitted cover but make sure it’s ventilated so moisture-laden air isn’t trapped around the unit.
• If you don’t have a cover or the unit is located where it’s exposed to falling ice and needs extra protection, place a square of plywood on the top and weigh it down with a couple of bricks or a concrete block.
• Never wrap the unit up in a plastic tarp, as this can keep condensation inside and encourage rust and corrosion, and it can also give rodents a cozy, wind-proof nesting spot.
• Don’t forget to change the air filter in the indoor unit and call your HVAC professional to schedule furnace maintenance before heating season begins.

For more tips about getting your air conditioner ready for winter, contact the Middletown HVAC experts at C.R. Wolfe Heating & Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Middletown, New York about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air conditioners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 845-367-4482.

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