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Contractor Advice, Home Warranty, America's Preferred Home Warranty, Home Maintenance

Contractor Cornerstones: A/C Spring Maintenance for Homeowners

Posted on March 11, 2020 | by Clive Gillett

Have you noticed? Spring is in the air: The snow is melting, actual grass is visible, and the temperatures are steadily increasing (at least for the moment). In today’s episode of Contractor Cornerstones, we’re looking ahead to prepare for actual warm weather—by maintaining the air conditioner now.

From the Professionals

Service Manager Andy Miller of Lammers Heating & Air Conditioning in Jackson, Michigan, had a few suggestions for a standard central air conditioner:

Spray the outside unit off with a hose using normal household pressure. DO NOT use a power washer, which can cause damage.
Keep grass clippings and other vegetation away from the unit, but DO NOT use a weed-wacker near it—you could damage the fins, leading to potential coolant leaks. Either pull by hand or use a weed killer.

Save Some Money!

Of course, Andy recommends a maintenance tune-up as well, but only to save you money in the long run.

“While a standard annual tune-up may run around $80 or $90, an air conditioner failure could cost $100s in repairs, or quite a bit more in replacement,” Andy said. “Regular service calls should prevent those extra visits, and they’ll also keep your machine running efficiently, saving you quite a bit in energy costs as well.”

So while you’re opening windows and enjoying that refreshing breeze, take a moment to maintain your A/C—It’ll keep you cooler later!

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How to Winterize Your HVAC A/C Unit

Posted on November 14, 2019 | by Clive Gillett

Most of the northern states are already covered in snow, but we’re expecting a warm-up to melt it all away by next week. Take advantage of that melt-off and winterize your HVAC air conditioner, if you haven’t already.

Why winterize it?

Simply put, preparing your unit for winter can save you money in repairs.

It will:

Prevent debris from getting caught inside (creating jams)
Prevent small woodland creatures from nesting inside
Prevent the unit from starting up on a warmer winter day
- (Allow melting ice and snow to melt and drip inside the unit, refreezing and causing damage)
Protect your piping

Want to know how?

Visit “Time to Winterize Your Central Air Conditioner”* for a step by step checklist.

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^*America’s Preferred Home Warranty is not affiliated with and has not collaborated with FrostKing.com in any capacity.

We’ve Got Goosebumps! CSRs Trained in ‘Chill’

Posted on April 29, 2019 | by Clive Gillett

With A/C season right around the corner, America’s Preferred Home Warranty (APHW) wanted to ensure easy communication between contractors and their customer service representatives (CSRs). Enter Andy Miller, a service manager for Lammers Heating & Cooling in Jackson, Michigan, to train them in ‘chill.’

“APHW hired me to teach a refresher course on air conditioning components, equipment, and general knowledge,” Andy said. He displayed the common parts and components of an air conditioner to the CSRs, explaining how and why they might fail, and the causes behind it.

“It’s different when you can touch and see the equipment—when you can discuss it with a professional—than it is just to Google the part,” said Rusty Reynolds, the Call Center Operations Manager at APHW. “The development of our people is critical. When you know your job inside and out, it makes you more efficient and less stressed at the end of the day.”

Andy visited the company once before as well, covering furnace parts and components. “This sort of training is very proactive,” he said. “It helps their CSRs know what contractors are talking about over the phone—now they can picture the parts being discussed.”

The employees showed plenty of interest in the sessions, engaging with the technician. “They asked a lot of questions both times, even some questions I wasn’t expecting,” Andy said, adding that he’s pleased to see APHW pushing the education. “We deal with a lot of other home warranty companies that know nothing about what we’re talking about, and it’s like pulling teeth,” he said. “Giving them an idea of what we’re telling them helps us out.”

“Being able to support the industry with knowledgeable people is great for everybody,” Rusty said, adding that APHW’s employee development program will host more of this type of training in the future. “It feels good that we can do this as a company—it’s a win for everyone.”

Temperatures On The Rise? Don’t Sweat It

Posted on March 11, 2019 | by Clive Gillett

I know there’s still snow on the branches and ice in your driveway, so your air conditioner is probably the farthest thing from your mind. Don’t keep it on the back burner, though, or you may find yourself in hot water, or rather hot air.

Okay, puns aside, it really is important that you do a maintenance check on your A/C unit before you actually need it. It’s easier than you think. Here are a few tips on how to give a standard outdoor unit a once-over.

Cut the Power: Turn the breaker box switch off for your A/C unit and test the power source to ensure it’s off prior to any cleaning. Those fan blades are no joke.

Clean It Up: Trim back any nearby foliage or flowers. Clear away any leaves or debris and do what you can to remove as much outside dirt as possible. A brush attachment on a Shop-Vac works well, or a light spray from the hose. DO NOT use a pressure washer—it could cause damage.

Test It Out: Once it’s cleaned up, restore the power and give it a quick test. This is easier with two people, one outside at the unit, and the other at the thermostat to turn on the A/C. That way if anything seems off, it’s a quick tap to turn it off, rather than having to run back inside.

For more in-depth DIY maintenance of your A/C unit, check out this article on the DIY Network.

There are occasions when hiring a professional is the way to go, such as performing an in-depth tune up, or if it is malfunctioning of course. If you’re unable to perform these steps on your own or if it has been a while since its last tune up, you may want to consider scheduling a visit. Experts recommend tune-ups on an annual basis, typically in the spring.

Not everyone is the handy type, but you don’t have to be for some basic maintenance. It’s worth more than just keeping your machine running longer and more smoothly—it also helps prevent a larger hit to your wallet. Just pick a day sometime in the next couple of weeks when it’s not raining or snowing, and get it done. Trust me, it’s worth it.

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