How to perform AC winterization? A guide by Wayne’s heating and air

9 April 2021

How to perform AC winterization? A guide by Wayne’s heating and air

As winter approaches and your cooling needs reduce, your AC is no longer needed. However, you can’t just leave your AC at the mercy of the freezing weather without proper winterization. At Wayne Heating and Air, we always recommend our customers winterize their AC units just as they would winterize other components of their homes. Winterizing the AC unit helps protect it from the weather and ensures that your AC will be ready for use at its total capacity when you need it next summer. With that being said, most homeowners aren’t sure how exactly should they winterize their AC unit properly to keep it protected during winter. So to help anyone who might be confused about the exact process of winterizing an AC, we at Wayne’s Heating and Air Conditioning have put together this helpful article, and we suggest you read it until the end.

HVAC Maintenance and Winterization Tips

Proper HVAC maintenance and winterization are going to extend the life of your home AC system, and it will keep performing at its peak performance for years to come and there are factors that influence the HVAC maintenance cost. By spending some time each year on the winterization process of your AC, you are potentially saving thousands of dollars in terms of repairs and replacement costs. With that being said, here is how you can properly winterize your AC and keep it running like new next summer:

Clean the condenser unit of your AC:

Before you start the winterization process, ensure that the AC unit is unplugged from the power socket to prevent electrocution. Next, remove any debris such as twigs, leaves or other unwanted items from the top, sides and front grill of the condenser unit. Now use a hose to wash away dirt and debris from the unit to ensure the grills are not clogged. Once all the dirt and debris have been removed, let the outdoor unit dry completely before moving on to the next step. Our trained AC technicians can open the outdoor unit and further clean the outdoor unit’s fans and interior if you have a hard time doing it.   

Covering the outdoor unit:

The main reason an AC unit is winterized is to protect it from the effects of snow. So once you are confident that the outdoor unit is completely dry, you should cover it up with a vinyl or plastic cover. You can easily buy these covers online and at stores, and there are even outdoor unit covers for specific makes and models of ACs. When you are putting on the cover, double-check for any moisture left from cleaning the outdoor unit. That is because water can stay trapped inside the outdoor unit if you cover it for the winter and speed up the rusting process.

Keep an eye on the outdoor unit of your AC during winter:

While covering your AC’s outdoor unit provides a good amount of protection to it from snow and ice, it is still a good idea to routinely check your AC’s outdoor unit during winter. Air conditioning repair companies such as us recommend checking up on your AC once a week during winter to ensure there is no snow or ice build-up on the cover itself.

Do you need help with your AC winterization? Instead of looking up heating and air, get in touch with us at (706) 444-0007 directly for all your AC repair and maintenance needs.