Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

PHOENIX — The heat wave that cruised through Arizona this summer was a record-breaking one that cause many around the Valley to crank their air conditioning units.

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

Just because the record-breaking days of summer are behind us, air conditioning maintenance is still a top priority.

When the hot temperature rears its ugly head once again, do not be in a spot where a new AC unit is needed because basic maintenance was missed.

“Think about anything else you maintain like your truck or your body, preventative maintenance is always good for mechanical devices like an air conditioner,” Justin Lang, service manager at Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing said.

“Keeping something that gets dirty during a monsoon like the coils, we cleanse it with some water and keep it clean. Checking on all the things that can go wrong with a unit, we check on, tighten and clean, doing our best to maintain it. Just like checking a truck every 3,000-5,000 miles, checking things that could potentially go wrong before it becomes a bigger issue.”

With the heat came some rain and dust that also affect AC units.

The dust and humidity cause harm to AC units and force them to work much harder to produce the same level of effectiveness.

“Humidity brings a real, big time load on air conditioners, thats when they really work to de-humidify spaces,” Lang said.

“With everything running perfectly and clean in an ideal situation, that does its job. Once you get a dust storm that rolls through those outside coils, whether it is on your roof or the side of your house, those get clogged with dirt.”

Basic maintenance in Arizona goes beyond getting the unit looked at as many factors such as filtration, shade structures, dirt build up and duct work are equally as important.

The storms bring sticks and debris during those dust storms that hit the coils and cause restrictions to air flow, diminishing effectiveness of the unit.

Dust, humidity and debris can also cause issues to basic filtration around the house, not only raising the price of monthly bills but also cause more air flow restrictions.

Despite summer almost in the rear view mirror, it is just as important to get the air conditioning unit checked in the winter as it is during the hot months. Many household items such as gas stoves share the same motor that goes through the heating and cooling system.

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing are offering their VIP Club for $19.99 per month that includes free service calls, 10% discount on all repairs, a free drain cleaning each year, one free plumbing inspection per year, $650 off a new HVAC unit if needed, two free tuneups per year, as well as a two year warranty.

Instead of paying full price for a unit, $200 for a checkup or waiting for the heat to go away, jump ahead of the issues with Day & Night.