Takes about a minute. No obligation.
When the filter clogs, the blower can't pull enough air across the evaporator coil. The coil gets too cold, moisture on it turns to ice instead of draining away, and airflow drops even further. A system can run like this for a while before anyone notices, which is why it's worth catching before the coil ices over.
Every pound of moisture the coil pulls out of the air has to leave through the condensate drain. Algae and dust build up in that line over time and narrow it until it backs up. When it backs up, the water goes wherever gravity takes it instead of outside, usually down through the ceiling or along the floor near the indoor unit.
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Cooling in Midland starts in May and runs through September.
Have the AC checked in April so it's ready before the first hot month hits.
A tune-up checks things a homeowner has no way to see from the thermostat. The refrigerant charge is one. Too little and the system loses capacity and can ice the coil, too much and it strains the compressor, and neither shows up until the damage is done. The electrical side matters just as much. A capacitor that's starting to fail can still start the compressor most days, right up until the day it can't, and a tech can test it under load instead of waiting for it to quit. The contactor gets checked too, since its contacts pit and burn with every cycle and eventually stop making good contact at all. None of this announces itself with a sound or a smell. It just shows up later as a system that won't turn on.
It starts running hard in the first month of the season here. Book the check the month before.
Find a contractorA thorough tune-up means the panels come off. A tech wants eyes on the blower wheel and the coil, not just a gauge reading taken through a service port. Refrigerant pressure gets checked against the manufacturer's numbers for the outdoor temperature that day, not just glanced at and called fine. The capacitor gets tested under load with a meter, not judged by whether the compressor happens to start that morning. Contacts get checked for pitting, the drain line gets flushed, and amp draw on both motors gets checked against what the nameplate calls for. A quick visit skips most of this. Gauges go on, a temperature split gets checked at the vents, and if the air feels cold enough the tech moves on. That can miss a capacitor that's weak but still working, or a coil coated in dust and quietly losing capacity. The system still runs. It just runs worse, and nobody finds out why until it stops.
A clean filter is the one thing a homeowner controls. Check it monthly and replace or wash it when it looks gray and matted. A filter held up to light should let light through. If it doesn't, airflow is already suffering.
The condenser needs open space around it to shed heat. Keep grass clippings, leaves and mulch away from the cabinet, and keep anything from being stacked or stored against it. A hose can rinse dust off the fins from the outside, but the panels and the inside of the unit should stay for a tech to open.
A tune-up checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the coils, tests the capacitor and tightens the electrical connections.
A tune-up also covers the parts that move outside the cabinet. The blower motor and the condenser fan motor both run on bearings that wear with use, and a motor running dry makes a grinding or rattling sound before it seizes. A tech checks the blower wheel for dirt buildup too, since a coated wheel moves less air even when the motor itself is fine. The refrigerant lines get a look as well, checking the insulation on the suction line and the joints where a slow leak would show up as oil residue. None of these fail on a schedule, but a tune-up catches the one that's closest to going before it takes the system down with it.
