When the cold days of winter start winding down, your mind may turn to spring cleaning, putting in a garden, and prepping your lawn for lush growth. Don't forget about your air conditioner. Early spring is the ideal time to check your AC, have it serviced, and get it ready for hot weather. Here are some things you might want to do to get your air conditioning system ready for another year of use.

Clear The Area Around The Condenser

Your condenser has probably been idle for months in the outdoor elements. It might have been buried in snow, covered in leaves, or infiltrated by mice or bugs. When you have a spring tune-up by an air conditioning technician, they will clean and inspect the internal parts of the condenser, but you can get the area around it cleaned up and cleared away. Be careful when sweeping or wiping off the condenser that you don't press against the fins on the side and smash them down as that will cause blocked airflow.

Trim back tree limbs, cut down weeds, and get rid of debris around the unit so there is plenty of circulation and so you don't have to worry about bushes or branches growing into the condenser once the growing season kicks in. You may even want to place a gravel border around the unit if you haven't done so already so you can be sure weeds won't grow up around the condenser.

Clean The Air Conditioning System

Besides the condenser, other parts of the air conditioning system include the air handler, filter, ducts, register grilles, and thermostat. The HVAC technician will clean the inside of the air handler and you can vacuum the dust off of the outside and clean the area around the air handler if it's dusty. You can pull the grilles from the ceiling to wash the dust off, and when they're out, peek inside the end of the ducts to look for dust buildup or mice nests. If the ducts look dirty, have the HVAC technician look inside to see if they recommend having your ducts cleaned.

Schedule Your Service Call

If you don't have a contract with your HVAC company for routine maintenance, then you'll want to schedule a service call before the weather gets hot enough to use the AC. This ensures your system will be clean and in good shape when you first turn it on and start using it. In addition to cleaning the system, the technician services the parts and will let you know the overall condition of your system so you can anticipate future repairs that might be needed.