If you need an air conditioning service, chances are that you're breaking out in a sweat on two fronts: because your air conditioner is malfunctioning and because you're nervous about whether the brand you have will be able to be repaired by the service company.
Most air conditioning companies inspect, maintain, and repair all types of air conditioners, so you won't be sweating for long.
Service companies have seen it all
Air conditioning service companies often see units that have been jerry-rigged or otherwise “patched together” by desperate homeowners in a pinch. These patch jobs usually follow a crisis moment – when a resourceful and well-intentioned homeowner assesses a problem and tries to circumvent a service call by rigging a quick fix.
When the quick fix either falls apart or turns into a problem unto itself, the original question spawns a follow-up question: “Will the service company fix all types of air conditioners – and quick fixes-gone-bad on those air conditioners, too?”
In all likelihood, your air conditioner is on this list of major manufacturers and can be repaired by any service company:
- Carrier, which owns Bryant, Payne and Tempstar
- Goodman, which makes Amana and Janitrol
- Lennox, which owns Ducane, Armstrong, Concord, Allied and AirEase
- Nortek Global HVAC, which makes Maytag, Westinghouse, Frigidaire, Kelvinator and others
- Rheem, which owns Ruud
- Trane, which also makes American Standard
- York, which makes Coleman and Luxaire
Make a list of issues
Once a technician arrives at your home for an air conditioning service call, they will inspect your air conditioning system from top to bottom. But before they get started, it always helps to know the full extent of the problem (or problems) you're experiencing with your air conditioner.
After all, no one knows how your particular air conditioner runs better than you do.
So take a few minutes and draft a to-do list. Then compare your observations with family members – even if you have time to send them only a cursory text message before the technicians arrives. You might find that one family member remembered, for example, that he noticed a puddle of water by the condenser or how there is an absence of cool air flowing from one particular register.
Your to-do list doesn't have to be highly detailed or even written in complete sentences. Anything you can tell the service company about your air conditioner will help direct the best efforts during your air conditioning service call. For example, your list might say (or question):
- AC makes a banging noise (or whatever kind of noise) when it starts running
- The circuit breaker often trips when the AC turns on
- AC often turns off before the house cools down
- AC doesn't always turn on even when the thermostat is set 5 degrees lower than the indoor air temperature
- Why is no cool air coming from the register in the upstairs hallway?
- What is that strange smell coming from the registers?
- Why does the family room always feel so much warmer than the dining room when the two rooms are right next to each other?
Next time you need an air conditioning service, consider contacting Experts In Your Home!
