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Protect Your Air Conditioner from the Intense Summer Heat

Waco couple fanning themselves after air conditioning unit went outThe intense summer heat has devastated AC units all over the Waco, Texas territory. To make sure you’re performing your due diligence as a property owner, here’s what you need to know to protect your air conditioner, your tenants, your property, and your return on your investment.

3 Easy Steps to HVAC Maintenance

1. Clear Your Drain Line

Many, if not most, HVAC failures are entirely avoidable with a clean drain line. A clogged line will fill the unit’s drain pan, which causes a float switch to shut off the unit altogether. The rest is history: the temperature goes up, the service call is made, and your drain line is cleared. And then the bill for that service call is presented.

You don’t have to confront that bill or soil your tenant relationships for something which will be resolved as quickly as with compressed air. All it takes to keep your drain line clear is one straightforward measure of preventive maintenance: Pour a ½ cup of bleach down the (condensation) drain line several times per year.

While this will help to protect your air conditioner, it’s important to note that clogs are made more likely when the AC unit runs more. With recent Texas temperatures at an all-time high, you can bet there’s going to be a cumbersome operation of your tenant’s HVAC unit. Adjust maintenance schedules and tenant expectations accordingly.

2. Schedule Seasonal or Annual Maintenance

As a property owner, you should schedule routine seasonal or annual maintenance for your home’s AC unit. This includes having a professional clean the unit’s coils to prevent them from icing over. You’ll also want to have the HVAC expert check the compressor, fan motor, and other major components to identify problems before they occur. Leaky ductwork and clogged filters, for example, have easy fixes but can quickly overwork the system when left unattended. System failure and the resulting replacement costs are much more expensive. Your tenant won’t have the patience for either consequence.

When you’re scheduling AC unit inspections, you must have one before the heat waves begin. Texas humidity can cause mold to grow over your unit’s parts, and result in additional allergens that can aggravate your tenant’s breathing. Having regular HVAC inspections in the spring is the most efficient way to make sure your system runs better for longer. You also steer clear of breakdown expenses, and you improve your property’s air quality and your tenant’s overall experience.  Systematic maintenance care on the air conditioning units in your rental homes is a necessary element of holding each one perfectly operating for several years. A good A/C unit should last 10 to 15 years, a number that can often go up with proper maintenance. A well-supported A/C unit is also more efficient and contributes nice air quality than one that is not, both of which are key to the sustained efficiency of your rental homes HVAC system.

Warn your tenants that HVAC components are far more likely to fail with the massive unit operation, and it will also significantly impact their utility costs. While keeping cool isn’t negotiable with Waco’s recent temperatures, tenants need to understand how to balance unit efficiency.

3. Educate Your Tenants About Preventative Maintenance

Another easily avoidable cause of HVAC failures? A lack of tenant education about preventive maintenance. Your tenants can pour bleach down the drain line themselves, so be sure to inform them of this practice and its importance at lease signing. Periodic maintenance reminders for your tenants can also be a goodwill gesture. By empowering your tenants to care for the property, they’ll feel a sense of ownership, and they’ll be far less likely to cause unintentional property damage.

With tenant education, you also prevent the cost, danger, liability, and negative tenant experience involved in the wait time for a maintenance professional to arrive. With AC units failing on such a large scale across the Waco area, that wait time could be exceptionally long. The ramifications could not only mean that the unit damage is irreparable, but it also puts tenants at more risk of heat exhaustion and even heat stroke. Both jeopardize far more than your return on your investment, which makes tenant maintenance education more critical than ever.

In Conclusion

Failure to protect your tenants in these summer heatwaves or even prepare them for the possibility of an HVAC failure merely is poor practice. With a property management company like RPM Apex, you can rely on a structured method of maintenance to limit your liability, protect your air conditioner, and encourage positive tenant relationships.

If you’d like to continue researching maintenance and repair tips for your rental property, check out these blogs:

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