For those of us in Texas, summer is here. May was one of the hottest months on record and that sets us up for a real scorcher this summer. That means it’s time to start worrying about keeping your home cool and comfortable again without having to pay a whopper of an electricity bill.
An AC unit can do most of the work when it comes to keeping your home cool in summer, but that will only mean higher energy bills. Luckily, for the savvy homeowner, there are simple cleaning tasks that will help keep your home cool without taxing your wallet.
The best way to keep your home cool and comfortable this summer is by cleaning your air circulation areas and fixtures If you don’t regularly replace your air intake filters, you’re making your A/C work harder to pump air through the clogged vents. Similarly, if you’re fan blades are covered in dust, air flow in your room is greatly hindered.
Consider the following home cleaning tips to stay cool and comfy this summer without cranking the AC or accumulating high energy bills.
Clean Your Fans or Fan Blades
To take the pressure off your AC unit, you need to keep your fans operating to their optimum during this summer. Fans do not help in dropping the overall house temperature, but they make your home’s occupants feel cooler as they help cool air circulate throughout the room. This not only moves hot air but also helps moisture to evaporate of your skin.
Take a rolled towel, t-shirt, Swiffer, or vaccum and wipe down your fan blades every month. Because fans rely on cutting through the air to keep air moving, any debris on the fan blades will hinder that. Also make sure you set your fans to reverse air flow during the summer months (set that little plastic switch so the blades blow air up). This will send cool air up and it will cascade throughout the room as opposed to being blown straight down.
Clean Your Window Screens
In the event that you circulate outside air into your home during the summer, you’ll want to make sure that your screens are clean and clear. Not only do dirty screens mess with the air quality in your home, but they’ll also take your air intake.
Start by removing the screens and inspecting if they are damaged as well as their level of dirt accumulation. If they are only a little dirty, use a brush to remove the loose dust. If they are dirtier than that, use a vacuum cleaner to clean off the loose dirt and dust but take care not to damage the screens.
If the screens have serious dirt and grime accumulation, consider carefully scrubbing them using lukewarm water and soap.
Clean Air Vents/Intakes
It’s imperative that your air vents and intakes stay clean at all times. Air ducts and intakes are often clogged with excessive amounts of dust, debris or hair. If not cleaned for a long time, they inhibit the quality of air getting into your home and can cause discomfort to your family and guests by filtering pathogens and bacteria throughout the house. Clogged air intake can also exacerbate allergies for those who are allergic to airborne allergens Clogged vents also make it hard for air to circulate within your home, again, putting excessive pressure on your AC unit.
For replacing your filters, just unlock your vent and pull the dirty filter out replacing it with the same size filter. You can find them at most grocery and/or hardware stores.
For your vents, they can typically be cleaned using a vacuum attachment. However, if there is excessive dust, you might want to clean them with a wet towel or sponge to really rid it of debris.
Clean Your Exterior AC Unit
As said earlier, your AC provides most of the cooling required by your home in summer. Just like your air intakes, your exterior A/C unit has a heavy duty air filter that needs cleaning. In most cases you can use a hose attachment that provides a high pressure stream to spray out dirt and debris from your A/C filter grate. If that doesn’t do the trick, there are commercial grade cleaners that you can buy to spray into the grate and spray out.
Also be aware of high dust times, like when you mow the lawn. Be sure to shut off your A/C while mowing the lawn until the dust settles, that way your A/C unit doesn’t take in all that extra dust and send it through the house.
As always, if you’re not able to take care of these cleaning tasks yourself, we highly recommend you get the help of a professional cleaning company. Contact us today for personalized, professional, and satisfaction-guaranteed residential cleaning services for comfy living this summer!
Not ready to pull trigger on a cleaning? You can get a free quote from Maid-zen today!
