Air conditioners getting a workout during Sask. heat wave

Mother Nature is turning up the heat this week, which means residents of Saskatchewan will be turning up their air conditioning.

Curtis Beingessner from Arrow Plumbing and Heating has tips to keep in mind when getting your air conditioning unit ready to roll for the hot streak.

“The biggest thing a lot of people overlook is the furnace filter,” Beingessner said. “That is one of the main lifelines for your air conditioner. Make sure it is clean and not too restrictive.

“People buy these restrictive filters to help with allergies and what they don’t realize is it takes three times as much air to cool a house as it does to heat it. So you need as much airflow as you can get.”

Beingessner also suggests making sure your air conditioner drain is free and clear of debris, and having a close look at your condensing unit.

“If there are any twigs or sticks hanging out anywhere, make sure your unit is shut off and try to get rid of the twigs,” Beingessner said.

“The coil itself on the unit outside has to be clean, so if there is any poplar fuzz or anything that has been plugging off the coil side of things, then it needs to be cleaned out because it does drastically reduce the efficiency of the condensing unit.”

While doing your pre-summer check, make sure to keep an eye out for signs to call the maintenance person.

“If you get into a hot-day situation and you’ve turned it on earlier in the morning and had all your windows and blinds closed and it’s still having trouble keeping up, there are a couple things that can cause that,” Beingessner said.

“Maybe it’s not sized properly, or maybe it’s lost its charge a little bit over the winter months or last couple years and you just haven’t noticed it. If you see any oil residue or anything like that on the outside unit or on the lines, then that’s an indication there is a leak and it needs to be addressed and you need to have a service call.”

In May the province was hit with snow and rain, with some areas getting more than others. This led to some people hearing their sump pumps turning on. Beingessner recommends checking your sump pumps before leaving on summer holidays.

“Make sure your sump pump floats,” Beingessner said. “The biggest thing is making sure that float is free and clear.

“Also, it maybe wouldn’t hurt if it hasn’t run for a little bit to throw some water on the sump pit and get it to pump it out and make sure there are no leaks in any hoses or pipes or whatever you have and it can get rid of that discharge for you pretty simply.”

Beingessner cautions people to watch where they place their sump hose to avoid irritating neighbours.

“Make sure any water you are getting rid of is not flowing to your neighbour’s (property),” Beingessner said. “If it’s simply just flowing out of your yard and flowing over to the neighbours’, you’re going to create some problems for them.

“So anywhere you pump it out, whether that be out to the streets somehow or a back easement, that would be your best bet. Unfortunately, we have to get rid of it somewhere.”