5 DIY AC Repair Tips

When the hot Utah temperatures reach into the triple digits, the last thing you want as a homeowner is for your air conditioner to break down or stop working. If you suddenly find yourself having air conditioning issues, your first thought may be to look up AC Repair in Salt Lake City.

Before you pick up the phone, you should know that you have a lot of options and you can tackle the troubleshooting on your own prior to having a technician visit your home. Below, we’re sharing 5 DIY AC repair tips for homeowners to follow when you’re experiencing issues with your AC before calling for help.

Check the Thermostat

If your air conditioner isn’t cooling your home like it should, first check your thermostat. Homeowners typically set the thermostat and forget about it, but sometimes the thermostat can return to the original settings. Make sure it’s set below the room temperature and see if the air kicks on. If it doesn’t, a quick reset can sometimes fix the cooling issue quickly.



Old batteries may also be what’s causing your thermostat not to work correctly, so be sure you swap out the batteries for new ones. Make sure dead batteries aren’t the problem before you call for HVAC services in Salt Lake City.

Inspect the Circuit Breaker

If the power to your HVAC unit has completely stopped, take a moment to check out your circuit breaker. You’ll typically find the breaker in the main electrical panel, and the circuit breaker controls the power going into your house. If the breaker can’t handle the excess load, it trips and turns the power off. This can happen because of the number of appliances or extra pieces of electric items connected to the same breaker.

Before you look for AC repair in Salt Lake City, this quick inspection could help you simply resolve your issue. But if you’re experiencing this problem often, it could mean there’s a short in the system. A heating and air Salt Lake City company can help you fix the issue.

Replace the Air Filter

Changing the air filter for your HVAC Salt Lake City system is by far the most important thing you can do regularly to keep your system running efficiently. The filter is what regulates the air that comes into your home and air particles, dust and dander get trapped in that filter. If you’re not changing your filter regularly, you’re risking build up in the filter and your AC unit must overwork to push air into your home.

Heating and air Salt Lake City technicians will tell you that the life length of your unit will decrease if you don’t replace your air filter often, which will have you replacing your unit sooner than you should. Set a reminder to replace your air filter monthly and take care of this task easily.



If your unit has to work extra hard to push air into the home, your system could ice up from having to perform longer, and this will affect the unit’s cooling efficiency and leads us to the next tip…

Check for Ice

If your HVAC Salt Lake City unit ices up, turn off the system and keep the fan running. When the fan continues to run, it will melt the ice quicker than if you turn off the unit all together. Our 1st American heating and air Salt Lake City technicians recommend waiting an hour or two to try running the system again. This will allow time for all of the ice to melt.



If you notice that the ice begins building up again, you may need to find an HVAC services Salt Lake City technician, because you may be dealing with a bigger problem. Low refrigerant levels, blocked drains or dirty coils could be the issue.

Clean the Condensation Line

To keep your house cool, the heating and air Salt Lake City system’s air conditioning component removes the moisture in the air to lower the humidity inside your home through a condensation line. This line moves the moisture to outside your home, which is where you’ll see water dripping at times. Over time, algae and mildew can build up in the line and possibly clog the tube.



When the condensation line is clogged, the water backs up and can build up inside the air conditioning unit, causing the system to not work correctly. To keep the line clean, pour a cup of bleach into the access opening in the drain line near the HVAC Salt Lake City unit to kill any mold or algae. Let it sit for a minute, then use a wet-dry vac to clear the clog from the line.

HVAC Still Not Working?

If you’ve tried the five steps above and your HVAC Salt Lake City is still not working the way it should, then it may be time to look for HVAC services in Salt Lake City. It may be time for you to make some important decisions about repairing or replacing your air conditioner. The expert technicians at 1st American Plumbing Heating and Air can come to your home and help you isolate and solve any issues you’re having with your system. Our technicians are trustworthy and experts in their fields, and they can give you lots of replacement or repair options to meet your needs.

We’ve been in business for over 25 years, providing AC Repair in Salt Lake City to many trusted customers. There’s a reason we have so many 5-star reviews on Google—we’re on time, friendly, and we’ll fix the problems you’re having with your system, leaving you satisfied in our services and products.