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Austin AC Maintenance
Five Months of Nonstop Cooling Starts in May
By the time an Austin summer is over, a typical air conditioner has run more hours than a unit in Chicago runs in three years. Everything that wears out, wears out faster here: capacitors weaken in the heat, contactors pit, condensate lines grow algae, and the outdoor coil packs up with live oak pollen in spring, cottonwood fluff in early summer and caliche dust all season long in the Hill Country. Maintenance is how you find that before the system does.
What we check depends on where you live. In Round Rock, Pflugerville and Kyle, the air handler is almost always in the attic, so the drain line, the float switch and the flex ducts get extra attention. In older central Austin neighborhoods like Crestview and Tarrytown, we look hard at closet air handlers, undersized returns and aging wiring. Out toward Dripping Springs and Spicewood, coil cleaning is the whole ballgame. A tune-up here is not a checklist we run everywhere; it is a checklist for Austin.
Our AC maintenance page walks through the complete service.
- Care Club, $9.99 a month Two HVAC tune-ups a year, no dispatch fees, 5% off repairs and priority service.
- Honest findings If the system is fine, we say so. If a part is going, you get a price and the choice.
- 25+ Austin summers We have tuned up Central Texas systems since 1999 and know what fails first.
Is It Time?
Signs Your Austin AC Is Overdue for Service
None of these is an emergency yet. All of them become one in August.
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It has not been serviced since you bought the house
Common in the suburbs, where the last tune-up was the builder’s. Two or three unserviced Austin summers is enough to shorten a system’s life.
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The outdoor unit is furred with pollen or dust
A coil coated in oak pollen or caliche cannot shed heat. The system runs longer and hotter and the compressor pays for it.
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Last summer’s electric bills were higher than the year before
Same thermostat setting, more kilowatt-hours. A dirty coil, low charge or a weak capacitor makes the unit work harder for the same result.
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You have had a condensate overflow before
Once a drain line has clogged, it will again. Annual clearing and treatment is far cheaper than a ceiling repair.
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It starts with a groan or a click-buzz
A hard-starting compressor or a capacitor on its way out. Caught in spring it is a small part; in July it can be a compressor.
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Upstairs rooms are warmer every year
Attic ducts loosen, sag and leak over time. A tune-up is when we find the flex duct that came off the boot in 2019.
What a Tune-Up Covers
The Austin AC Maintenance Visit
Outdoor unit, indoor unit, drain, ducts and controls. Measured and recorded, so next year’s visit can spot a trend.
- Outdoor coil cleaning Pollen, dust, grass clippings and cottonwood washed out so the condenser can reject heat on a 105-degree afternoon.
- Capacitor and contactor testing Measured, not eyeballed. A capacitor reading below spec in April gets replaced before it strands you in July.
- Refrigerant charge and pressures Checked against the manufacturer’s spec. A low charge means a leak, and we tell you rather than just topping it off.
- Condensate line and float switch Flushed and treated. If an attic air handler has no overflow switch, we will recommend one.
- Airflow, filter and ductwork Blower operation, filter fit and a look at the attic ducts for disconnects, crushed runs and obvious leaks.
- Thermostat and controls Calibration, wiring and safety controls, so the system starts and stops when it should.
How It Works
Booking a Tune-Up in the Austin Area
Spring is the busy season for this. The earlier you book, the better the window.
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Pick a window
Weekday, evening or weekend, at the same price. Care Club members get priority scheduling.
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We inspect and clean
The full checklist above, outdoor unit to thermostat, with the findings explained as we go.
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You get the straight story
What is fine, what is wearing and what it would cost to address now. No pressure; the choice is yours.
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Approved work gets done
Small parts are usually on the truck. Anything bigger is quoted in writing and honored for 72 hours.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Book Your Austin AC Tune-Up
Spring slots go fast. Care Club members get two visits a year for $9.99 a month.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
Alex performed the winter service on my unit. This business along with Alex, are very professional and upfront about everything. To be transparent, this is the maintenance included with the purchase of a unit from them. I was informed about everything to include pictures as proof. I was told that my unit is 100% and very clean and again pictures to prove it. I was reccomended this business by a friend and glad he did. The initial purchase experience was also amazing. I had contacted 5 other businesses to get quotes about a new unit as my upstairs unit failed. 2 were outrageous quotes and I am technically still waiting on the other 3. On every instance of getting a quote, I waited about 1 week. Luckily my house has two units but still, un acceptable especially during the summer. I guess they all had so much business they did not care for mine. When I called this business not only did they come out the same day, I had the new unit installed with in 48 hrs. Oh and let's not forget the quote they gave me was the lowest of all. I can say enough good things about this business. Keep up the great work.
★★★★★
We needed a new air conditioning system because ours was over 15 years old. I decided to get several estimates from different companies here in San Antonio. Each company seemed to have outrageous prices and wanted to put me into something that was above what I needed. I decided to try one more company, Schmidt Mechanical. I went on their website early in the morning and filled out my information asking for someone to contact me. By the end of the same day, Jared was sitting at our table. I told him specifically what I wanted and what I did not want, since I had gained quite a bit of information from my interaction with other companies. We had a lot of fun sitting at the table and talking about many things, but when he put pen to paper, and gave us three choices of product, service, warranties, etc., we knew right away that Schmidt Mechanical was far superior to other companies in town. We sealed the deal and decided that the following Monday would be installation day. Keeping in mind, that would be one week from the day that we sat down and closed. The very next night, our old unit decided to call it quits and we still had six more nights to go until we get the new system. I called the after hours service line and they sent someone out by 10 o’clock that night, but unfortunately the unit couldn’t even carry electricity to be repaired. They didn’t even charge me for that service call. The next morning I called the company to ask if they had any suggestions on what we could do in the meantime. They put their heads together to come up with a solution. We were very thankful to Keith when he called to tell us they were able to rearrange schedules and carve out time in order to have our new AC unit installed two days later. Schmidt Mechanical - professional, honest, dependable, excellent customer service -- a company you will not regret doing business with. Thank you Team Schmidt!
★★★★★
I would highly recommend Radiant Plumbing. After our 17 year old system broke we bought a new AC unit from Radiant. All the people I dealt with were highly professional, explained everything well and were thorough in their inspection. They were very easy to contact, including a number customers can text with concerns or questions. They kept me well informed through the whole process. They even installed at no cost a portable AC to keep us cool before the installation. The installers, Arturo and Rene, were prompt; they arrived at the exact time we were told, and were very respectful of our home.
Radiant helped us quickly; the AC broke Thursday evening, we scheduled the repairman to come Friday, and Saturday they installed the new unit. I know it isn't always able to happen that fast but it was an extra bonus and relief to finally find an AC company that is actually available and answers the phone, unlike A US Air Conditioning, and is efficient and thorough with no high pressure salesmen, unlike ARS.
Thank you Radiant!
11/4/2020 - update
Had CJ out for the system check and he was very professional, informative, and respectful. He had some recommendations and was able to get us a replacement part for free even though we were just outside the 2yr warranty. It was a very unexpected blessing and I greatly appreciate him and the whole Radiant team.
Radiant helped us quickly; the AC broke Thursday evening, we scheduled the repairman to come Friday, and Saturday they installed the new unit. I know it isn't always able to happen that fast but it was an extra bonus and relief to finally find an AC company that is actually available and answers the phone, unlike A US Air Conditioning, and is efficient and thorough with no high pressure salesmen, unlike ARS.
Thank you Radiant!
11/4/2020 - update
Had CJ out for the system check and he was very professional, informative, and respectful. He had some recommendations and was able to get us a replacement part for free even though we were just outside the 2yr warranty. It was a very unexpected blessing and I greatly appreciate him and the whole Radiant team.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
Austin AC Maintenance Questions
When should I schedule AC maintenance in Austin?
March or April, before the first run of 90-degree days, is ideal. The system has been idle or lightly used since fall, the pollen season is winding down, and there is time to order a part if something is marginal. If you missed spring, do not skip the year; a tune-up in June still catches a weak capacitor or a clogged drain before the hottest weeks. Heat pump owners should plan a second visit in the fall before heating season, which is exactly what Care Club provides: two tune-ups a year on an enrolled system.
Is a maintenance plan worth it for a newer home in Leander or Hutto?
Usually, yes, for two reasons. First, most equipment warranties expect documented annual maintenance, and a builder-installed system with no service history can be a problem when a claim comes up. Second, new subdivisions have the same attic air handlers, the same hard water for the plumbing side and the same pollen as the rest of Austin, so the wear starts on day one. Care Club is $9.99 a month and includes two HVAC tune-ups, an annual plumbing safety inspection, no dispatch fees and 5% off repairs. That covers the routine care a new system needs without a large bill.
How often should the outdoor coil be cleaned in the Hill Country?
At least once a year, and homes in Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Spicewood and Liberty Hill often benefit from a rinse midseason too. Caliche dust from roads and lots, cedar pollen in winter and live oak pollen in spring build a felt-like coating on the coil fins that traps heat. We clean it properly at the tune-up. Between visits, you can gently hose the fins from the inside out with the power off and keep grass, mulch and shrubs a couple of feet clear of the unit. Do not pressure-wash it; bent fins are worse than dirty ones.
Will you try to sell me a new system during a tune-up?
No. A tune-up is an inspection, and the report is the same whether the system is two years old or twenty. If we find a part that is measurably out of spec, we quote the repair and you decide. If a system is old enough that a large repair would not be a good use of your money, we will say that too, with the numbers, but the recommendation to replace has to be earned by what we measured, not by the age on the label. Plenty of 15-year-old Austin systems are worth keeping, and we will tell you when yours is one of them.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.
