The spring AC checklist for Collin County: do it in April, not on the first 95-degree day

DFW usually sees its first 90-degree day in April and its first stretch of mid-90s by late May. The weekend that happens, thousands of systems that sat all winter get asked to perform, the weak ones fail, and the service calendar fills for two weeks. A system that is tested on a 75-degree afternoon in April gets fixed on a normal schedule at a normal price. That is the entire strategy.

1. 1Change the filter and write the date on it. (You)
2. 2Put fresh batteries in the thermostat. (You)
3. 3Clear two feet around the outdoor unit, pull out the leaves, and rinse the coil gently with the power off. (You)
4. 4Pour a cup of white vinegar into the drain line access tee and check the outside end of the line drips when the system runs. (You)
5. 5Set the thermostat to Cool, three degrees below room temperature, and let it run 20 minutes. Cold air at every register, outdoor fan spinning, no ice on the copper line. (You)
6. 6Walk the attic ducts with a flashlight if you can do it safely: look for a flex duct that has pulled off a boot or a plenum with a gap. (You, carefully; a technician if not)
7. 7Check the attic for signs of last year's water: stains on the overflow pan, a rusty primary pan. (You)
8. 8Book the cooling tune-up: charge measured, capacitor tested, amps, static pressure, temperature split, coil and drain cleaned, all in writing. (Technician)
9. 9Decide what you will do if a system over 12 years old fails in July, while you are calm. Read the repair-or-replace rules so the decision is already made. (You)

Cold air and a quiet, spinning outdoor fan means the system survived the winter. Cool-but-not-cold air means the charge or the airflow is off and a tune-up will find which. A loud start or a fan that hesitates is a capacitor on its way out, which costs little in April and a lot in July. Anything that trips a breaker is a call.