AC Maintenance in Des Moines, IA
Air conditioners here run from June through August, so May is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Polk County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of work, ten years of storms
Your air conditioner in Polk County only runs June through August, but those three months average 83°F in the afternoon. The compressor works to hold that line every one of those days.
The rest of the year it sits outside, exposed to whatever comes through. Polk County has recorded 162 hail events and 191 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail as large as 3.25 inches. Hail can dent the cabinet or bend the fins on the outdoor coil, and wind can knock the unit off level. None of that shows up until the first hot afternoon when the system has to run. A tune-up before summer is when a contractor checks the coil and cabinet for that kind of damage, before the heat asks anything of it.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 83°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 162 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 191 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in May, before homes here start needing cooling in June.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
A tune-up checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the coils, tests the capacitor and tightens the electrical connections.
Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board issues that license after the contractor is tested, and the board keeps a record of who holds one. The license belongs to the contractor, not to the job, so the same license covers this maintenance visit and any other mechanical work that contractor takes on.
For an air conditioner tune-up, the part of the job that reaches beyond the license is the refrigerant. If the technician opens the refrigerant side to check the charge, federal law requires EPA Section 608 certification, and that requirement applies no matter which state the work is done in.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant pressure, cleans the outdoor coil, and tests the capacitor and contactor in the outdoor unit. Inside, they check the evaporator coil and the drain line that carries condensation away, since a clogged drain line can back up and cause water damage. They also check the thermostat calls for cooling correctly and look over the electrical connections, since a loose one is a common cause of a system that stops working mid-summer. Anyone opening the refrigerant side of your system needs to hold EPA Section 608 certification, so ask if that part is being done by someone who holds it.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before summer starts. Des Moines only needs cooling June through August, so getting it checked in spring means it is ready before those 83°F afternoons arrive. Waiting until the system is already running in the heat makes a small problem harder to catch before it causes a breakdown.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most air conditioner breakdowns trace back to something small that went unnoticed, a low refrigerant charge, a dirty coil, a failing capacitor. Catching those in spring means your system is not straining to keep up on the hottest days. It also matters here because Des Moines has seen 191 damaging wind events and 162 hail events over the past ten years, and a yearly check is when a technician would spot a bent fin or storm damage to the outdoor unit before it turns into a bigger repair.