During the hot days of summer, the last thing that you want to happen is for your air conditioning unit to quit working. Unfortunately, this always seems to happen during one of the hottest days of the season, but before you pick up the phone to call a repairman, there are certain things that you want to check first. A few of these things you may be able to fix on your own and never have to open up your air conditioning system.

Check Your Thermostat - If you live in the house with other people, one of the first things that you will want to check when your air conditioning does not seem to work is your thermostat. Sometimes people will accidentally turn the system off or turn the temperature up too high for the system to come on. Your thermostat can also stop working. When this happens, it will no longer be able to detect the temperature in your home and turn your system on. To check your thermostat, try the following:

First, make sure your system is set to cool and not to heat and that your system is turned on. Try bumping your temperature down a few degrees below what your thermostat is currently registering, and then wait a few seconds to see if your system kicks on. If it doesn't, check the next thing on your list.

Check Your Breaker Box - Most modern homes have a circuit breaker box that controls the electricity that flows to various areas throughout your home. Open your breaker box and ensure that the breaker that is marked heating/air conditioning is flipped in the same direction of the rest of the breakers in your box. If not, flip the breaker back in the correct direction and wait to see if it "trips" or flips back off. If it turns itself back off, leave it off and immediately call an electrician. Tripping is an indication that there is some type of short or electrical overload that is causing your system to turn itself off. 

Check Your Filters - If your system comes on but does not seem to be cooling your home, dirty filters may be the cause of your problems. Change or clean your filters and see if the problem corrects itself.

Check Your Condensate Drain - To cool your home, one of the things that your system does is remove the water from the air that it cools. It then releases this water through a small line that runs to the outside of your home. Over time, this line can become clogged by algae, and the water will back up, which in turn will stop your system from working.

Walk outside to where your condensate line ends and check to see if the ground underneath it is wet. If not, go and check the drain pan underneath your inside unit. If the drain pan is full of water, your line is clogged. You can dislodge this clog by hooking your wet/dry vacuum to your drain and sucking the clog out. 

If you can perform the repair yourself, contact a company like All Appliance Parts of Sarasota for help with finding the parts that you need. If you are unable to find the problem, call your local air conditioning repair company. They will have the expertise and knowledge to get your system back up and running.