04/22/2026
📣📣This is a bit of a long post but please take the time to read.
As we are moving into Spring and warmer weather we get a lot of calls from homeowners ready to maintenance their air conditioner. However, a request we are starting to get more and more frequently is to maintenance only the AC side of the system. Often deciding to go with promo specials for $39 or even free or similar for "air conditioning inspection" instead. Understanding what you need vs what you are paying for with offers like this is something we as a company are passionate to help homeowners understand.
Wording like inspection vs maintenance can be deceptive. Inspection can be as simple as visual inspection. This is not cleaning or checking anything. Often times you will then be provided a list of things that "need" to be addressed, which often times are part of a routine maintenance anyway (but you are getting an inspection not a maintenance). Often with a sense of urgency or safety concern that all of these items need to be done immediately. Why, because no company can continue being in business (vans, gas, employees, benefits, tools, insurance, etc.) for a $39 or similar service fee. The inspection is the foot in the door to then have high pressure sales for a much larger final bill. We have had a family member unfortunately fall for this recently with a "FREE inspection" offer. Which turned into an estimate for $6000 in "repairs" for their furnace and a "your better off replacing it" quote for over $10k for just a furnace. The idea here is to push you into replacement. Upon second opinion none of the things listed were true (except for cleaning the flame sensor)... unfortunately which gives us contractors a really really bad rap. If there are repairs recommended the technician should be taking you out to the system to show you exactly what the issue is and discuss the recommendations. Understanding what you are walking into with these offers is a bit of a passion project of mine. Hearing stories like this from a lot of customers over the years just makes me fume. We will always be 100% honest with you, even if it is detrimental to us. We are a business too that needs income to survive but we will never be dishonest. We will always give you your options so you can make the best decision for you.
Proper maintenance is checking the full system, furnace and AC/heat pump, as they work together to provide cool air to your home. Checking power to electrical components, cleaning ports and burners, checking heat exchangers, changing/cleaning filters, checking refrigerant levels and pressures, and temperature drop/raise are all some of the items of a full maintenance. If you only maintenance the AC (outdoor unit) you are not having a full service done. We then cannot ensure that there won't be a failure on the furnace side of things causing you to have no air conditioning when you want it the most. If it breaks down you are then mad because you "had it inspected" and it still broke down, but we only looked at half of the system. See where this starts to spiral and why we won't do it this way... Sure there are things that will just stop working without much notice, however, doing a full maintenance makes these instances less likely and we can often give warning that parts are starting to fail before they fully do.
Your furnace is what actually moves air across the coil to make the air cold and then moves it throughout your ductwork into your home. If you insist on AC only then you will be looking at having furnace maintenance done in the Fall anyway. At that point you are paying double when it should be done all together once a year.
▪️If you have a straight air conditioner, we recommend having maintenance done between May and end of September.
▪️If you have a heat pump, we can do maintenance on these year round.
For air conditioners maintenance to be done properly it needs to be on average 65 degrees outside. We are a bit at the mercy of the weather on scheduling in the Spring. If you would like to get on the list give us a call and we can give you a call when we see a good weather pattern with warmer temps.
Call us at (360)658-9500 or you can visit us at www.paragonheating.com
