AC Maintenance in Corinth, MS
Air conditioners here run from May through September, so April is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Alcorn County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of hard running in Corinth heat
Your air conditioner works from May through September here, and on the afternoons that hit 89°F it runs long and hard to keep the house cool. That kind of stretch wears on the parts that keep the system going, the capacitor, the contactor, the condenser coil. A tune-up checks those before one of them gives out on a hot afternoon.
Alcorn County has also seen its share of storms, ten hail events and 29 damaging wind events over the last ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. A storm like that can bend the fins on the outdoor coil or knock the unit out of alignment without you noticing right away. A yearly check catches that kind of damage before it turns into a breakdown.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 10 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 29 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in April, before homes here start needing cooling in May.
- 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.
Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The State Board of Contractors tested this contractor before handing out that license, and the board keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it carries over from the last house they worked on to yours.
For a maintenance visit on your air conditioner, the license is what stands behind the work. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of the system, checking the charge or the coil, federal law also requires them to hold EPA Section 608 certification, the same requirement that applies in every state. That certification is separate from the Mississippi license, and it covers the refrigerant work specifically.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A contractor checks refrigerant charge, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and contactor in the outdoor unit. Inside, they check the evaporator coil and the condensate drain, since a clogged drain is one of the more common reasons a system trips off on a summer afternoon. They also check the thermostat and confirm airflow is right at the vents. Anyone opening the refrigerant side of the system has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal rule everywhere.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, in spring before the cooling season starts. Homes here need cooling May through September, five months of summer afternoons averaging 89°F, so the system is working hard once it starts and a spring check catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it fails on a hot day.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most of what fails on an air conditioner shows itself early to someone who knows where to look. A weak capacitor, a coil losing its grip on heat because it is caked in dust, a drain about to clog, these all give some warning. With five months of cooling season and afternoons regularly near 89°F here, a system that is not caught up on maintenance has less room to struggle before it quits. A licensed contractor, which Mississippi requires for HVAC work, can catch these during a yearly visit.