I owned my home for six years before I called for any type of air conditioner service. I have no idea if the former owners ever scheduled regular maintenance of the cooling system. The only reason I hired a professional HVAC contractor was because the air conditioner was causing my house to smell unpleasant. Every time the cooling unit started up, the odor was so strong that it gave me a headache. My kids would frequently start sneezing, and my husband complained that the air conditioner was causing him sore throats. When the HVAC technician took the air conditioner apart, he showed me the inner components. I was shocked by the amount of disgusting buildup on the various parts. There was a layer of moist dust on the fan blades, algae growing in the condensate drain and an abundance of mold thriving on the coils. He told me that the air conditioner was most likely spreading harmful spores and contaminants into our breathing air. My family’s health was in jeopardy because of the dirty cooling system. The HVAC contractor spent almost two hours meticulously cleaning the system. Once the service was complete, I was amazed by the improvement in the unit’s performance. The air conditioner no longer runs for as long of cycles, and my monthly electric bills have been nearly cut in half. Plus, the house is far more comfortable and both feels and smells fresher. I no longer battle constant mildew in the bathroom and on window sills. I have now invested in a maintenance plan which includes annual cleaning and tune-ups of the air conditioner every spring.