Get Your AC Ready for a Shreveport Summer: 7-Step Guide

Shreveport doesn't ease into summer — it commits. By late May, highs are in the 90s; by July, the heat index lives above 105 and your AC runs 14 hours a day. The systems that survive are the ones that got attention in March and April. Here's the seven-step prep we recommend to every homeowner in the Ark-La-Tex.

1. Change the Filter — Then Calendar the Next One

Start the season with a fresh filter and set a monthly phone reminder. Between pine pollen and cottonwood season, Ark-La-Tex filters load up twice as fast as the package suggests.

2. Clear the Condenser Zone

Winter drops leaves, pine needles, and limbs against your outdoor unit. Clear a two-foot radius on all sides, trim back shrubs, and gently rinse the coil fins from the outside in with a garden hose — never a pressure washer, which folds the fins flat.

3. Flush the Drain Line

Pour a cup of distilled vinegar into the cleanout tee, wait half an hour, and flush with water. Do it now and again in June — our humidity turns drain lines into algae farms by midsummer.

4. Test-Run Before You Need It

Pick a mild March afternoon, set the thermostat to cool, and let the system run 20 minutes. Check that air from the vents is genuinely cold, the outdoor fan spins up without hesitation or rattling, and no breakers trip. Discovering a problem in March means a relaxed repair appointment; discovering it during the first 95-degree week means waiting in line with everyone else.

5. Check the Thermostat

Fresh batteries if it takes them, and consider a smart thermostat if you don't have one — in a six-month cooling season, schedules and setbacks pay for themselves fast.

6. Seal the Easy Leaks

Weatherstrip the drafty door, caulk the leaky window, and check the attic hatch gasket. Every bit of humid outdoor air you keep out is water your AC doesn't have to wring out of the house.

7. Book a Professional Tune-Up

The steps above cover what you can see. A tune-up covers what you can't: capacitor values, refrigerant charge and superheat, contactor wear, coil condition, amp draws. We catch the weak parts in April so they can't fail you in August. Spring slots fill fast across Shreveport and Bossier — call early and beat the rush.