AC not cooling? The 5-minute homeowner checklist before you call

About 40% of AC service calls turn out to be a clogged filter, a tripped breaker, or a thermostat set to the wrong mode. Before you spend $89–$149 on a diagnostic visit, run through these five checks.

1. Replace the air filter

A filter clogged with pet hair and dust will starve the system of airflow, causing the evaporator coil to freeze. Pull the filter out — if you can't see through it, replace it and let the system run for an hour.

2. Check the thermostat mode

Smart thermostats sometimes flip into "fan only" mode after a Wi-Fi update. Make sure it's set to "cool", that the target temperature is 5 degrees below the current room temperature, and that the schedule isn't set to "vacation".

3. Reset the breaker

Find the outdoor disconnect (a small grey box next to the condenser) and the breaker labeled "AC" in your panel. Flip both off, wait 60 seconds, and flip them back on.

4. Clear the condenser coil

The big outdoor unit pulls heat out of your house. If it's choked with grass clippings or cottonwood, it can't shed heat efficiently. Cut power, hose it down gently from inside out, and let it dry.

5. Check for ice

If you can see ice on the copper line set or the indoor coil, the system has been low on refrigerant or starved of airflow for a while. Turn it off and let it thaw for 4 hours before calling a pro — running it iced will damage the compressor.

If none of these fix it, you're looking at a refrigerant leak, a failed capacitor, or a contactor issue. All three need a licensed HVAC tech.