Every Summer before the weather is too hot & humid, I contact the A/C repair contractor to perform a full repair tune up on my A/C machine.
I have had this A/C inspected properly performed each year, because I suppose it is an substantial part of seasonal repair on the system.
A tune-up on the A/C device is much like a tune-up that will be performed on a car. All of the parts of the device are examined from the top to the bottom. A full-repair cooling system tune up should include replacing the air filter, cleaning the drain line & condenser coils, & checking for faulty or disfigured electrical parts. The full repair inspection completed by the local contractor includes 50 different areas. My partner & I acquired a paper at the end of that repair & the worker has to check off each individual spot. All of the individual parts of the heat pump & A/C component are checked & each space has a comment section for anything that might be out of the ordinary. There is a 30-day warranty on the repair tune up & if there are any problems that come up during that time, there is no fee for the labor, but regularly busy tune-ups can actually prevent a lot of minor problems from becoming a major hassle. As the device ages, I guess that the mechanical & electrical components will run down & wear out. That is 1 of the biggest & most substantial reasons to hire a trained professional to inspect the system every year.