Who this is for
It's January or February and you're thinking ahead to summer. You remember last year — the first hot week when your AC wasn't right, and by the time you called someone you were waiting 5 days in 37°C heat. Or you're new to Riyadh and you've heard the technician availability issue but don't know what to do or when. Both situations are common.
Why timing is everything in Riyadh
Every year the same thing happens. Temperatures hit 37–38°C in mid-April and every family turns their AC on at the same time. Every technician in Riyadh is suddenly unavailable. Waiting times go from "same day" in February to "next week" in May to "two weeks" in July.
I've been turning away calls every June for years — not because I don't want the business, but because there genuinely aren't enough hours in the day during peak season. The families who call us in February get their choice of morning or afternoon slots, same week. The ones who call in June are waiting in 45°C heat for 7–10 days. Everything below should be done before the end of March.
Part 1: What you do yourself (free, 45 minutes)
Check 1 — Filter on every indoor unit
Pull the filter from each indoor unit, hold it to the light. If you can't see through it, rinse under running water, air-dry 30–45 minutes, put back in. Do every AC in the house. And while you're at it, this becomes your monthly habit from March through October.
Check 2 — Outdoor units clear and unblocked
Go outside and look at every outdoor unit. Check: nothing stored against the front or sides, no cover left on from last season (very common — I find covers on outdoor units in Al Sahafa and Al Nakheel every spring; within a few hours of operation the compressor overheats), no plants grown close over winter, at least 50cm of clear space on all sides.
Check 3 — Drain outlets
Find where the condensate drain exits the building — a small pipe on an outside wall. Make sure it's not visibly blocked. A blocked drain in summer means water backing up into the indoor unit and dripping into your wall. I've seen this cause significant damage in Al Sahafa villas.
Check 4 — Turn on and listen
Switch each AC to cooling mode and run for 10–15 minutes. Listen and watch for: unusual sounds (rattling, clicking, grinding), burning smell, ice forming on the copper pipe, water dripping from the indoor unit, or cooling noticeably weaker than last autumn. Anything unusual: note it and book a technician before summer peaks.
Check 5 — Remote controls
Replace batteries in every remote. Test each one. If a remote isn't responding with fresh batteries — either the remote needs replacing (inexpensive) or the receiver on the AC unit needs attention. Better to know this in February than June.
Part 2: What you book a professional for (before April)
Professional service 1 — Full deep clean of every AC
The indoor coil, blower fan wheel, condensate drain, and outdoor condenser coil all need a professional clean before 8 months of heavy summer use. The filter rinse you just did handles what you can see. The chemical coil flush handles everything accumulated since last season. A Riyadh home with 4 split ACs takes about 4–5 hours for a full service.
Professional service 2 — Gas pressure check
15 minutes per unit with manifold gauges. If pressure is correct — great, nothing to do. If it's dropped — we find out why and fix it before summer, not in a panic in July. Especially worth doing if you noticed any weakness in cooling at the end of last summer or if it's been 2+ years since a pressure check.
Professional service 3 — Capacitor check on older units
Capacitors that start the compressor and fan motors degrade in heat — typically lasting 5–8 years in Riyadh's conditions. A multimeter test takes 2 minutes. A failing capacitor caught in February: SAR 200 replacement. The same capacitor dying in July: SAR 200 replacement plus several days without proper cooling while you wait for a technician.
The Riyadh pre-summer window: February is ideal. March is fine. April is your last chance. May is already difficult. June, July, August — you're at the mercy of availability and wait times. The same SAR 99 service that takes 2 hours to schedule in February takes 7 days to schedule in July.
The financial case for pre-summer preparation
A home with 4 split ACs doing full pre-summer service: 4 × deep clean = SAR 396. Gas pressure checks (included): SAR 0 extra. Any capacitor replacements found proactively: SAR 150–300 each at your convenience. Compare to: higher electricity bills all summer from dirty ACs (SAR 300–600 extra), emergency repair in July for a capacitor that would have cost SAR 200 in March, plus 5–7 days without proper cooling in 45°C heat. The math is clear.
Book your pre-summer service before April.
Deep clean + gas check. Same-day available now. We service all of Riyadh — Al Sahafa, Al Nakheel, Al Yasmin, Al Narjis, everywhere.