This is the time of the year, when the do-it-yourself sections of local newspapers offer advice concerning residential air conditioners.

One recent wire service offering in my local newspaper divided up the help between “What you can fix” and “When to call for help.”

The “call for help” in the article involved fixing leaks and replacing the compressor. The article then suggested that homeowners check and clean filters, keep the outside condensing unit free from obstructions and hosed off as well as watching for drainage problems near the outside unit. I might also add that condensing units should be level. That’s a consideration in new housing developments on sloping land. Units can list a bit rather quickly.

But the newspaper article goes on to suggest the homeowners can play around with the sensor to the point of “bending the wire that holds it in place.”

I am one of those homeowners who has a regular maintenance agreement with a local contractor who typically takes care of all of the above before they amount to a problem.

What I’m not sure of is me bending any wires anywhere near an a/c unit.

Thoughts from contractors and technicians out there? Should your customers be bending wires?