My family and I live in a part of the country where the weather is usually mild during the summer months.
Even though a lot of people have high heat and humidity during June, July, and August, my family and I rarely see a day with temperatures higher than 80 degrees.
For those days when the temperature is absolutely hot, we keep a small window air conditioner in the living room. The window air conditioner is 18000 BTUs with both heating and cooling capabilities. We actually use the unit quite frequently during the winter as an extra heating source. During the summer, we rarely use the air conditioner. Still, we perform a cleaning service to the machine every spring. We have had the same air conditioner for the past 12 years. I think it still works efficiently because we take time to clean the unit well. I always make sure to shut down the power before removing any parts of the air conditioner. My vacuum cleaner has a small brush attachment that I use to gently brush all of the coils. I also check to make sure that the air conditioner is draining freely. My unit has a washable air filter inside, and I use a light detergent and warm water to carefully remove any pieces of dust or dirt. It only takes an hour to perform the cleaning service, but the results are fantastic. The air always smells fresh and clean and the machine is still working after all these years. I would recommend that all folks with window air conditioners perform some light cleaning on the machine.