With warmer weather just around the corner, now could be the ideal time to give your car’s air conditioning a spring clean.

While your car no longer has to do battle with the winter’s plummeting temperatures, ice, salt and snow, the summer months can still throw a few curve balls when it comes to ruining your driving enjoyment.

Sudden summer showers can expose weaknesses in windscreen wipers and tyres, while cooling systems need to be thoroughly checked if you’re to avoid being stranded at the roadside when the mercury rises.

What’s often overlooked in the preparations for a summer getaway or days out though, is ensuring that your car’s air conditioning is up to scratch.

Once the preserve of luxury cars, air conditioning has become a ‘must-have’ for many car buyers and so popular is it that it’s now standard in the vast majority of new vehicles – even those at the lower end of the market.

Considering how desirable motorists find air conditioning then, it’s surprising at how many people fail to maintain it. This oversight can be partly blamed on the fact an inefficient air conditioning system won’t cause a breakdown or rule your car un-roadworthy, but as with a great deal of components on your car it does require regular attention.

Come the summer months it’s common practise for car dealers to roll out forecourt banners detailing how little it’ll cost to make your air conditioning blow ice cold and, to be fair, it’s not just another opportunity to upsell something that isn’t entirely necessary. In fact, getting your air conditioning refreshed can be good for your health!

Many garages and fast-fit outfits offer a recharge service but ideally you want an anti-bacterial treatment as part of the deal. This will rid your car’s air conditioning of any harmful impurities and also reduce the effects of any airborne allergies. Reckon on about £80 for such a service.

Opinion is split on how often air conditioning systems need servicing but many car manufacturers recommend every two to three years, although any odours are a sure sign it’s overdue. By getting it done you’ll stop the refrigeration gases from getting too low and potentially damaging the system’s costly components. If you own a new car it’s also worth checking to see if such a service is necessary to keep the system under warranty.

So, if it’s something you haven’t considered and especially as it won’t break the bank, an air conditioning service could literally be a breath of fresh air when it comes to making your summer journeys as pleasant as possible.