While your AC system is created to withstand all sorts of conditions, including precipitation and wind damage, sometimes you need to call your air conditioning repair technician to inspect possible damage. If your air conditioner sits in standing water, due to flooding or other unexpected issues, it can cause severe damage to the moving parts and electrical components. The water usually has to reach about 12-15 inches in depth to affect your air conditioner, but if there has been any flooding whatsoever, call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning for an AC inspection immediately.
If severe storms or flooding caused your air conditioner to sit in standing water, there are a few things we suggest doing to avoid additional damage or a dangerous environment:
- Turn off all the electrical switches to your AC system. If you are not comfortable doing this, you can call your air conditioning repair technician to help help you complete the process.
- Allow your AC system to dry out. Get rid of any standing water if possible and safely clear any debris from the surrounding area.
- Don’t turn your air conditioner back on until a professional AC inspection has been completed. Call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and ensure your equipment will run safely and effectively with a full AC safety inspection.
NOTE: Do not cover your outdoor heating and cooling systems with a tarp. This may actually cause more problems, including not allowing the air conditioner to air out entirely and remove moisture, a could cause rust or other damage.
In addition to April showers, spring tends to bring hail storms, as well. Annually thousands of commercial and residential AC units are damaged by hail. While you can typically see obvious damage from the outside, you may not notice that the damage inside the air conditioner may be causing restricted air flow, decreasing the performance of the system. Sometimes you can fix the air conditioning system more easily, by combing the fins or replacing the coil, but an insurance company’s claim breakdown showed that around 10% of AC systems damaged by hail had to be completely replaced.
High winds tend to accompany storms and while your AC system probably won’t get wind damage, other objects picked up by the wind, like bushes, trash cans, or sandboxes, can be thrown, damaging your air conditioning unit.
For a full AC inspection and safety check, call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning today and we’ll make sure your air conditioning unit is working safely and efficiently. Help keep your loved ones safe during storm season and make sure to follow these guidelines if your neighborhood is under a serious storm warning.