While your air conditioner is built to withstand all sorts of conditions, including precipitation and storm damage, sometimes you need to call your AC repair technician to inspect potential damage. If your air conditioning unit sits in standing water, due to storms or other unexpected issues, it can cause significant damage to the moving parts and electrical sections. The water usually has to reach about 15 inches in depth to affect your air conditioning system, but if there has been any flooding period, call Bryant Heating & Cooling Service Experts for an air conditioner inspection right away.
If severe storms or flooding caused your air conditioning unit to sit in standing water, there are a handful of things we recommend doing to avoid further damage or dangerous conditions:
- Turn off all the electrical controls for your air conditioner. If you are not comfortable turning off your switches, you can call your air conditioning repair technician to help guide you through the process.
- Allow your AC system to dry out. Get rid of any standing water if possible and carefully clear any debris from the surrounding area.
- Do not turn on your air conditioning system until a professional AC inspection has been performed. Call Bryant Heating & Cooling Service Experts and ensure your equipment will run safely and effectively with a full AC safety inspection.
CAUTION: Do not cover your outdoor HVAC systems with a tarp. This may actually cause more issues, including not allowing the air conditioner to air out properly and remove moisture, a could cause rust or other damage.
In addition to rain, spring also brings hail storms, also. Annually thousands of commercial and residential air conditioning systems are damaged by hail. While you can usually see obvious damage from the outside, you may not realize that the damage inside the air conditioning unit may be causing restricted air flow, obstructing the performance of the system. Sometimes you can fix the AC unit more easily, by combing the fins or replacing the coil, but an insurance company’s claim breakdown showed that around one out of ten of air conditioners damaged by hail had to be fully replaced.
High winds tend to accompany storms and while your air conditioning unit probably won’t get wind damage, other things picked up by the wind, like bushes, trash cans, or children’s outdoor toys, can be thrown, damaging your air conditioning unit.
For a full air conditioning inspection and safety check, call Bryant Heating & Cooling Service Experts today and we’ll make sure your air conditioner is running safely and efficiently. Help keep your family safe during storm season and make sure to follow these guidelines if your city is under a serious storm warning.