While your air conditioner is created to withstand the weather, including heavy showers and storm damage, there are times when you need to call your AC maintenance technician to inspect possible damage. If your air conditioner sits in standing water, due to storms or other unexpected issues, it can cause severe damage to the moving parts and electrical pieces. The water usually has to reach about 12-15 inches in depth to affect your air conditioning system, but if there has been any flooding at all, call Boehmers/Cronin Emery Home Services by Enercare for an air conditioner inspection as soon as possible.
If intense rainfall or flooding caused your air conditioning unit to sit in standing water, there are a handful of things we suggest doing to avoid more damage or a dangerous environment:
- Turn off all the electrical switches to your air conditioning system. If you are not comfortable with this, you can call your air conditioning service expert to help guide you through the process.
- Allow your air conditioner to dry out. Get rid of any standing water if possible and carefully clear any debris from the surrounding area.
- Don’t turn your air conditioner back on until a professional air conditioner inspection has been performed. Call Boehmers/Cronin Emery Home Services by Enercare and ensure your equipment will operate safely and effectively with a full AC safety inspection.
REMEMBER: 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 properly and remove moisture, a could cause rust or other damage.
In addition to April showers, spring escorts in hail storms, too. Each year thousands of commercial and residential air conditioning systems are in need of repair because of 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, obstructing 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 air conditioners damaged by hail had to be fully replaced.
Strong winds tend to accompany storms and while your air conditioner probably won’t get wind damage, other things picked up by the wind, like bushes, grills, or sandboxes, can be thrown, damaging your air conditioner.
For a full air conditioning inspection and safety check, call Boehmers/Cronin Emery Home Services by Enercare 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 city is under a serious storm warning.