While your air conditioning unit is made to withstand all sorts of conditions, including rain and hail damage, sometimes you need to call your AC maintenance technician to inspect likely 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 AC system, but if there has been any flooding period, call Neal Harris Service Experts for an air conditioner inspection immediately.
If heavy showers or flooding caused your air conditioner to sit in standing water, there are a couple of things we advise doing to avoid further damage or a dangerous environment:
- Turn off all the electrical switches for your air conditioning system. If you are not comfortable with this, you can call your air conditioning repair company to help help you complete the process.
- Allow your air conditioner to dry out. Get rid of any standing water if possible and carefully clear any debris from the immediate area.
- Leave your AC system off until a professional air conditioning inspection has been completed. Call Neal Harris Service Experts and ensure your equipment will work safely and effectively with a full air conditioning system safety inspection.
CAUTION: Do not cover your outdoor HVAC systems with a tarp. This may actually cause more problems, including not allowing the unit to air out properly and remove moisture, potentially causing rust or other damage.
In addition to April showers, spring escorts in hail storms, also. Every year thousands of commercial and residential air conditioning systems are in need of repair because of hail. While you can normally see obvious damage from the outside, you may not be able to see that the damage inside the AC system may be causing restricted air flow, decreasing the performance of the system. Sometimes you can fix the air conditioner more easily, by combing the fins or replacing the coil, but an insurance company’s claim breakdown showed that around a tenth of air conditioners damaged by hail had to be fully replaced.
Intense winds tend to accompany storms and while your AC system probably won’t get wind damage, other things picked up by the wind, like tree branches, furniture, or sandboxes, can be thrown, damaging your system.
For a full AC inspection and safety check, call Neal Harris Service Experts today and we’ll make sure your air conditioning unit is running safely and efficiently. Help keep your family safe during storm season and make sure to follow these guidelines if your area is under a serious storm warning.