While your air conditioner is created to withstand the weather, including precipitation and wind damage, there are times when you need to call your AC repair technician to inspect likely damage. If your air conditioning unit sits in standing water, due to storms or other unexpected issues, it can cause serious damage to the moving parts and electrical components. The water usually has to reach about 15 inches in depth to affect your AC system, but if there has been any flooding at all, call McKinley Heating Service Experts for an air conditioner inspection immediately.
If intense rainfall or flooding caused your air conditioner to sit in standing water, there are a couple of things we suggest doing to avoid additional damage or dangerous situations:
- Turn off all the electrical switches to your AC system. If you are not comfortable turning off your switches, you can call your air conditioning service technician to help guide you through the process.
- Allow your AC system to dry out. Remove any standing water if possible and safely clear any debris from around the area.
- Do not turn on your air conditioning system until a professional air conditioner inspection has been completed. Call McKinley Heating Service Experts and ensure your equipment will work safely and effectively with a full AC safety inspection.
CAUTION: Do not cover your outdoor heating and air conditioning systems with a tarp. This may actually cause more damage, including not allowing the air conditioner to air out completely and remove moisture, a could cause rust or other damage.
In addition to April showers, spring tends to bring hail storms, also. Each year thousands of commercial and residential AC units are damaged by hail. While you can usually see obvious damage from the outside, you may not realize that the damage inside the AC system 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 a tenth of AC systems damaged by hail had to be completely 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 tree branches, furniture, or sandboxes, can be thrown, damaging your system.
For a full air conditioner inspection and safety check, call McKinley Heating Service Experts today and we’ll make sure your AC system is running safely and efficiently. Help keep your family safe during storm season and make sure to follow these guidelines if your neighborhood is under a serious storm warning.