While your air conditioning unit is made to withstand the weather, including heavy showers and hail damage, sometimes you need to call your air conditioning repair technician to inspect possible damage. If your air conditioning unit 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 conditioner, but if there has been any flooding whatsoever, call Stark Services for a safety 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 suggest doing to avoid more damage or a dangerous environment:
- Deactivate all the electrical switches to your air conditioner. If you are not comfortable doing this, you can call your air conditioning service expert to help help you complete the process.
- Allow your air conditioning equipment to dry out. Remove any standing water if possible and cautiously clear any debris from around the area.
- Don’t turn your air conditioner back on until a professional air conditioner inspection has been done. Call Stark Services and ensure your equipment will work safely and effectively with a full air conditioner safety inspection.
REMEMBER: Do not cover your outdoor HVAC systems with a tarp. This could actually cause more damage, including not allowing the system to air out entirely and remove moisture, possibly causing rust or other damage.
In addition to downpours, spring escorts in hail storms, as well. Each year thousands of commercial and residential AC units are harmed 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 conditioner more easily, by combing the fins or replacing the coil, but an insurance company’s claim breakdown showed that around 10% of air conditioning units damaged by hail had to be entirely replaced.
Intense winds tend to accompany storms and while your AC system probably won’t get wind damage, other objects picked up by the wind, like tree branches, trash cans, or unattached enclosures, can be thrown, damaging your air conditioning unit.
For a full air conditioning inspection and safety check, call Stark Services today and we’ll make sure your AC system is operating 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.