It’s Monday. Work was a bear, your boss was a jerk, and you missed a deadline you’d been working toward for a month. You got into your hot car and started the long commute home. When you hit your driveway, you wanted nothing more than to take off your too tight clothes and relax in your cool, comfortable home with an even cooler beverage. But your a/c had other plans. When you got home, the house was an oven.
Air conditioning freeze up can happen on the hottest days. It’s a fairly common condition cause by a couple of potential problems that you can alleviate with some simple maintenance.
Common Causes of A/C Freeze Up
Probably the most common cause of air conditioning freeze up is that the airflow to the unit has gotten blocked. When the air gets blocked, that allows the condensation that naturally forms on the unit coil to freeze up. Unblocking the air can be as simple as changing your furnace filter.
The second most common cause of air-conditioning freeze up is refrigerant leaks. This is potentially bad news for homeowners. If you think your system is leaking, call us right away. While we might be able to top off your coolant and get your system back up and running it is likely a temporary fix. Usually when the coolant is leaking the homeowner is living on borrowed time and will likely need to consider a new air conditioning unit at some point in the future.
Easy Maintenance to Stop the Big Freeze
Let’s tackle the freeze up first. If you look at your unit, and it’s obviously frozen, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- ———-Check the furnace filter. If it is obviously dirty, change it. Make sure you set a note to yourself to change it more regularly in the future. Big box retailers like Home Depot sell furnace filters. It is usually best to purchase the more expensive filters unless you’re planning on changing it once a month.
- ———-Next, switch the thermostat to OFF and the fan to ON. This will begin to defrost the unit. It’s going to take a few hours for the unit to thaw out.
- ———-While you’re waiting, check your condensate pan to be sure it is draining properly. If everything looks solid, simply check on the unit periodically over the next few hours.
- ———-Finally, turn your a/c back over to COOL. If the air coming out feels cooler than your house, you’re back in business.
Call (702) 944-8838 Today or Book Online for Heating and Cooling Service!
Air conditioner freeze up just illustrates the importance of regular inspection on your unit. The older it gets, the more chance it could break down or experience periodic service-related issues. Ambient Edge has a preventative maintenance plan designed to watch for the most common causes of air conditioner malfunction. When it comes to the systems that power your home and keep it comfortable, we believe in, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Contact us today to get on the schedule for a routine summer check up and avoid the Monday a/c freeze.
