We may be coming to the end of summer soon, but we have a couple more weeks of warm weather still to get through. You’re probably still using your air conditioner on a fairly regular basis to keep cool throughout the day, and that means you have a greater chance of the system developing issues. If you want to keep your air conditioner in good shape and finish out the summer strong, you should keep an eye out for early signs that the system is in need of repairs.
Dripping Fluid
If there is fluid dripping from your air conditioner, you should definitely call for repairs as soon as you can. It could be condensate, in which case the biggest threat to your system is that it rusts in some places. If it’s refrigerant leaking, though, you have a pretty big problem. Your air conditioner relies on the refrigerant inside it to cool your home. The lower the refrigerant level drops because of a refrigerant leak, the less able to keep you cool your air conditioner is going to become. If the refrigerant level drops low enough, the system will break down entirely. Make sure that you have it fixed before that happens.
Short Cycling
Short cycling is when your air conditioner turns itself on and off every few minutes instead of completing a cooling cycle. It’s the result of an electrical problem, or possibly a damaged compressor. Regardless of the cause, though, it’s a serious threat to the health of your air conditioner. Short cycling prevents your system from cooling your home properly, but it also increases the amount of strain the system is put under. The longer the air conditioner short cycles, the more prone to developing problems it’s going to be. Prolonged short cycling can shorten the overall lifespan of the system, so it’s a good idea to have this issue checked out as soon as you can.
Air Conditioner Ice
If your air conditioner has ice on it, that’s not a good sign. That’s usually the result of there not being enough air flowing over the evaporator coil while the system is running, possibly due to a clogged air filter. As the lack of warm air causes the temperature around the coil to drop, the condensate on the coil will eventually freeze. The ice will prevent the air conditioner from cooling properly, but it will also eventually spread to other parts of the system and cause them to break down. Make sure that you call for repairs before this happens.
These are just a few of the many signs that can indicate your air conditioner is in some sort of trouble. If your system is doing anything suspicious, even if you’re not 100% certain that it’s a problem, you should have a technician check it out just in case.
