For any St. Louis homeowner, there might come a time when your air conditioner unit freezes up and is unable to provide enough cool air that your home needs to stay comfortable. This could be due to ice buildup within your air conditioner unit’s evaporator coils. As a result, the airflow coming from the air conditioner unit is restricted as ice begins to clog the air movement. Continuing to operate the air conditioner unit despite its frozen state will only result to minimal air flow and huge energy consumption, and may even cause long-lasting damage to the air conditioner compressor.
When ice builds up on your air conditioner unit, you need to deal with this right away. However, before you request a service appointment from an HVAC company in St. Louis, you can try to remove the ice on your own. Here are the necessary steps you need to follow to de-ice your unit:
- Turn off the air conditioner unit, and disconnect it from its power source.
- Inspect the air conditioner unit thoroughly, and look for leaks or stains. If there is a leak, the issue is with the refrigerant, in which case it needs to be looked at by a professional. If not, proceed to the next step.
- Allow the ice on the air conditioner unit to thaw out naturally. Wait until the ice has completely thawed before cleaning your air conditioner unit.
- Spray with a commercial coil cleaner, then brush the coils vigorously to remove any dirt deposits.
- Dry the coils with a clean rag.
- Ensure that any water pooling at the bottom of the unit has been properly disposed of.
- Turn the breaker switch back on.
- Turn on the air conditioner unit.
- Replace air filters to improve air flow.
Prevent Ice Buildup on Air Conditioner Unit
Give your air conditioner unit a periodic inspection to prevent future ice buildup, especially during the hot summer months. Immediately turn off the unit once you see ice beginning to form. You should also clean or replace the air conditioner unit’s air filters as recommended by HVAC professionals. Also, always make sure to clean any dust and debris near the condenser and evaporator coils.
Hire a Professional to Fix Your Air Conditioner Unit
Aside from not being able to provide adequate cooling in the house, a frozen air conditioner unit could also be a sign that there is an issue that needs to be addressed within your HVAC system. While some icing issues are not so serious and can be handled on your own, there are also issues caused by malfunctioning refrigerant, which should only be handled by a professional HVAC technician. Having a respectable and trustworthy HVAC company inspect your air conditioner unit will give you peace of mind, knowing that a certified professional will be able to determine and fix any underlying issues that may have caused your HVAC system to freeze.
If you are in need of an HVAC company in St. Louis to handle all of your heating & air conditioning issues, please contact us at Galmiche & Sons today at 314-993-1110 to schedule a service call.
