If you’re new to the Houston area, welcome. If you’ve lived in Houston all or most of your life, you know that AC repair services for Houstonians are essential to living and working here.
The hottest day in Houston ever recorded took place in September of 2000 at a striking 109℉. While this is an extreme example, temperatures do regularly head into the 90s and occasionally the 100s during the summer months. Because of Houston’s routinely high temperatures, it’s unpleasant and potentially dangerous to live in a home or work in a business with faulty or completely unusable AC.
HVAC units for Houstonians can be problematic for several reasons, which causes many to go year after year without heating or air conditioning. For starters, many homeowners aren’t sure of what causes an AC outage and don’t know how to properly prevent it from happening in the future.
If that’s you, first ensure your AC isn’t acting up because of a simple error.
5 Most Common Problems Resulting In AC Failure
Let’s start with some of the most common AC problems you may be experiencing. Some can be fixed with a few tweaks, while others require the helping hand of an AC repair professional.
1. Problems With Refrigerant
Refrigerant is needed to absorb the heat within your home and provide cool air coming out. If there’s an issue, then there may not be enough refrigerant to make cool air for your home or business.
2. Faulty Evaporator Coils
If your AC is pushing out warm air, there could be something wrong with the operation of your evaporator coils. Chances are, the coils are covered in a layer of ice, which prevents them from absorbing the heat around them. This is also true for evaporator coils that are dirty and covered in a layer of soot or grime.
3. Duct Leaks
Ducts with leaks or breaks in them can cause cool air to flow within the walls and not throughout the rooms in your home or business. This leaves your room feeling warmer and your AC working harder to cool than it should.
4. Fan Issues
If you’re experiencing this type of problem, it’s likely that you’re not feeling as much airflow as you should. However, problems with the fans within your AC should be addressed immediately with an AC repair professional as it can lead to an entire AC system failure.
5. Clogged Drain
As the moisture from the air is removed, it flows into a pan through a drain line and out through the drain. But if this opening is backed up or clogged, you could end up with damage to your HVAC unit and water leaking throughout your home or business.
Quick Fixes Before Calling The Experts
We get it! The heat is unbearable, and you want your AC fixed ASAP when it’s out. No matter how many windows you open or fans you have running, you simply can’t take it. Who can even think straight in that kind of heat and humidity?
We also understand that some of these fixes may not be for the average business owner as you could share the building with multiple businesses. For those situations, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team for help with your AC repair.
Hydrate with a glass of ice-cold water and grab some lightweight gloves just in case. Then, check for the following scenarios to see if you can get it back up and running.
Don’t want to run the risk of ruining your HVAC unit? Give us a call instead.
Repair Leaks
Let’s start by saying this: don’t mess with your refrigerant levels too much. Doing so can further damage your unit.
However, if you notice an obvious leak causing your refrigerant to escape your unit, you may be able to repair it on your own. Get an affordable leak repair kit for holes you can easily see and access. If you think there’s a leak, but you don’t know how to fix it, call a professional.
Keep Air Filters Clean
Replace dirty air filters. Do your best to keep your coils clean of any debris. A dirty air filter is not only bad for your health, but it also serves no purpose for your HVAC unit. It can weaken the AC’s strength and spread lightly cooled air filled with molecular particles of dander, dust, and even mold.
Fix Tripped Breakers
Think you’re facing a tripped breaker? Find your breaker unit and turn it off and on.
If it continues being faulty, there may be more involved than a tripped breaker. Anything electrical could be hazardous to handle yourself. Be extremely careful and call an AC expert if you’re unsure.
Free Frozen Units
When you see ice around your HVAC unit, there may be a few reasons for it. Try setting it to “Auto” and increase the temperature setting to see if the ice melts away. Then, clean up any water or debris that’s left. After this point, your AC should return to normal.
Unclog The Unit And Pipes
Remove any debris or dirt you see on the outside of your HVAC unit. Anything clogging the unit could result in it working too hard to get cold air into your home. This also goes for the pipes. If you feel they may be clogged, a plumber’s snake may do the trick. If you’re unable to clear this type of debris, leave it to an HVAC technician to take care of it.
AC Repair In The Hands Of The Experts
We know Houstonians because we are Houstonians. We realize how important it is to want to feel cool, safe, and comfortable in your own home or place of business. There’s no need to worry when you reach out to our Valderrama Air Conditioning and Refrigeration team of experienced professionals.
Are you experiencing AC repair problems with no solution in sight? There’s no time like right now to book your appointment before the summer season is in full swing. Don’t leave your family or employees miserable during the hottest months of the year.
Book an appointment and get started today. We’ll be on our way!