Homeowners are often scared of touching their furnaces or boilers because of how dangerous they can be- but as with any HVAC machine, there can be dangerous problems with your air conditioner as well! Often not as explicit, because let’s face it, a machine that cools is a lot less dangerous than a machine that heats things up. (Nobody is every scared to touch their freezer, but they’d be crazy to touch their stovetop!)
Dangerous problems from an air conditioner can be a lot more insidious than your boiler or furnace. Problems like refrigerant leaks, mold, and an overheating compressor, can still cause major health problems for you and your family if you’re not careful. If any of these problems sound remotely familiar, contact air conditioning service in Syracuse, IN as soon as possible.
Dangerous Problems
Most of the more serious problems that occur with an air conditioner can be noticed by either powerful odors of loud noises. Since loud noises usually mean a completely different set of problems, today we’re going to focus on the more smell-related AC problems. Remember, if you notice any of these smells coming from your air conditioner, contact an HVAC technician stat.
- Burning Smell. Air conditioners have compressors that function as an engine. Over time and without proper maintenance, these compressors will work harder and harder as they overheat. With increasing temperatures in the summertime, the heat mixed with the hard-working compressor can become a fire hazard if you’re not careful. A burning smell or poorly maintained air conditioner should signal to you that there’s definitely something wrong.
- Musty Smell. Nobody ever really thinks that there could be a health hazard from a musty-smelling air conditioner- but truth be told it really can be. Musty smells are signals that there could be mold growing from a condensate leak near your air conditioner’s refrigerant line. This is especially pertinent if you have a ductless mini-split AC system since they run on more refrigerant lines. Clogged condensate drains add moisture to your walls, and as we all know, still moisture in a cool, damp environment breeds mold.
- Refrigerant Leak. You might not be able to smell this problem, but you can definitely hear it. Usually denoted by a hissing or bubbling noise, when your AC starts leaking refrigerant- this can be a huge problem. When your AC leaks freon in your home as a gas, it could cause refrigerant poisoning, which could lead to headaches, irritation of the skin and eyes, and other forms of nausea.
We didn’t mean to scare you. Most of these problems will never get that bad where your health will be in danger. Air conditioners usually shut off before they overheat too much, mold can be pretty easy to sniff out, and refrigerant usually leaks outside (which is still terrible for the environment). However, it’s not a good idea to take the chance that one of these hazards is affecting the health of you and your family.
That’s why hiring a trained professional to test mold levels, refrigerant charge, and maintain your air conditioner on those hot days is the only real way to make sure that you won’t encounter these problems.
For any other AC problems, contact Colliers Heating & Air Conditioning– a company you’ve grown to trust.
