Early Signs That Your Air Conditioner Is On The Verge Of A Breakdown

Traffic jams always happen when you're already late for a meeting, you always get sick when you have a lot of do the next day, and air conditioners always break down on the hottest days of the year. There may not be anything you can do about the traffic jams or sickness, but luckily, air conditioner breakdowns are usually preventable. By looking for early signs that your air conditioner is malfunctioning, you can have it repaired before it stops working entirely.

If your air conditioner is showing any of these symptoms, call your HVAC company now, rather than waiting until you're sweating in a 90 degree house:

Water pooling near the unit

Your air conditioner has a drain tube that funnels water away as it builds up inside the unit. If this drain tube becomes blocked, water may pool around the bottom of the air conditioner.

Weak airflow

Does the airflow out of your air conditioner vents suddenly seem less powerful? You may have an obstruction in the system, or perhaps your blower is malfunctioning. Your home may still feel cool on a moderately warm day, but with a malfunctioning blower, your system won't be able to keep up once the temperature climbs.

Your thermostat is inaccurate

If your thermostat is telling your air conditioning system that your home is 70 degrees, but it's really 76, your air conditioner won't kick on when it should. If you think your thermostat's reading sounds inaccurate, or if the temperature your thermostat reads is quite different from the temperature displayed on another thermometer in your home, it's time to call the repairman.

Strange odors

A musty, moldy scent may indicate mold growth inside your ducts, which could cause your air conditioning unit to overheat eventually. If you smell a burning scent, the wiring may be overheating. In any case, it's best to turn your air conditioning off if you detect a strange odor when it's running. Continuing to run it may cause more substantial damage.

When dealing with your air conditioning system, you're always better off calling the repairman and finding out that there's not a problem after all than ignoring a problem and hoping it goes away on its own. What starts as a strange odor or weak airflow may soon lead to a completely non-working system – and when the summer heat wave hits, that's the last thing you'll want to endure.

To learn more, click here to find out more or ask more questions about your air conditioning.