When it is 70+ degrees outside and you have your air conditioner running, the very last thing you expect to see coming from it is a sheet of ice. Most often, when owners see water or ice coming from their air conditioning unit, they think it is a natural byproduct. While an air conditioner can produce some condensation, you shouldn’t be seeing it, and it most certainly shouldn’t be frozen. This means if you see your AC icing up, it is a sign of a problem, but what is causing it?
What is happening when your air conditioner is producing ice is that it is – obviously – getting too cold. Ideally, it takes the warm air from your home, runs it over the evaporator coils in order to produce cold air to pump back in. This warm air also serves another purpose of keeping the condensation, a byproduct that will safely be drained away, from freezing on the evaporator coils as they work. Unfortunately, as for the cause of ice on your evaporator coils, there can be several. These causes include:
- Poor airflow
- Faulty blower fan
- Dirty evaporator coils
- Low refrigerant
The good news is that each of the problems above is typically caught during seasonal maintenance calls and can be fixed up rather quickly if you notice it outside of that time. In some cases, even simply replacing a dirty air filter can be the solution. However, even if the fix is a simple one, this issue shouldn’t be ignored. It can end up causing serious damage to your unit which will take what could have been a repair and make it into a replacement.
If you are having air conditioning problems and want to get your unit up and working for the summer season, contact us today to see what Air Doctor Heating & Air Conditioning can do to help.