Tips For a Flooded Air Conditioner

If you have an air conditioning system, it is undoubtedly built to withstand normal exposure to the elements, including heavy rains, since the unit itself sits outside of your residence. Mother Nature, however, sometimes plays by her own rules and dumps an inordinate amount of rain in a short period of time. This is especially true if you happen to live in a hurricane zone coastal state.

These extraordinary weather events that dump a lot of rain quickly (oftentimes coupled with wind and hail) can potentially damage an AC unit, despite the fact that it is designed to withstand typical meteorological conditions. If you ever find your air conditioner partially submerged or sitting in a measurable amount of pooled standing water, it may be helpful to consult with AC companies in Tampa to determine whether the air conditioner has sustained any damage.

While waiting for a professional technician to arrive, there are several tips a homeowner can follow to lessen the chance of further damage or to decrease the potential for a dangerous situation.

Turn Off the Power

The first thing to do is to deactivate the power supply to the air conditioner. This would generally involve shutting off the circuit breaker in the home’s main fuse box that supplies the AC. Ideally, the circuit breakers in the fuse box will all be labeled, thereby making the identification of the AC breaker fairly simple.

Drain Standing Water

After killing the power to the outdoor unit, the next best thing you can do is remove any standing water that has pooled around the base if this is possible. The quick removal of the water will lessen the potential for damage to the unit’s internal moving parts and electrical components. A wet/dry vacuum is probably the best tool for accomplishing this task.

Kick Start the Drying Process

Once power to the unit has been shut off and any standing water has been removed, you can further kick start the drying process by using a towel to hand dry the air conditioner. Alternatively, you can also use a blow dryer. If you elect to do this, however, make sure that the blow dryer is on the lowest heat setting.

If you ever experience any significant flooding around your air conditioner, it is advisable to contact a local professional to inspect the unit fully and to power it back up in order to lessen the danger to human life and the potential for permanent damage to the circuitry.