Air Conditioner Whistling Noise: What Causes It to Happen

It’s not at all nice when your air conditioner whistling noise is coming out. Said it means your AC needs a repair, requiring you to spend your hard-earned money to pay professionals. What may cause your AC to emit such whistling sounds? Find out the answer in this article below.

Air Conditioner Making Whistling Noise Inside House

It may not surprise us when someone living in your house is whistling out of boredom or just finding themself happy—hence the whistle.

However, if the AC makes whistling noise, you may lift your eyebrow because you find it weird. What happened?

There are several reasons which may cause your AC to whistle. The factors that make the air conditioner whistling noise will include:

  1. Poor airflow

What may cause your AC airflow to be worse in quality? Several causes make it happen:

  • Your filter is dirty. If your air conditioner filter is dirty, it blocks the airflow. This said, the overall air system might be interrupted. This will result in your air conditioner working harder to pull more air through the system. The result is a high-pitched noise that you previously mentioned.
  • Something is blocking the airflow. To fix this, you will need to check whether something like drapes, boxes, furniture, or other objects are coming in your way—hence blocking the airflow of your AC.
  • The ductwork requires a reconfiguration or may not be correctly configured. In this case, you will need to hire a technician to check your ductwork. There is a chance of it not being configured correctly, resulting in a high-pitched sound.
air conditioner whistling noise
  1. Duct leaks

Aside from bad airflow, the other cause that will lead your air conditioner to make a whistling noise heard is some leaking in the ductworks.

Know that the ductwork in your home consists of many joints all along the way. When properly installed, it should not have leaks as it’s well-sealed by the installer. However, as time passes, the seals will turn bad, which may develop leaks.

When that happens, it will lead to bad airflow and where the problem comes from. Since the problem lies on the ductworks, it’d be better to leave this to a professional—don’t fix it yourself because you may make it worse.

  1. Bearings and belts problems

High-pitched noise, which may come as a problem in the air conditioner, will typically include a whistle or a screech/squeal. When this happens, you should expect the bearings of the condenser fan or a worn drive blower belt.

Sounds like a problem that you cannot fix yourself? Easy, leave the issue on the professional. They will know what to do when the problem happens.

Read also: Why Split Air Conditioner Makes Loud Noise

How Do I Stop My Air Conditioner from Whistling?

Now that you know the problem, you may begin to wonder what you need to do to stop the whistling noise.

To stop the whistling noise, all you need is to know the problems that cause the whistling noise to happen. Let’s say the poor airflow is what makes the problem arise, then that’s where exactly you need to place the fix in.

You can start by troubleshooting the problem by checking the filter first for dirt. Then, if needed, you can clean it. After that, you can leave for another check to see whether something is blocking the airflow.

But if you don’t have time to fix that, or when it’s too technical that a DIY project doer like you cannot do, you can simply leave the troubleshooting out for professionals to do. Hence, consider calling a technician if cleaning the filter or getting something blocking the airflow don’t work to fix your air conditioner whistling noise.

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AirconMag is an experienced author and Air Conditioner expert. With years of practical experience in the field authored several informative articles on various aspects of AC unit, including installation, maintenance, and repair