Finding an air conditioner not functioning properly as you recognize ice build-up on your AC unit is such a stressful moment. Especially on a hot and chaotic day that drains all your energy.
Usually, the ice is built upon the refrigerant line outdoors or the evaporator coil. It may sound bizarre and scary, but it’s a sign of ice blocking that happens because of refrigerant.
If this happens, you must turn the unit off directly and hit up a professional technician to fix the problems. Don’t ever scrap the ice by yourself, for it would cause more damage to the systems.
What Causes Ice to Build Up on Your AC Unit?
To prevent your air conditioner unit from being frozen in the future, you need to know the causes. Keep on reading to find out!
- Dirty Evaporator Coils
When you see your air conditioner unit starts building up ice on the outside, chances are your evaporator coils are dirty. The warm air that should be passing over the coils is clogged because of layers of grimes. If this continues to happen, it might be damaging for the compressor.
- Low Refrigerant
The air not being flown properly from the refrigerant line or Freon causes the refrigerant level to drop significantly. A low refrigerant on the air conditioner will expand too much in the coils and make Freon’s pressure low. Therefore, your air conditioner unit changes the system’s temperature and throws off balance.
- Blower Fan Problems
A blower fan problem is one of the most common reasons for ice building up on the air conditioner unit. But no worries, fans can get drawn because of regular use. This will slow down or even restrict the cool air that is supposed to enter the room. Thus, the fan balance can be damaged periodically and freezing up your air conditioner unit.
What to Do?
Soon you indicate this issue, be sure to turn the unit off immediately. Don’t continue using the air conditioner as it will only worsen. Once it’s off, you can check the air filter.
If the problem comes from a dirty air filter, changing the old into the new one would be enough to fix the issue. Test the air conditioner to see if the ice returns when the ice is melted, and the air filter is changed already. This usually takes about 5 hours or so.
However, if the ice shows up again, it’s necessary to contact an air conditioner professional to take a look. Indeed, seeing this situation kicks in is far from fun and games. Still, shortcut DIYs or hacks will only bring more problems and costs in the long run.
So, whenever the ice builds up on your AC unit, our experts are here to help. We’re committed to keeping your enjoyable day going!
