How to Safely Defrost Your Condenser

If your AC is running but no cold air is flowing into your home, or worse, if you see ice on your unit, it's a sign that your system might be frozen. You may think to turn down your thermostat even lower, however, that could be a costly mistake. Continuing to run your unit with a frozen condenser can seriously damage your HVAC system. Ice on your unit means that the refrigerant (the liquid used to cool the air coming into your home), is much colder than necessary and if that super cold liquid is sent into your outdoor unit, it can permanently damage your compressor. Your HVAC system’s compressor should only receive refrigerant in the form of gas and never cold liquid.

The good news is that it's not always necessary to wait for a service technician to come and repair it. In fact, the easiest way to defrost your air conditioning system is by letting nature take over. Just turn the cooling setting on your thermostat to OFF and your system’s fan to ON and wait for the ice to melt. Turning your thermostat from COOL to OFF prevents your home’s air conditioning system from sending that super cold refrigerant to your outside unit where it can reach the compressor. And by turning your fan to ON you are forcing your air conditioner’s fan to blow warmer air over your system’s frozen evaporator coils. Don't try to remove the ice using a sharp object or your hands. Doing so could cause more harm than good both to you and your HVAC system. Depending on the volume of ice that accumulated around your compressor, it could take as long as 1 to 24 hours for it to completely melt. 

If you need to speed up the process, try adding heat in the form of a hairdryer. However, you want to be careful not to use so much heat that you damage your AC system or unit. Keep the hairdryer on the lowest setting and make sure to maintain at least 12 inches of distance away from the coils. If you expose too much heat to the evaporator coils you can risk cracking them. 

After all the ice has melted, turn on the fan-only mode. This will help minimize the amount of moisture that's left in the system. Before you attempt to run your air conditioning again, make sure to take steps to correct the problem that led your condenser to freeze in the first place and prevent further damage. Doing so could involve removing debris from the unit, changing the air filter, or cleaning the evaporator coils. In fact, the most common reason for a frozen air conditioning system is usually a dirty or clogged air filter, which can actually suffocate your air conditioner by not allowing enough warm air to flow over the evaporator coils, or dirty coils themselves.

If your HVAC system freezes again after taking these steps then the problem could be related to a more serious issue, like a mechanical malfunction or a refrigerant leak. In this case it’s time to call in the assistance of a licensed HVAC technician. The experts at AffordaBull Heat & Air are here to help diagnose and correct the issue that is causing your HVAC system’s compressor to freeze up. 

At AffordaBull Heat & Air, we believe it's important to help educate our customers in the River Valley about how to properly maintain home comfort systems. For assistance with air conditioning and other HVAC related issues call us at 479-747-6548.