What to Do When Your AC Is No Longer Cooling Your Orleans, IN Home

Orleans is no stranger to hot summer weather, but with a functioning AC unit, there’s nothing to worry about.

It’s when your AC unit stops cooling your Orleans home that you need to start worrying. Being stuck in a home without air conditioning isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s also unsafe. Hot, humid conditions in the home often lead to poor indoor air quality, which can affect your health in various ways.

In today’s post, we’ll help you figure out why the AC not cooling your Orleans home and tell you what to do about it. These essential tips and tricks will help you diagnose and fix the issue quickly so you don’t have to deal with the effects of an overheated home.

Common AC problems are almost always behind a lack of cooling. Keep reading and you’ll be able to restore cooling fast and protect yourself from the heat.

AC Not Cooling? Use These AC Troubleshooting Tips

There are some AC issues you can deal with on your own and others you’ll need professional help to address. The first step, however, is attempting to diagnose what the problem is. Here are a few AC troubleshooting tips to help you get to the bottom of things.

Check the Thermostat

Before anything else, check if the thermostat is properly communicating with your HVAC system. Lower the setting on the thermostat to a much cooler temperature and wait for the AC to kick in. Over the next 20-30 minutes, you should hear your AC working and notice the temp change.

If you don’t hear the AC working or it turns on and off, then there could be an issue with the thermostat. If you can hear it working but the home isn’t cooling, it’s likely something else.

Change Your Air Filters

One of the most important aspects of routine AC maintenance is changing the air filters. These do exactly what it sounds like they do- filter out contaminants from entering your HVAC system and home. In doing so, it helps improve your indoor air quality and AC performance.

Over time, filters become clogged with dirt and debris. If you fail to change them – you should do it at least every 90 days – your unit will have to work harder to cool your home, which puts it through unnecessary wear and tear.

The result is higher energy bills and a faulty AC unit. Debris will also enter your airstream, lowering your indoor air quality. Americans spend around 90% of their time indoors, so good indoor air quality is a must.

Clean Your Ducts

The other thing that could be clogging up your airflow, making it hard for your AC unit to cool your home, is dirty air ducts. You need to keep these clear so the cool air from the air conditioner can flow freely into every part of your home.

It’s wise to have your ducts professionally cleaned at least once per year. Dirty ducts, like dirty air filters, can drastically lower the performance of your HVAC system.

Listen for Odd Noises

When you turn your air conditioner on, listen carefully to the way it sounds. While an AC unit is running, it’s normal to hear a low hum. This is just the mechanical components of the system operating as they should.

It’s when you hear unusual noises that you should be concerned. Different noises signal different HVAC issues, so you need to pay close attention to the specific sounds you’re hearing.

For example, if it’s a screeching noise, it’s most likely an issue with the compressor or fan motor. A banging noise often means that there’s something loose in the system and you should stop using it immediately. Squealing noises indicate there’s an excess of pressure in the system that could cause serious damage.

Any of these things could be the reason that your AC unit isn’t cooling your home. It’s best to turn the unit off and call for emergency HVAC repair right away

Use Your Other Senses

You can also use your other senses to diagnose certain AC issues. For example, if your AC unit smells when it’s operating, it could mean a couple of different things.

A burning smell tells you that there’s a faulty wire in the system. You don’t want to risk a house fire, so always turn the unit off when you smell burning.

If it’s a musty smell, you could be dealing with mold somewhere in your duct system. This doesn’t affect the overall performance of your air conditioner, but it’s a major concern that you should quickly address.

Look for Leaks

If you’re already noticing that your AC unit is having difficulties cooling your home, take the time to visually inspect its various components. When you’ve got a refrigerant leak, there will often be signs in and around the air conditioner that can confirm it.

Frozen evaporator coils, for example, are often the result of low refrigerant levels. When it thaws out, you may have an excess of moisture in the condensate drain line and pan, so you may also notice a leak around the inside part of your air conditioner.

Leaks can mean other things as well. The condensate drain line could be clogged, which can be an easy fix with a homemade solution and a wet vac. Another culprit is once again a dirty air filter, since it restricts airflow to the evaporator coil.

How to Find Orleans IN HVAC Services

These AC troubleshooting tips should help you find the source of your air conditioner problems. A lack of cooling is equal parts frustrating, uncomfortable, and unsafe, so the sooner you can detect a problem and find its source, the faster you can get it fixed.

The next step, of course, is to find an HVAC service to help. For those in Orleans, IN, the best answer to your AC not cooling woes is Dayton’s Heating and Cooling. Since 1985, we’ve been helping Orleans residents stay cool and comfortable in the summer heat, so contact us today for your AC service.