As Floridians, one of the most terrifying experiences is putting your hand up to your AC vent and feeling your home air conditioning system blowing warm air, especially in the hot summer months. If you find your home air not blowing cool, your first instinct may be to immediately assume your AC is not working and call up your local Florida air conditioning company. But do not panic just yet! Instead, remember these few things to check before picking up the phone. With any luck, one of these simple fixes will save you the cost of having to hire a technician and have your cold air filling up your home in no time!
The first thing you should check, and probably the easiest fix, is to check the setting of your thermostat. The last thing you would want is to have an air conditioning repair company come out and bill you for something as unproblematic as switching your thermostat to cool mode. There are a number of reasons why your thermostat may have its air setting switched. Causes may include brownouts and power lose resetting the thermostat. Smart thermostats such as Google Nest, Honeywell, Emerson, and Ecobee may experience problems with the schedule feature when losing connectivity to the internet. Kids with curious hands who like to experiment with different buttons on the Thermostat may be the culprit as well.
Another thing you should add to your warm air checklist is to make sure the circuit breaker assigned to your heat and air conditioning didn’t trip. Lightning storms in Florida are no joke. They are loud and terrifying and have the potential to ruin anything you plug into the wall. Some Floridians have even resorted to unplugging everything during lightning storms or invested in surge protection programs. After a bad lightning storm in your area, a simple flip of a switch may immediately ease your anxiety of losing ice cold air in your home.
Checking the air filter on your AC system may also prevent a phone call to your local Florida HVAC company. When the cooling system’s filter is grimy, the air conditioner cannot correctly move air through the system. This issue can strain your air system and can cause warm air to blow through the vents. In most cases, your air conditioning filter is located right next to the furnace or in the return air duct, or in layman’s terms, the bigger metal grate on the floor, wall, or ceiling. You simply pull back the grate and check the condition of the filter. If the filter is visibly dirty, it needs to be replaced. When it comes to air conditioning filters, a general rule of thumb is to replace every 90 days, but not all homes and air conditioning usage are the same, so it is wise to have regular checks and replace as needed.
Last thing to check before declaring the AC is not working is to make sure the drain line isn’t clogged. Just like with plumbing pipes, heating and air conditioning drainpipes are susceptible to clogging. If the air coming out of your vents smells musty or moldy, odds are, it’s the drainpipe that is clogged. You can also check to see if there is water buildup around the indoor unit. If you conclude that your drainpipe is clogged, follow these easy steps to unclog simple drain buildup:
- Turn off your air conditioning system from your thermostat
- Find the end of the drainpipe (where the water eventually drains out, usually located outside near condenser unit)
- Attach end of a wet/dry vacuum to end of pipe and secure it with duct tape or anything that will make the vacuum end on the drainpipe airtight.
- Turn on vacuum and let run for about 60-90 seconds
If these 4 steps do not unclog your drainpipe, the buildup may be serious and require the expertise of a HVAC technician.
If your vents are still blowing cold air after checking all of these common things, it may be time to call a Florida air conditioning company. You can rest easy knowing that you tried everything you could, and your system will be well taken care of in the hands of a licensed and trusted professional.
