What To Do If Your Air Conditioning System Experiences Flooding

Hurricane Florence has come and gone, leaving over 18 trillion gallons of water behind. As of yesterday, the rivers were continuing to rise here along the Grand Strand, forcing more and more people in our community out of their homes due to flooding. We hope that your home has been unaffected by these terrible circumstances, but if it has, we are here to offer a few tips on what to do if your air conditioning system experiences flooding.

Your AC system was built to withstand severe weather, including heavy rain, hail and damaging winds, but severe flooding is a completely different animal. If your air conditioner sits in standing water, it can cause severe damage to the electrical parts and moving components. The water typically has to measure about one foot in depth to affect your AC system, but it’s a good idea to contact an HVAC professional like Beach Air of Myrtle Beach to inspect your system if you believe any water seeped into your unit.

If the flooding was so bad at your home that your unit is sitting in standing water, here are a few things we suggest doing to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

1. Turn off all electrical controls to your system. If you do not feel comfortable doing so, please call Beach Air to handle this for you.
2. Allow your AC unit to dry out. Remove any standing water if possible and clear any debris from the surrounding area. We understand that due to the heavy flooding in some areas, it may take a while or be impossible to get rid of all of the water from your unit. We can also help with this if need be.
3. DO NOT cover your unit with a tarp. Your system will not be able to air our properly or remove moisture, which can cause rust among other damage.
4. Leave your unit off until it has been inspected by a professional. Let us be the ones to tell you that your AC unit will operate safely and effectively after a full safety inspection.

Hopefully you will not have to deal with this issue, but if you do, we are certainly here to help out in any way possible!