Nobody wants anything to rust. It’s just not what you want to happen to metal! And yet, I’ve often discovered that people are willing to let “a little rust” get past them when it comes to important appliances like a central air conditioner. “After all,” they say, “What’s a little rust”?
No! I have to put my paw down on this. I’m going to tell you about the problem with rusty/corroded air conditioning coils. If you’ve found your way to my blog because you’re wondering if corroded AC coils are a problem, then you’re already ahead of the game and on your way to scheduling the air conditioning repair in Knoxville, TN to fix the problem.
Corroded Coils Are Big Trouble
Corrosion is something you expect to see on a really old piece of machinery. Age can certainly be one reason you’ve got a rusted-up air conditioner—one that needs to be replaced ASAP. But I’ve got some worse news: corrosion doesn’t have to wait for your air conditioner to get to retirement age. It can start as early as a few months after the system was installed, and it’s common to see air conditioners more than four years in service with corroded coils.
The problem is that this corrosion is happening because of a reaction with chemicals in the air. These are common household chemicals that can come from drywall, cleaning solutions, and varnish. Then there’s plain ol’ moisture in the air. Water plus metal, as you know, can equal rust.
Corroded coils can lead to leaking refrigerant and a loss of cooling power, and they’re one of the top causes of needing to have a coil replacement. Or, in some cases, replacing the whole air conditioner. Catching the problem early makes it more likely you can avoid a bigger, more costly repair.
Can I Prevent Coil Corrosion?
Air conditioning manufacturers make efforts to prevent coil corrosion with special coatings. Unfortunately, there’s a limit to how much anti-corrosion coating they can put on the coils before it interferes with system efficiency, so there are still opportunities for corrosion to get a hold on the coils.
You can cut down on those opportunities tremendously if you remember this simple tip: have the AC professionally maintained each year. Our maintenance team always takes steps to clean air conditioner coils with specialized cleaners to remove all the deposits that can lead to corrosion.
In fact, this is a great way of showing you how beneficial regular maintenance is! Just this one job, professionally cleaning the coils, prevents an expensive repair, and maintains energy efficiency. The coils won’t corrode early and need to be replaced, and the coils won’t lose efficiency because of deposits. And because completely corroded coils can mean having the replace the entire AC, maintenance helps extend the system life.
The moral of my story here is to stick with annual air conditioning maintenance and give the team at Russell & Abbott a call when you notice any rust or other corrosion on your AC coils.
Stay cool,
Olive