Compared to all home services, many people consider air conditioning to be a fairly small part of their home life. However, considering that it controls their air quality and overall level of heat, there can be some situations where repairing a damaged AC unit can be a literal life-saving measure.
For more help understanding if air conditioning and other repairs are urgent or not, please see the infographic below.
Provided by Air Mechanical – heating and cooling Minneapolis
How urgent are faulty AC repairs, and what kind of problems can turn minor repair work into a significant emergency if you discover them?
Air Quality
A damaged AC system can sometimes cause issues with air quality. This isn’t just bad smells, but an actual issue with the air itself – spreading allergens, becoming harder to breathe, or even becoming slightly toxic if the wrong chemicals get into the AC system.
These faults can come from a lot of different places, but they can all be a major concern. While a slight coating of dust may not seem like much, it could quickly spiral into something much larger-scale, potentially putting you and your family at risk of health issues due to the contaminated air.
Bad air quality can also make certain other problems far worse. For example, high heat and poor air quality are a combination that can lead to certain people passing out, especially in heatwaves. If you aren’t careful, this can be a serious safety risk for everybody in the same building.
Temperature Problems
Like air quality, a sudden temperature change can be a major concern as well. If an AC unit can’t get hot enough on a cold day, or cold enough on a hot day, then it can’t protect you from extreme weather that poses a genuine threat to your health.
This is most worrying when you have children, elderly family members, or pets at home since they can be incredibly susceptible to temperature extremes. It only takes a day or two of overheating for somebody to suffer serious long-term damage, and freezing can be equally as dangerous.
Repairing your AC unit earlier than necessary allows you to combat this problem before it starts. Even if your AC unit can still provide heating and cooling, it may suffer from reduced efficiency that making it less useful for keeping the entire property in a consistent temperature range.
When Are These Repairs Urgent?
Urgent repairs are dependent on the actual risks involved. Very few companies, from small local specialists to major air conditioning services in Peoria, are going to treat an AC repair job as urgent if the problem doesn’t put anybody at risk.
However, during extreme weather or in cases where the air conditioning unit is posing a genuine health threat, expect the work to become very urgent. Not only can AC be a very necessary thing in many parts of the United States, but a broken AC unit can actually be a serious health risk.
Remember to not panic if you notice a fault with your AC system. While they can be a health hazard, this usually only happens with long-term exposure, so you have plenty of time to arrange for an inspection or repair job at your own pace.