How Long Does It Take To Defrost A Ac Unit

If you see ice on either your indoor or outdoor unit, information technology'southward a articulate sign that something'due south wrong with your AC unit.

The worst part? If you continue running the AC, you risk dissentious the compressor—a $1,495+ Air conditioning repair (more than on that later).

That said, follow these steps to unfreeze your AC unit quickly:

Turn the thermostat from Absurd to OFF
Turn the fan setting to ON
Cheque your filter and supervene upon it if needed
If the filter isn't dirty, call a professional person before turning the Ac back on

Note:These instructions volition simply help your AC to unthaw simply won't guarantee the prevention of further harm due to falling ice chunks, water on controls, water damage, etc.

In this commodity, we'll explicate the rationale behind each of the steps higher up. We'll also provide tips that will help you prevent expensive water damage, or worse—a disrepair AC unit.

Your Air-conditioning is freezing up for a reason and merely thawing out the unit won't fix the root trouble. If you want to solve the problem at the core, we can help. Just contact us for an air-conditioning repair service.

Pace 1: Turn the thermostat from Cool to OFF

Ice on the AC unit means the refrigerant, the liquid that cools your dwelling house's air, is much colder than information technology should exist. And if that abnormally cold refrigerant is sent to the outdoor unit, it could kill your compressor. The compressor should only ever receive refrigerant in the form of a superheated gas—NOT a cold liquid.

Here's the bottom line: Turning the thermostat from Absurd to OFF stops your Ac from continuously sending cold refrigerant to your outside unit (where your compressor is located).

During healthy operation, your compressor should but always receive refrigerant in the class of superheated gas—Non a cold liquid.

Stride 2: Turn the fan setting to ON

Turning the fan to ON forces your AC's indoor fan to blow warm air non-stop over your Air-conditioning's frozen coils.This will help the ice thaw faster.

Tip: Don't turn your fan setting to AUTO. This setting only runs the blower motor during a cooling cycle—and remember, you simply turned the thermostat from COOLING to OFF then your AC won't be going through whatsoever cooling cycles.

How long will it take for my AC unit to thaw?

Information technology can take anywhere from1 hr to over 24 hours to unfreeze your air conditioner. It all depends on the extent of the water ice buildup.

As you're waiting for the unit to thaw, keep an eye out for:

An overflowing bleed pan. If you can access your indoor AC unit, you may desire to put some towels on the flooring surrounding the unit of measurement. This volition aid forestall h2o damage if the melting ice overflows the drain pan and leaks onto the flooring.
A clogged condensate drain. As the water ice on your evaporator ringlet thaws, the water will drip into a condensate drain pan and so flow outside via a condensate bleed line (a white PVC pipage). Sometimes, though, dirt picked up forth the way tin form a clog in that drain line and cause water to backup and overflow.

3. Check your air filter and supersede it if needed

The most common culprit behind a frozen Ac is a dingy/clogged air filter. And then, cheque your air filter as you wait for the unit to thaw out.

Pro tip: Bank check your filter equally soon every bit you plow the thermostat to OFF. The longer you await, the more likely the ice will melt onto your air filter and create a muddied puddle.

If your air filter looks similar to the filter beneath, change it out for a new filter immediately.

Even a sparse layer of dust/dirt on your air filter tin can cause major AC problems, so change it out fifty-fifty if the filter isn't quite every bit clogged every bit the one above.

A dirty air filter "suffocates" your air conditioner. And when your air conditioner doesn't get enough warm air flowing over your evaporator coil, the refrigerant inside gets colder and colder. And think,very common cold refrigerant coils + moisture in the air = water ice.

I replaced my dirty filter, at present what?

If you just replaced a dirty filter, proceed waiting until your AC has completely thawed out. Once your AC is unfrozen, turn the AC back on and run the air normally butgo along an eye on the unit for the next few days.

The dirty filter was near likely the problem but to ensure that there isn't another bigger issue, watch for any ice returning on the Ac lines. If you discover any ice forming or detect other AC problems, call a professional person to audit and diagnose your unit of measurement.

Step 4: Don't take a dirty filter? Phone call a professional right away

A dirty air filter isn't the only problem that tin cause a frozen Ac—simply it's the merely problem that yous can solve on your own.

If you checked your air filter and it'south completely make clean, you have a more serious Air-conditioning problem, such as:

A refrigerant leak
Clay on the evaporator curl
A weak or bad blower motor
Stuck or closed expansion valve
Complanate duct
Any other number of Air-conditioning bug

And don't ignore this trouble. Otherwise, you lot'll continue dealing with a frozen AC and somewhenyou'll end up paying over $3,000 for a damaged compressor.

Need a professional AC repair?

Contact Leonard Splaine to schedule an Ac repair. We'll ship one of our trusted technicians to visit your home and install a hard start kit for your air conditioner.

Yous can also requite us a call on 703-494-2855