Call: 02089881662

Common Air Conditioning Problems & Fixing Them

Air conditioning services are a useful tool to improve employee concentration in the workplace, regulate the temperature of your business premises and keep occupants comfortable. Internal air conditioning keeps your environment healthier and can even help with asthma and allergies. 

Conditioning units will filter the air in your premises, and remove dust, bacteria and excess humidity (which can cause the growth of mould). However, these benefits only apply to a working system, so it’s important to service your units regularly!

Here is a useful list of common air conditioning problems, and how to fix them.

 

Blowing Warm Air

If the air coming from your air conditioning machine isn’t as cold as it should be, then you may have a refrigerant leak. This leak often starts like a pinhole, but over time will develop and expand, and become a larger problem. It’s vitally important that you handle a refrigerant leak as soon as you notice it, as immediate action will save you a lot of hassle later on.

Not to mention, the substance escaping the holes in a refrigerant leak is toxic, and can be detrimental to health. Refrigerant leaks must be handled urgently by a professional offering reactive maintenance call-out services. Handling the chemicals inside your air conditioning machine could have a fatal effect without the correct equipment, and the leaks deplete the ozone layer while being unsafe for the immediate environment. 

Another good indicator that a refrigerant leak could be occurring is a foul smell escaping the vents of your machine, so make sure to check the scent regularly. If you have any suspicions at all, contact an air conditioning technician. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

 

Increased Energy Usage

Sometimes your air conditioning unit may still be providing cold air, but the actual machine feels hot to the touch. This isn’t the ideal case, because it indicates that your conditioning unit is overworking. An overworking machine will require more power and will be more expensive to keep running. If you’ve noticed you’re paying more in utility bills, it can be worth checking your machine out.

The problem here is likely that the filter of your machine is clogged or dirty. The air entering and leaving your machine has less space, and so requires more energy to suck in or push out. It isn’t always the case, but the cold air being offered by your machine may also be less cool than usual when your filter is dirty. The biggest indicator is your unit being more expensive to run.

To clean the filter of your air conditioning unit, you can physically remove it and run it under warm water. As soon as it’s dried, reinstall it to your system and note if you see a change. If you can’t see a noticeable improvement and your machine is still consuming a lot of energy, it could be time to purchase a new filter as a replacement. A handyman is a final resort if that doesn’t work.

 

Making Strange Noises

If your air conditioning unit is making an unusual buzzing or banging noises that you haven’t noticed before, it’s likely an indicator of an internal problem. This can be due to a malfunctioning compressor, missing or damaged isolation feet, loose parts, or perhaps because your unit is frozen. A leak usually causes a frozen unit, so this cause is less likely if your air conditioning isn’t blowing hot air.

The compressor in your air conditioning unit is supposed to pressurise and cool the refrigerant. A buzzing sound likely means your compressor isn’t working quite properly, or that the voltage flowing to your machine isn’t at the correct level. A banging sound is more likely to be loose parts in your unit, but buzzing can also occur since the other parts of your system will be working harder to keep your machine running in the absence of your loose parts.

Since these strange noises are hard to understand without familiarity, it’s worth calling a professional to see what the problem is. You can’t assess your units perfectly yourself, and taking them apart is a risky game unless you’re qualified. 

For professional air conditioning unit repair and further advice, please contact us at Kiasu Workforce.

3 Essential Winter Maintenance Tips

The unpredictable weather that comes alongside winter can be detrimental to the health of your house unless you prepare properly. Darker nights could call for more outdoor lighting to maintain visibility in your garden, and cold weather requires that you closely monitor your exterior water pipes, or turn them off entirely. Blocked drains should be sorted before temperatures drop and the mushy leaves freeze over. un

Snow is beautiful to watch from the comfort of your home, but it becomes nothing but a nuisance if your house isn’t prepared for the change in weather.

With some simple preparation and mindfulness before and during the winter months, your property will thrive all year round. Here are 3 essential winter maintenance tips that should come in useful for your home this season!

 

Check The Seals

Use a slim tool, like a screwdriver or your finger, to assess the seals around your windows and doors for hidden openings. Any gap in the seal will let cold air pass into your house, which you don’t want. Your heating bills will be costly if you’re trying to warm a property that won’t retain heat properly, so fixing this error will save you money in the long run.

If you find a gap, fill it in with caulk to prevent heat escaping. Even if you have to hire a handyman to do this job for you, it’ll be less costly than overspending on your heating bills and spending winter cold in your home. Also don’t forget to check around the vents of your home for gaps, and keep an eye out where exterior pipes attach to your property. Inspect the exterior of your property to make a note of any potential access points for cold air, and double-check that everything possible is in place to prevent heat escaping.

 

Service Your Boiler Early

Effective boiler installation, repairs and servicing are all vital to keeping your home happy and healthy, and even more so during winter. Risking your boiler breaking down in winter would be foolish, so make sure to book an inspection and a service before cold weather properly kicks in. You might consider taking out boiler breakdown cover to ease your mind in the expensive build-up to Christmas. 

Though spending money on servicing, inspecting and insuring your boiler may seem daunting, having to arrange a last-minute boiler replacement is almost guaranteed to break the bank more. If the weather is cold enough, your house could be freezing if your boiler malfunctions, and then you’ll have to arrange alternative accommodation too. Pre-empt these issues, and save yourself the hassle.

 

Assess Your Roof

Winter storms can take a toll on even the smallest faults in your roof. A hidden gap can easily be exploited by freezing temperatures and harsh sleet, and escalate to require a significant and costly repair. The last thing that you’ll want to be burdened with over the winter period is a gigantic roof repair, and particularly since you’ll have to live somewhere else while work is done.

Look out for missing or cracked tiles on your own where possible, but leave any roof repairing or close inspection to professionals. As is a steady theme with all minor repairs before winter, it will be less costly to fix the small error than to wait for the problem to escalate! Replacing broken roof tiles and filling gaps where necessary is quicker, more straightforward and cheaper than a total roof renovation after an incident.

 

For further advice on how to winter-proof your home, including best practices regarding your heating and gas services, please contact us at Kiasu Workforce. We’d be more than happy to help.