{"id":992,"date":"2023-04-24T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/?p=992"},"modified":"2024-01-17T14:25:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T19:25:54","slug":"why-refrigerant-loss-is-a-big-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/why-refrigerant-loss-is-a-big-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Refrigerant Loss Is a Big Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/iStock-184357760_800x533.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/iStock-184357760_800x533-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"technicina-works-on-refrigerant-lines\" class=\"wp-image-993\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/iStock-184357760_800x533-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/iStock-184357760_800x533-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/iStock-184357760_800x533.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Your air conditioner uses refrigerant\u2013a gas that is used to transfer heat and produce cool air in air conditioners, refrigerators, and basically anything that provides cooling. It\u2019s mission critical for any air conditioner, but if it leaks, it doesn\u2019t just impact your ability to use your AC. It has negative health implications as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"\/services\/air-conditioning\/ac-repair\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refrigerant leak<\/a> is a serious enough problem that you should never attempt to clean one up on your own. In fact, you should clear the premises and call for air conditioner repair. We know this leaves you with a lot of questions, so let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Refrigerant Does to You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Refrigerant is a chemical that can hold either a gas or liquid form. It changes states, which is why you\u2019ll see it referred to as a gas or a liquid interchangeably. If you see it on your floor, it\u2019s currently in its liquid state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you inhale refrigerant in any capacity, it can cause long-term negative effects on your brain and lungs. But that&#8217;s not the most serious part of a refrigerant leak. Refrigerant is heavier and denser than oxygen, which means it can push the breathable air out of a room and cause suffocation in the most severe cases. This is where the danger comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How it Impacts Your Air Conditioner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Because your air conditioner uses refrigerant to pull warm air out of your home and replace it with cool air, as you can imagine, it\u2019s pretty important for your AC to function in the first place. When it leaks, your air conditioner can\u2019t do its job properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it\u2019s a small leak, likely caused by corrosion or a pin-sized hole in the refrigerant line, it may not become immediately apparent. Your AC might run for longer than it usually does, but it\u2019s pretty hard to notice in the beginning stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason this is dangerous for your AC is because it can cause the remaining refrigerant to freeze, resulting in ice on your evaporator coil and compressor. Your air conditioner can\u2019t detect this and just shut itself off, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It just knows that the temperature isn\u2019t where you want it to be, so it keeps running. When these components freeze up, it causes severe mechanical strain on your air conditioner and can lead to components failing, or a full-scale breakdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You Never Need to \u201cTop it Off\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Refrigerant sits in a closed loop. It expands into a gas and returns to liquid all within the loop, so it isn\u2019t spent. If you ever read an article or hear advice saying to just \u201ctop off\u201d your refrigerant, ignore it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not akin to a car running out of gas where you just pour more in. This indicates that there\u2019s a leak somewhere in your system. Once the leak is repaired, a technician will replace the missing amount of refrigerant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leaks Are Always a Big Deal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Refrigerant leaks are always a problem. If you can see refrigerant anywhere in your home, it\u2019s a health risk\u2013always take it seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"\/contact\/send-a-message\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Contact Air Supreme Heating and Air Conditioning today<\/strong><\/a><strong> to schedule your AC repair and stop that refrigerant leak as soon as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Refrigerant leaks pose potentially fatal consequences. Find out why refrigerant leaks are bad for you, your AC, and what you can do about them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[13,89,88],"class_list":["post-992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning-service","tag-air-conditioning","tag-air-conditioning-repairs","tag-ashland"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1089,"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions\/1089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airsupremellc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}