Many homeowners dismiss the care needs of their central air conditioner until it no longer responds or cools the house. What many don't realize is that some of the sounds that you hear from that air conditioning unit can alert you to the signs of an impending problem. Here's a look at what you need to know about your home's central air conditioning unit and the sounds you might hear that indicate the need for air conditioning repair.
Loud Banging Sounds
Hearing any kind of loud banging sounds from your central air conditioner is troubling. The first thing that you need to do is isolate where the noise is coming from. For example, are you hearing the sound indoors? If so, it could be coming from the system's air ducts. Sometimes, when the ductwork isn't adequately braced, it can rattle when air starts flowing through it.
However, when the sound is coming from the air conditioner itself, that's a cause for concern. In most situations, a banging sound that comes from your air conditioner indicates that there's something hitting the blade of the fan. When that happens, it can damage the fan. Unfortunately, by the time you hear it, the fan is likely already damaged. You'll need to call an air conditioning repair technician right away to resolve the problem.
Rattling Sounds
If you're hearing something in your air conditioning condenser rattle, you should shut the system off right away. In many cases, a rattle is coming from a loose fan or another internal component. The loose component rattles as it moves on its mount. If you don't shut the air conditioner off, you risk having that component come completely loose and damage the rest of the components inside the condenser. An air conditioning repair technician will help you to isolate the source of the noise and repair the problem.
Squealing Sounds
When your air conditioner turns on and suddenly starts to squeal, you should turn it off immediately. Squealing sounds are typically the result of a bearing either in the motor or the fan getting ready to fail or another internal component binding up. The sooner you address a squealing air conditioner, the better. Not only is the sound annoying, but it will likely worsen until it causes a catastrophic air conditioning failure. Make sure that you have the unit inspected and repaired as soon as possible.
No matter what the problem might be with your central air conditioner, your air conditioning repair technician can help you to restore its operation.
For more information, reach out to an air conditioning repair service.
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