There are several issues that can cause ice to form on your air conditioner. You may have a dirty evaporator coil, low refrigerant level, or clogged air filter. It’s important to know how to respond to this problem, because the wrong response could cause serious damage to your system. Follow these steps if you see ice on the AC unit in your Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home.

Turn the System Off

The first thing you should do if you see ice on the air conditioner is turn the unit off. Your system won’t cool the home properly in this state, and keeping it running will only cause unnecessary wear on the parts. Allow the ice to melt off the air conditioner naturally. Never chip away at the ice on your own or attempt to pull it off in any way. The only safe way to get rid of ice at this stage is to give it time to melt.

Change Your Air Filter

As the ice is melting on your air conditioner, you can locate and inspect the system’s air filter. If you haven’t changed your air filter regularly, you may find that it’s clogged with dust and dirt. If this is the case, your air filter may be causing the ice buildup. Your system won’t have adequate airflow to blow over the evaporator coils. Without the warm airflow over them, these coils become too cold and begin to ice over.

Contact a Professional

After changing your filter, you can try operating your air conditioner again. However, if it still experiences problems with ice build-up, you will need to turn it off again as soon as possible and call a professional. The other potential causes for this problem must be handled by an experienced HVAC technician.

If you’re seeing ice on your air conditioner, we can help. Call One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® of Baton Rouge at (225) 320-4162 for an AC repair. We’ll help you resolve this problem quickly so you can return to cool comfort.