You need your air conditioner running during the hot summer months, but if you’re struggling with a lot of noise coming from your AC unit, you might be pretty frustrated. Some air conditioners make noise because they need to be repaired. But some air conditioners are simply old or are not located in the ideal place. When you’re hearing more sounds than you would like from your air conditioner, one of the first things that you need to do is determine whether there’s something actually wrong with your air conditioner or if you just need to make a few adjustments so that the sounds aren’t as loud and bothersome.
Sounds That Indicate Problems
If you’re noticing sounds from your air conditioner, the first thing that you should do is make sure that there isn’t something wrong with it. Several parts might be broken or worn out, and you can begin to learn more about what is wrong based on the types of sounds you’re hearing.
Gurgling Sounds
One of the most common sounds that you might hear is a gurgling sound, which might actually come from the inside of the house. While this sound isn’t particularly loud, it does indicate that there’s something in your air conditioner that needs to be fixed. In this case, you usually have a drain line with a clog or hole. The drain line is responsible for transporting the moisture that the air conditioner pulls from the air away from the house, so you’ll usually find the place where it drains somewhere on the outside of the house or by a drain in the floor of the basement.
Rattling Noises
When you hear rattling noises, there are several potential culprits. It’s possible that you simply have some twigs, branches, or leaves in your air conditioner fan, and all you need to do to relieve yourself of the noise is to remove any debris. But another reason that you might hear a rattling sound is that you have a damaged electrical contactor system. If this is the case, you’ll need an experienced air conditioner technician to go to your house, and you should make sure that you have it done sooner rather than later because a damaged electrical contactor can cause even more damage to other components in the system if it isn’t corrected.
Buzzing Noises
If you hear a buzzing sound, there are several potential problems with your air conditioner. For instance, you might have a problem with the fan motor. You might also have unbalanced fan blades, or you could have dirty condenser coils. Otherwise, there might be an obstruction near the copper lines near the air conditioner. But you might also have a refrigerant leak. Whichever of these issues that you have with your air conditioner, you should have it fixed as soon as possible to avoid further damage to other parts of the air conditioner.
Humming Sounds
When you hear humming sounds, you might have a defective contactor relay switch. This component of your air conditioner is responsible for telling the condenser on the outside to turn on when the thermostat sends the message. So, if you hear this humming sound, there’s a good chance that you’ll be without air conditioning soon if you don’t take the time to call a professional air conditioner technician.
Screeching Sounds
Screeching noises are often a sign of a bad fan motor on the outside unit or a bad motor in the compressor of the outside condenser system. Even if you’re not completely certain of which it is, you should have an HVAC technician come out to your house to take care of it. But if you hear a screeching sound coming from inside the house, there’s a good chance that you have a bad fan motor on the indoor unit of the air conditioner. Otherwise, it might be a damaged fan belt inside the house.
Banging Noises
If you hear a banging sound, you might have a problem with the compressor. As the compressor gets older, it’s pretty common for certain parts to become loose and bang around when the air conditioner is running.
What to Do When There’s Nothing Broken on Your Air Conditioner
Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with your air conditioner, but older models tend to be louder because newer models were designed in ways that reduce noise. If you know that there’s nothing wrong with your air conditioner, there are several techniques that you can use to dampen the sound.
Put a Fence Around Your Air Conditioner
One of the first techniques that you should try is to put a fence around your outdoor unit. Even a wooden fence will absorb some of the sound waves that the air conditioner is putting out. Additionally, vinyl is a good material for your fence. But although you want to prevent the sound waves from escaping the area, you should still go with either a lattice or slatted fence design because the air conditioner still needs to have good airflow in order for it to work its best.
Keep the Air Conditioner Away From Brick
And if you have a brick house, you need to be extra careful about how you dampen sounds and where you place your air conditioner. If you have an air conditioner that’s placed right next to a brick wall, the sound waves are going to bounce off of the hard surface, so the waves will travel far. That’s why when you’re putting in a new air conditioner, you shouldn’t put it right next to a brick wall.
Use an Air Conditioner Blanket
Another option to dampen the sounds that your air conditioner makes is to put an air conditioner blanket over the outside unit. This blanket is designed to muffle sounds so that the waves don’t travel as far. You can then enjoy the cooling of your air conditioner while hearing fewer sounds, even if you’re outside on the patio. If you choose this option, you can go to the manufacturer to find out which blanket is recommended for your particular model.
Prevent Vibration Noises From Traveling From the Attic
While the outside unit is most often known for creating a lot of noise, the inside unit can cause sounds that can be irritating, too. Most notably, if your indoor unit is located in the attic, you might hear vibrations as the unit turns on and begins to move. You can muffle these sounds by putting a vibration-muffling mat underneath the unit.
When you have strange or loud sounds coming from your air conditioner in Mesa, you should figure out if the sounds are a sign of a problem. If they’re not, there are some techniques that you can use to dampen the sounds. When you need air conditioning, heating, and other HVAC services, call Honest Air Conditioning so that we can send out one of our professional technicians to take care of your air conditioner.