Emergency HVAC Repair | Rowbel Services

Do You Need Emergency HVAC Repair?

We’ve all been there before. We wake up to start the day and realize something isn’t working quite right with our heating and cooling systems. It’s definitely a headache to deal with, let alone trying to get a technician out to diagnose and solve the problem. After all, you certainly don’t feel like waiting to get a fix any longer than you’ve already waited. That’s why you should consider getting emergency HVAC services.

Today, learn everything there is to know about emergency HVAC services. You’ll learn about the most common emergency heating, emergency AC repair, and other emergency repairs. Additionally, you’ll learn how to an HVAC emergency from occurring, and why it’s good to give those emergency issues immediate attention rather than waiting for later. You’ll also get to know us a little better, and have a better understanding of what we offer in terms of our emergency response options.

What Is An HVAC Repair?

Before we get into the nitty gritty talking about HVAC emergencies and everything else, it’s probably helpful to explain what HVAC repairs are to begin with.

Your home’s HVAC system refers to its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units. This includes a variety of different items to make one complete system, such as air ducts, your air conditioning unit, a furnace, and more.

Emergency HVAC services refer to any HVAC services conducted as a result of a misfunctioning portion of your system. There are many types of HVAC emergencies, which we’ll talk about in the next section.

Most Common HVAC Emergencies

Believe it or not, some HVAC emergencies are more common than you think. Here are some HVAC emergency causes experts see on a daily basis.

Heater Not Blowing Hot Air

There’s nothing more frustrating than turning on your heater to warm up your home and having it not work. After all, you want to keep you and your family warm during the cold, winter months. In fact, your furnace not producing hot air when you turn it on is a sign of a serious problem in your heating equipment that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Your heating equipment not producing hot air can be caused by numerous things. Your air filter might be clogged, your ignition/pilot light might not be working, or your thermostat might be set to the wrong temperature.

The first thing you should do is try to reset your thermostat and set it to the proper setting. If you try this and still don’t see results, it’s time to make an appointment for emergency heating repair.

Air Conditioner Blowing Warm Air

In Maryland and Virginia, it gets hot in the summer. Not only that, but it can get humid too. Many people rely on the air conditioner to keep temperatures in their homes consistently cool for ultimate home comfort. Staying in the heat for too long can cause serious health hazards and cause you to get sick. If you turn on your air conditioner and it blows warm air instead of cool air, you need to get it fixed as soon as possible.

Your air conditioning system has numerous components. This is why there are even more possible reasons why your AC isn’t working properly. Sometimes it’s as simple as removing obstructions from the outside of your air conditioning system or replacing an air filter. However, it could also be due to frozen evaporator coils, refrigerant leaking, or a compressor not working.

If you’ve tried all the simple fixes like cleaning your vent, replacing a filter, and resetting your thermostat and it still isn’t working properly, make an air conditioning services call as soon as possible.

Leaking Refrigerant

The refrigerant in your HVAC system takes in the air from your outdoor environment, cools it, and runs it throughout your home. Without it, your air conditioning wouldn’t work. Sometimes, your refrigerant leaks. This can be due to cracks or holes inside the coils carrying the refrigerant. Sometimes, you don’t know your refrigerant is leaking until you have problems with your air conditioning not working properly.

There are many signs that point towards leaking refrigerant. One is that your evaporators have frost or ice forming on it during hot weather. Another sign is if you hear hissing sounds or bubbling sounds. If you suspect you’re leaking refrigerant, you need to get your HVAC system looked at as soon as possible. Even if it ends up that it’s not leaking, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Loud, Sudden, Or Unusual Sounds

Your HVAC system isn’t supposed to be noisy. Furthermore, if you ever hear any loud, sudden, or unusual noises throughout your home that doesn’t appear to be caused by anything you can see, it might be your HVAC system.

Unfortunately, there are many different types of noises that point to a number of different HVAC emergencies. As discussed in the section before this one, hissing or bubbling noises may point to a refrigerant leak. Loud clanging or popping sounds could indicate something breaking or being knocked loose. Rattling sounds may indicate something stuck in fan blades.

Regardless, it’s never good to ignore those noises. Before assuming the worst, try turning your HVAC system off and on again. If the problem persists and you can’t see anything noticeably wrong, it’s time to make an appointment to get it checked out.

Any Strong Odors

Strong odors of any kind aren’t a good thing, especially if you can’t tell where they originate from. There are many different kinds of odors people smell from their HVAC systems. Here are some of those and what their common causes are.

– Mold or Mildew

Smelling mold or mildew when you turn your air conditioning on for the first few times of the summer season isn’t uncommon. Bacteria and moisture collect in the air ducts and coils while they’re not being used. This smell should go away on its own after the air is properly circulated throughout your home. However, your HVAC system might have issues circulating the air, especially if it’s old.

If you continuously smell mold or mildew, it’s time to get that checked out as soon as possible.

– Natural Gas

It’s not uncommon to smell gas when you first turn different parts of your HVAC system on for the season. However, after the first ten or so minutes of the system running, the smell should go away. If it persists, you need to turn your system off right away. Then, you should call an HVAC repair person immediately as this indicates a gas leak somewhere in your HVAC system.

– Rotten Egg

The smell of rotten eggs isn’t something that should be fiddled with. If you start smelling rotten eggs throughout your home (and you don’t have any actual rotten eggs), you need to turn off your HVAC system and get outside immediately. Rotten eggs point to a leak in your HVAC system that needs to be dealt with right away.

– Burning

If you smell a strong burning scent, chances are there could be something burning in your HVAC system. The most common cause for this smell is because of dust that accumulates inside your vents, air ducts and other places. Sometimes, you might smell a burning scent if you’re using a different part of your HVAC system for the very first time in a season. However, the scent usually stops after the system has time to run. If you still smell burning after half an hour, call an emergency HVAC technician.

– Animals

For people with pets, normal animal smells aren’t uncommon. However, most people clean up after their animals in an attempt to provide good airflow for them and their pets. If you smell something that’s along the lines of urine or other strong animal scents, it could point towards wild animals nesting inside your outdoor HVAC unit during the cold months.
First, perform a visual inspection of your HVAC system. If you can’t see anything, call an HVAC technician to perform a more in-depth inspection.

Frozen or Clogged Coils

There are numerous reasons why your coils might be frozen or clogged. The most common one being you have inadequate airflow throughout your home. You might also have holes or leaks in your coils.

As soon as you notice clogged or frozen coils, you should make an emergency appointment with an HVAC technician. Letting these issues go for too long could cause more serious, permanent harm.

Ventilation Issues

Improper ventilation in your HVAC system usually points towards blockages in your vents and air ducts. We get it. Even if you’re up-to-date with preventive maintenance and cleaning your vents regularly, buildup still happens. However, those hard to reach places may hardly ever get cleaned, which poses a serious fire hazard and health risk due to diminished air quality.

Dust, dirt, debris, and other bacteria build up quickly in vents, especially if left untouched. If you notice strong ventilation issues, you should get it taken care of right away so the problem doesn’t get worse.

Your HVAC System Doesn’t Start

Nothing’s worse than trying to start your HVAC system and it just is not working. You could be doing everything right, and it’s still possible to experience issues with your system. There are numerous causes to a system that doesn’t start. One of the most common is a problem with the electrical components in your HVAC system.

To try and get all the most common fixes out of the way, try these things. First, check to see if your thermostat is programmed correctly. Sometimes it gets knocked around or accidentally changed. Next, check your fuse box to see if you have any blown fuses.

If you do both these things and the problem still persists, call an emergency HVAC technician. They’ll diagnose the problem and implement a solution as soon as possible.

How to Prevent HVAC Emergencies

Did you know there are measures you as a business owner/home owner can take to prevent HVAC emergencies from happening? Of course, accidents happen, so not everything is preventable 100% of the time. However, taking action now prevents emergencies happening later as much as possible. Here are some preventive measures you can take to keep those emergencies away.

Get Regular Maintenance

One of the most important things you can do for the health and longevity of your HVAC system is to get regular preventive maintenance on it. We recommend getting maintenance at least twice a year. Once before summer and once before winter. This way, everything is inspected and ready to go for the warm or cold months to come.

Regular maintenance not only keeps everything running smoothly, but it makes sure there aren’t any serious problems at bay too. The last thing you want is to encounter an issue the first week into a new season and be told you need a new HVAC system.

Get Problems Fixed As Soon As Possible

Another way to prevent HVAC emergencies is to get any issues you have fixed as soon as possible. Even if your HVAC system is experiencing something that isn’t necessarily an emergency, it’s still important to get a service call scheduled as soon as possible. There are numerous benefits of getting your HVAC system serviced sooner rather than later. In fact, there’s a whole section dedicated to it below!

Change Your Filters

Did you know that something as simple as a dirty filter might be the root cause of your emergency HVAC issues? Dirty HVAC filters cause a number of different problems. There’s fire hazards from the dense dust and dirt. There are also health hazards from the buildup of dirt, debris, and other bacteria. Not to mention, if you’re allergic to dust and haven’t changed your filter in months, you’re likely putting your body under a whole lot of unnecessary stress.

It’s recommended that you change your filters every 90 days to guarantee proper ventilation and airflow.

Test Your Entire HVAC System

This might seem like a gimme, but testing your entire HVAC system a couple times per year can prevent HVAC emergencies from happening. Furthermore, it can catch already existing issues you might not know about!

Part of testing your HVAC system includes performing a visual inspection of all its components. Look for dents, holes, or cracks in your furnace and all its coils. Make sure your air filters are changed and your vents don’t look clogged. Go outside and inspect your outdoor unit for cracks, animal waste, and any obstructions. Even doing this goes a long way towards preventing emergencies and prolonging the longevity of your whole HVAC system.

Ensure It’s Ready For Seasonal Changes

This tip goes hand in hand with the first tip, which is getting regular maintenance performed. Before turning your air conditioner on for the summer months or turning your furnace on in the winter months, it’s a good idea to make sure your HVAC system is ready to go before the turn of the season.

Recall the last time you had maintenance performed or fixes implemented. Has it been more than a year? Or maybe you haven’t at all? If you answered yes to either of those questions, it’s a good time to get your whole HVAC system professionally inspected.

Clean Your Vents and Ductwork

Cleaning your vents and ductwork is another way to prevent dangerous emergencies from occurring. You may be able to use a ladder and clean out your vents, or you may need professional help too. Professionals have extra tools and extensive experience cleaning vents and making sure there aren’t any blockages, but it can be expensive depending on how much ductwork you have. Performing the cleaning yourself is cheap, but you may not be able to get into all the areas you need.

Benefits of Immediate HVAC Servicing

If you suspect there’s an issue with your HVAC system, it’s always a good idea to get it looked at as soon as possible. Here are some benefits of scheduling immediate service instead of waiting for a later time.

You Save Money

One of the largest benefits of getting your HVAC system serviced as soon as you notice issues is that you save lots of money. Why is this? Although it may seem counterintuitive to be saving money with an emergency service, you get all your HVAC problems taken care of right away. If you leave the emergency untouched, that issue could snowball into multiple other problems. The more you need to get fixed with your HVAC system, the more money you’ll have to spend.

The bottom line is this. It might seem like an inconvenience to schedule an emergency HVAC service appointment. However, what you don’t fix now might cost you hundreds more later on down the line.

You Save Time

Another reason you should get all your HVAC issues fixed as soon as you notice them is because you save time. Although you’ll have to take time out of your busy schedule to get an emergency maintenance technician out to your house, you ultimately save time in the long run. While the technician is at your house, they’ll likely evaluate your entire HVAC system instead of just the issue at hand, just to see if there are any other issues.

Suppose they even notice something else that needs to be fixed. Because they’re already there fixing your first issue, they’ll stick around and fix whatever else needs to be fixed. This saves you time spent for another two or three HVAC appointments.

You Prevent Further Damage To Your System

By having your HVAC issues fixed as soon as you notice the issues, you’re preventing further damage to your system. Just like if you keep driving a car with smooth tires, the tires will keep getting smoother over time. This causes the potential for more damage to your car. The same concept applies to your HVAC system.

If you know of an issue and keep running your HVAC system, you could potentially damage it even more than it’s already damaged. You don’t want to have to fix more problems than you initially thought!

Your Entire System Gets Tested

Excellent HVAC technicians will go the extra mile when it comes to diagnosing issues with your parts. They’ll diagnose and fix the problem you currently have. However, they’ll also perform an inspection of the rest of your system to make sure it’s functioning properly. Although there might not be anything wrong with it, it’s a good idea to get it tested anyways just in case.

You Stay Comfortable Longer

No one likes to be freezing or too hot in their own home. If you experience an emergency, you risk not being able to use your air conditioner or furnace to its full potential. When the hot summer months or cold winter months hit Maryland and Virginia, the last thing you want is to be too hot or too cold. Get heating, ventilation, or air conditioning repair services as soon as possible!

Try The Crew at Rowbel Services

We understand that accidents and emergencies happen. We’d much rather you contact us sooner than later to take care of any HVAC maintenance you need. Do you have a heating problem or air conditioning issues? Rowbel Services proudly serves all your metropolitan areas in Maryland and Virginia. If you ever have any questions about whether we can provide you with a quality service, give us a call! We do away with hidden fees and even provide free estimates for any repairs you might need.

As a 24/7 emergency HVAC service center, we’ve got your back and want you to be completely satisfied. We send experts out as soon as you call us so you get immediate attention and you can get back to your busy life. We’ve got years of experience with everything heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Our talented technicians strive to provide you with quick, high-quality service and keep you informed every step of the way. Contact us today to learn more.

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