Have you noticed that your air conditioner isn’t keeping your home cool like it once did? If so, there could be a variety of reasons why your home isn’t cooling down and one of the most common reasons is your air conditioner has most likely run out of freon.

What Is Freon?

Freon is a coolant that helps air conditioners to evaporate the internal heat that they produce and the result is cool air that the air conditioner blows out.

What to Do Before Checking for A Freon Leak

Since freon is a toxic substance, you will want to protect yourself when working with it.

If you don’t have any safety supplies on hand, you will want to buy gloves, a breathing mask, and goggles just to make sure that you don’t inhale the freon and it doesn’t come into contact with your skin.

How to Check for A Freon Leak

To check for a freon leak you will need to attach a temperature gauge to your air conditioner's valves and then wait for a least five minutes to get a correct reading.

For most air conditioners, a temperature reading that’s 45 degrees Fahrenheit generally means that you have a leak somewhere.

To determine what the temperature reading should be for your air conditioner you should research the make and model of your air conditioner online.

Finding the Leak

If it’s looking like your air conditioner is leaking freon you should attach pressure gauges to your air conditioners lines to determine if one or more gauges have possible low-pressure readings.

When a pressure gauge has been attached to your air conditioner lines, anything that’s lower than 65 psi will be an indication that you have a freon leak in that line.

After finding the source of the leak you will need to use an over-the-counter air conditioner repair kit to seal the leak and then recharge your air conditioner.

Contact Air Care Heating & Air Conditioning

If you don’t have experience repairing air conditioners or you don’t feel comfortable working on this project by yourself, contact Air Care Heating & Air Conditioning at (949) 482-2911 or click here to connect with us through our website and schedule an appointment.