Why is ice forming on my AC pipes and indoor unit?
Woke up to a block of ice building on the copper pipe going into my indoor AC unit, and it is barely cooling even though it ran all night. Split unit in a Marina apartment, about 4 years old.
Is this something I have caused, or a sign something is failing? A little nervous about switching it back on.
3 answers
Classic iced-up evaporator coil. Two usual causes: airflow starved by a dirty filter or a coil that has never been cleaned, or the refrigerant charge is low from a slow leak. Both drop the coil below freezing and the humidity in the air freezes onto it.
First thing: switch it off and let it thaw fully for a couple of hours — running it frozen strains the compressor, which is the expensive part. Then wash the filters and, if you can reach it, check the indoor coil is not furred with dust. If it ices up again within a day, it is almost certainly gas, and that needs a proper leak check rather than just a top-up.
Had exactly this last summer. Turned out my filters were caked — had not touched them since I moved in. Washed them, let it thaw overnight, been fine since. Worth ruling out the free fix before paying anyone.
One Marina-specific thing: if you are high up with brutal afternoon sun, the unit runs almost non-stop, so filters clog far faster than the once-a-year most people assume — I would rinse them every 3 to 4 weeks in summer. If it keeps freezing after a clean, a full AC repair and maintenance service will pressure-test the gas and clean the coil in one visit rather than you guessing.
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