Air Conditioning Units and Dust Storms

Many valley residents have noticed the muggy weather this past Independence Day holiday and are beginning to worry about the monsoon season and its bringing of multiple dust storms. Last year we saw countless “haboobs” and no doubt many of you called in a technician afterwards because of the damage to your AC unit that you assumed was caused by the storm.

However, dust storms alone DO NOT cause damage to your unit. If there is damage to your AC unit, it was most likely due to natural wear and tear. The AC unit is a sealed system so the most that will happen in a dust storm is a coating of dirt on the condenser coils that can be rinsed off with a garden hose. Also, if you do decide to call a technician after a dust storm, that is the exact same thing they would be doing because dust and rain storms don’t cause any damage unless you’re dealing with an electrical storm (unit gets hit by lightning). If you’re saying to yourself right now, “Well, after the dust storm I had a bunch of dust inside my house”; we can assure you that it didn’t come from your air conditioning unit. The most likely cause was an improperly sealed duct, window or door.

So, the next time you see a dust storm rolling over the mountains, there should be no need to worry about your AC unit.