The Floods of Florence… My HVAC system was flooded, now what?

The floods of Hurricane Florence will soon recede, but many of us have some work to do before life can return to normal. On the plus side, somewhat cooler temperatures have arrived and so we are not under midsummer pressure to immediately resume service.  On the less than awesome side, many of our homes have sustained damage from the recent flooding including our heating and cooling systems. Standing water in a yard, house, or basement can damage a home’s heating, cooling, and water heating equipment in ways that are not always readily apparent. We are here to help as we can. These are the potential issues and suggestions

1. Make sure it is safe to return to or continue to be in your home. If your home or yard was flooded the first call might be to an electrician to check that your electrical systems continue to function well. Are breakers tripping? Are some of the lights in the home not coming on? Appliances not running? If there is standing water in the home, it probably makes sense to turn off the main breaker until the water can be removed from the crawl space or from around the unit. Make sure the electrician checks out the branch circuits that go to the HVAC systems as well as any wiring that has directly been in contact with the water.
2. Contact your insurance company, many insurance policies don’t cover floods but do cover wind damage so if the unit was struck by a tree and then flooded mention the tree first.
3. Did the floodwater move the outdoor or indoor units even just a little? If so then the unit may have experienced a refrigerant leak and will at the least require repair.
4. If the refrigerant systems seem undamaged then it is a good idea to have a contractor check out the indoor electrical and refrigeration connections, including all control circuits.
5. If those seem good to go then the entire system should be cleaned, allowed to dry and disinfected.
6. If your unit uses gas or oil, then the contractor should also check out all the valves and controls and motors that can be corroded by exposure to flood water.
7. If you have a water-based heating system, pay attention to the insulation which can become wet and moldy and should likely be replaced.
8. If your system uses ductwork and the ducts have sat in water the ductwork likely needs to be pulled and replaced.
9. Future flood prevention, you know when you go to the beach and you see all the air conditioners on wooden platforms? If you were flooded once you can be flooded again. It is a good idea to do some flood risk mediation. It may require moving the system out of harm’s way.

We are glad to help get you back up and running or to do some due diligence on the health of the system. For those of you on our preventative Maintenance Club, this is a good service not to skip this year. We will evaluate the health of your system and report as well as provide some important cleaning. To schedule this service click here or call 919-929-9886. Same number for replacement or repair.  We wish you and our family the best as we weather this storm together.