Your air conditioner is the most important appliance within your home during the summer months, as it is the only one that is working to keep the interior of your house at a comfortable temperature. Any sort of mechanical issue or malfunction that causes your air conditioner to fail to provide cold air is a significant problem that needs to be addressed straight away. Understanding what some of the most common reasons why your air conditioning unit may be blowing warm air can help you identify the cause of the problem early and get your comfort level back to normal again as soon as possible.

Clogged Air Filter

If the air filter in your air conditioner is completely clogged with dust and other debris, it may be unable to filter air throughout your ductwork properly. This is likely the cause of your air conditioning issues if you notice that the airflow coming out of your vents and registers is particularly weak in addition to being warm. You can fix this pretty simply yourself; most air filters can be removed from a built-in housing in the unit either by hand or with a simple screwdriver and can either be cleaned by hand or replaced. Just bring the old filter into a hardware store to match its size to a new filter.

Refrigerant Leak

However, if the air flow coming of your vents and registers is strong but warm, and your air filter looks relatively clean, the issue could lie with the refrigerant within your air conditioner instead. A leak somewhere in the unit can cause all of the gases that are used to chill the air that passes through your system to evaporate, leaving your air conditioner nothing more than a large fan. Unfortunately, if this is the case, it can be hard to identify straight away, and you'll have to contact an HVAC professional to find and repair the leak and refill the system.

Condenser Debris

However, before you call a professional in to start searching for a leak in your air conditioning system, you should inspect the exterior unit of your air conditioner, known as the condenser. Organic debris, like leaves and sticks, can build up within the condenser, which can then prevent airflow from reaching the interior unit and can cause overheating within the system. You can clear away the blockages and debris yourself, but to ensure the deepest cleaning possible and that you don't damage the system, you may want to contact a professional to clean it instead.

For more information, contact your local air conditioning installation service.