Why You Should Keep Your Dogs Away From Your AC
If you have a male dog, you know how obsessive they are about marking their territory. And when it comes to tree stumps or fire hydrants, this canine compulsion is relatively harmless. But if there’s one thing your dog’s urine can completely destroy, it’s your air conditioner.
It turns out that the acids in your dog’s urine are highly corrosive and can eat through your AC coil and aluminium fins. Let’s take a look at what this means for your AC (and your energy bills) and how you can protect your air conditioner from this kind of damage.
What does dog urine do to my air conditioner?
Dog urine quickly corrodes the aluminium fins and copper coil in your outdoor unit.
Here’s a quick look at what your fins and coils actually do:
- Your condenser’s copper coil contains refrigerant that moves heat from inside your home to the outdoors.
- Your condenser’s aluminium fins act as a “heat sink” and help your condenser coils transfer more heat at a faster pace.
If either (or both) of these parts corrode away, here are some of the issues you’ll face:
Freon replacement
If your dog’s urine hits the condenser coils, the corrosion will inevitably lead to a freon leak. If the leak is small and if you catch it early enough, you may get lucky and a professional may be able to find and repair the leak instead of replacing the coil.
The bad news is that you will need to recharge your system with more refrigerant—and if your unit takes R-22 refrigerant (an old refrigerant that’s being phased out) this can end up costing you...
