Beware of Dog: Urine Could Lead to Air Conditioning Repair in Central Kansas

July 2, 2016 3:36 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Just because you have your dog house-trained doesn’t mean it can’t still cause damage by its choice of bathroom location! When you let your dog outside, be sure to keep it away from your exterior central air conditioning unit. Dogs do love to mark their territory, but marking that air conditioning unit could shorten its lifespan and eventually lead to you needing to obtain air conditioning repair in Central Kansas.

Male dogs are the ones who are especially to blame, as they are most likely to be aggressive in marking their territory. Males tend to be extremely territorial, and use the scent of their urine to mark your yard as a means of warning other dogs or animals that might come on to your property that this is “their” land.

Most of the time, this is a harmless behavior. Dog urine will not damage plants, trees, bushes, fences, fire hydrants and other commonly marked objects. However, urine can quickly damage an air conditioner.

Corrosion a possibility

The biggest potential for damage is in the air conditioner fins—the thin pieces of metal located along the outside of the central air conditioner that allow air to flow through the unit. These fins are typically made out of aluminum. Over time, dog urine causes aluminum to rust. This is why many dog crates are made out of zinc-plated steel rather than aluminum, as you can never be completely certain a dog will not pee inside the crate and damage the metal.

It’s typically difficult to notice this damage as it builds up, because it is located on the lower portion of the air conditioner, where you are not likely to be looking. The corrosion also does not cover a large area most of the time. This does not, however, mean the problem can’t quickly become serious.

In the early stages, the damage caused by your dog marking its territory will not have a big impact on the performance of your air conditioner. The fins are designed to let air flow through despite any potential environmental problems, so any damage early on will likely be negligible. However, if you allow the dog to keep urinating on the unit, the fins will continue to become more corroded. Eventually, the urine could break down the fins to the point where the interior of the air conditioning unit is vulnerable. If the coils begin to rust, the unit could start to leak Freon, the air conditioner coolant. This would lead to the need for significant repairs.

Preventing the problem

We are talking about a problem that takes years to develop. However, if you do not properly train your dog to avoid urinating on the unit, it will be difficult to avoid.

Aside from training the dog, you could attempt to block it with shrubs or temporary fences to keep the dog away.

For more information about air conditioning repair in Central Kansas, contact the team at K V K Inc. today to learn more about what we can do for you.

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