If You Need To Have Your AC Installed In The Rain, Follow These Tips
Spring is the season for air conditioning installation. Unfortunately, spring is also the season for rain! If there is a bad storm due to roll through on the day your HVAC contractor planned on installing your air conditioner, they may call you to reschedule. However, in order to keep things on-schedule and moving along, they will probably still come do the installation if only mild to moderate rain is expected. If that's the case, there are a few preparatory steps you will want to take if it's going to rain while your new AC is being installed.
1. Put down rugs or mats and secure them with tape.
Your HVAC installer will need to go in and out of your home a few times in order to bring in supplies (and your new AC unit!). Most are courteous and will remove their shoes at the door, but it can be inconvenient for them to have to do this each time. An easier way to keep mud and water from being tracked into your home is to put down rugs and mats along the pathway from your main exterior door to the space where the AC will be installed. To keep the installers from tripping over these mats as they walk, tape the edges of the mats down.
2. Cool the home and then close the windows.
You won't be able to use the AC unit for a day or two while it is being replaced. And, when it is raining, you won't be able to open the windows to cool your home. (You don't want to let the rain inside.) To thwart this issue, cool your home down a little cooler than you like it before the installers arrive. Make sure all of the windows are shut to trap in the coolness, and leave them shut until the rain clears completely.
3. Clear away any landscaping preemptively.
If your AC installers plan on putting in a new outdoor unit or adding a vent pipe to your setup, they may need to move or modify some of your landscaping. This is tough to do in the rain, not to mention that tromping through flower beds in the rain can leave unwanted footprints. Assuming you know where the workers will be working outdoors, do this landscape prep before the rain arrives. Trim bushes, pull up flowers, and so forth.
With the tips above, you can make installing AC in the rain easier on you, your installer, and your home.