AC Repair in Yakima, WA
Air conditioners here run from July through July. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Yakima County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Yakima summers put real strain on a system that runs just one month a year
Summer afternoons here average 78°F, and July is really the only month homes lean hard on the air conditioner. That short, hot stretch means the system sits idle most of the year, then gets asked to run for hours at a time once the heat hits. Capacitors and contactors that have sat unused often show their age right when the compressor needs to kick on and stay on.
Yakima County has also seen 21 damaging wind events over the past ten years, along with occasional hail. Wind-driven debris can bend the fins on the outdoor unit or knock it out of alignment, and either one makes the system work harder to move the same amount of air. If your AC is running but the house isn't cooling down, or it's cycling on and off more than it used to, that strain is usually where it starts.
- 1 months
- July through July, your air conditioner is on duty
- 78°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 1 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 21 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in Yakima County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Yakima County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Washington fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when a part like a capacitor or contactor has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the compressor has failed or the system uses R-22 refrigerant, which is no longer made.
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state and nothing more. Washington does not test contractors on the trade or issue a license for this work, so there is no exam behind the name, only a record that the business registered.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the protection that matters is federal. Anyone opening the refrigerant side of your system, to check a charge or fix a leak, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule applies in Yakima County the same as anywhere else in the country.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the refrigerant charge is low, the coil is frozen over, or the outdoor unit isn't running while the indoor blower still is. A dirty filter or a coil caked with dust can also cut off airflow enough that what comes out feels barely cool. Since Yakima summers push into the 78°F range and beyond, a system running low on refrigerant will struggle most on the hottest afternoons. Anyone opening the refrigerant side to check the charge has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, so this part of the diagnosis needs a contractor.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your AC usually means the condensate drain line is clogged or the drain pan has cracked. Warm, humid air passing over the cold evaporator coil creates condensation constantly while the system runs, and that water has to go somewhere. If the line backs up, it can overflow the pan and show up as a puddle near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that later thaws can also leave more water than the drain is built to handle at once.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker before assuming the worst. A dead thermostat battery, a tripped breaker, or a blown fuse at the outdoor unit will all keep the system from starting even though nothing inside is actually broken. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, that points to an electrical fault in the unit itself, which a licensed contractor needs to trace. Washington contractors register with the Department of Labor and Industries rather than sit a trade exam, so ask what license or certifications the person doing the work holds, especially since anyone touching the refrigerant side must carry EPA Section 608 certification.