Are Refrigerant Leaks Dangerous?

Are refrigerant leaks dangerous? The safety of refrigerant materials may be on your mind if you've come into contact with exposed refrigerant in your home. The short answer is that refrigerant needs to be handled with care because it can cause a variety of health problems. This guide will show you what you need to know about the dangers of refrigerant leaks.

What Is Refrigerant?

Air conditioning refrigerant is a chemical blend that changes liquid into gas. Your home's air conditioning simply would not work without refrigerants. Under normal circumstances, having refrigerant in your home is completely safe because all chemical materials are properly contained within your air conditioner or HVAC system. However, a leak puts materials that should be properly controlled in places where they shouldn't be. That puts your health at risk.

Health Dangers

The Freon™ refrigerants used in residential and commercial air conditioners and cooling appliances contain chemicals that are harmful to humans and animals. The biggest risk you face when there's a refrigerant leak in your home is something called refrigerant poisoning that occurs when Freon™ is inhaled. The telltale signs that you've been exposed to refrigerants in the air include:

• Headaches

• Dizziness

• Confusion

• Nausea or vomiting

Unfortunately, refrigerant poisoning can lead to loss of consciousness or death if a person does not evacuate the contaminated area. Poisoning is usually caused by specific refrigerant chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). You are at higher risk when exposed to large amounts of refrigerant fumes in a small, poorly ventilated space.

Respiratory Diseases

A lingering cough that won't go away could actually be caused by an undetected refrigerant leak in your home. Exposure to refrigerant fumes can increase risks for developing a variety of respiratory diseases. In fact, you should consider having your HVAC unit or air conditioner inspected if you suddenly develop asthma out of the blue after a lifetime of having healthy, strong lungs.

Skin Irritation

One reason why you never want to come into direct contact with refrigerant is that it can cause extreme skin irritation. Refrigerant chemicals can also cause intense redness and burning in the eyes, nose, and throat. Severe burns are possible with prolonged contact with refrigerants.

Specific Health Dangers for Children and Pets

Refrigerants can be lethally toxic when ingested. Unfortunately, pets and children are most at risk for refrigerant poisoning since they spend time in low-to-the-ground areas where leaking materials often fall. Here are some signs of refrigerant ingestion:

• Visible chemical burns around the mouth

• Coughing

• Wheezing

• Labored breathing

• Nausea and vomiting

• Persistent coughing

• Dizziness

• Seizures

• Unresponsiveness

Seek emergency medical attention if any kind of exposure to refrigerant materials is suspected in children or pets. Without care, refrigerant poisoning is often fatal within 72 hours. Poisoning can also result in permanent brain damage.

Environmental Dangers of Refrigerant Leaks

A refrigerant leak doesn't just pose immediate dangers in your home. Chemicals leaking from your home's cooling system can also pose dangers for the environment. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has phased out many common chemicals from use in modern cooling appliances, such as R-22 refrigerant, many older appliances still contain chemicals that are harmful to the ozone layer. Here are the environmental dangers of refrigerant leaks:

• Refrigerant leaks contribute to ozone depletion.

• When a material like freon breaks down, it rises until it enters the atmosphere. 

• Once this happens, the chemicals begin to react with UV rays to break down the essential ozone molecules that help to keep living things on our planet safe.

• This reaction creates a hole in the ozone layer, allowing harmful UV rays to enter the atmosphere.

• These harmful UV rays can cause diseases and skin cancer.

How to Identify Refrigerant Leaks in Your Home

What does refrigerant smell like? Most refrigerants used in air conditioners are nearly odorless. However, some have mildly sweet smells. Others have an odor described as being similar to the smell of chloroform.

While you may be able to faintly detect the smell of refrigerant, you won't have an easy time detecting refrigerant leaks with your own eyes. That's because refrigerant is a completely clear substance. As a result, it's very easy to confuse refrigerant for water. Unfortunately, pets and children may also confuse deadly refrigerant for refreshing water when they encounter a leak. Here are some telltale signs that you have a refrigerant leak: 

1. Frozen Evaporator Coils

You should suspect a leak if your evaporator coils go cold. These coils absorb heat within your AC unit to create chilled air. When refrigerant levels dip due to leaks, these coils will freeze and develop thick ice crystals. You will likely notice pooling water near your AC unit once the crystals become massive enough to slow down your system's performance.

2. Hissing Sounds

Are you hearing loud noises coming from your HVAC system? Don't ignore them! A gentle hiss is a sign of a small leak. A deep gurgling is a sign of a big leak. Both are caused by cracks that are allowing refrigerants to spill out.

3. Hot Air

If your air conditioner has stopped cooling your home even though it's still operating, it’s a warning sign of a leak. In fact, this is a sign that your unit has completely run out of refrigerant. Units cannot continue to produce cool air without refrigerant.

4. Large Electric Bills

It may take until your next energy bill arrives to notice that something is off with your home's cooling system. Leaking refrigerant taxes your cooling system to the brink. That means it will continue to work harder to achieve the temperature set on the thermostat. As a result, your system's energy consumption will greatly increase.

5. Longer Cooling Cycles for Your System

This clue of a refrigerant leak is slightly more subtle than others. A healthy cooling system will have a short cycle that allows a home to cool down quickly. When there’s a leak, you may notice that your cooling cycle is extending. Your home may feel hot and sticky even though you hear the system running. You may also be noticing that your home's humidity level is spiking with no explanation.

How to Get Rid of Refrigerant Leaks

Follow these guidelines for resolving a refrigerant leak in your home.

Turn off Your AC Unit

As soon as you suspect a refrigerant leak, you should immediately turn off your AC unit. Turning off your system will prevent any further refrigerant from entering your home and allow you to check your system, ductwork, and flooring to see if refrigerant is present. Once you’ve cleared your home of a refrigerant leak, you may need to invest in air duct cleaning, and you can expect to pay $270 to $500 for this service. 

Ventilate

Breathing in refrigerant can harm your health, so you’ll want to ventilate the area immediately. Try opening the windows, turning on an exhaust fan, and using ceiling or freestanding fans to push any fumigants outside your home. 

Call a Pro

Once you’re aware of a refrigerant leak in your home, you’ll want to call an AC repair company near you immediately. You can expect to pay $225 to $2,000 for coolant leak repair. Although the price tag may seem high, the benefits far outweigh the cost. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that the leak is gone and that a pro with knowledge and experience has properly fixed the unit. You’ll also rest easy knowing you and the members of your household are now safe and free from harmful chemicals.

Be Proactive With Maintenance

Schedule annual HVAC maintenance before the start of the summer season. You can expect to pay $60 to $200 for an annual AC tune-up, and hopefully, this maintenance plan will prevent and catch refrigerant leaks before they enter your home. If your system has a lot of issues, you should consider an AC replacement, and you can expect to pay between $3,900 and $7,940 for a new system.