Here’s a secret that “traddies” know and hardly ever share.
Lurking on many Adelaide homes is a secret roof rusting rival!
It’s your rooftop evaporative air-conditioner! It’s both a friend and potential enemy.
Living in the dry hot South Australian climate the air conditioner is a must – not a luxury.
Many of us have roof mounted evaporative units which bring much needed relief during our long heat waves.
There is a lurking danger! These units can cause many problems if they are mounted incorrectly.
Essentially some of the water that goes through these units is bled off as waste down the run off pipes. This water is very saline and therefore corrosive.
This salty discharge will destroy roof sheets, gutters and metal downpipes. It will also destroy cement roof tiles and is particularly aggressive on terra cotta tiles.
So for the roof and the air conditioner to happily get along a few precautions should be taken.
- Correct the Run-off
The air conditioner run off hose should run down the roof into the gutter and too the nearest downpipe.
This way none of the salty, corrosive water contacts the roof or the gutters. - Use PVC
The downpipe draining the water should be PVC. This plastic pipe does not rust on contact with saline water.
Bonus Tip:
Another quick tip that may save you a call out fee.
If you have a leak on your roof that appears to leak regardless of whether it’s raining or not, and you have an evaporative air conditioning unit on your roof – then call the air conditioning technician first.
Most times it’s the air conditioner not the roof. (A roof plumber would not probably be able to fix the roof damage until the air conditioner is repaired first).
So if you have some air conditioner and roof compatibility issues please don’t hesitate to call us and we can arrange a time for free no obligation quote.
