What Do I Do With My AC After a Hurricane or Flood?

Floodwater is not clean water — it carries silt, salt (this close to the bay), sewage, and debris into every low point of the machine. As a rule of thumb: controls, wiring, motors, and insulation that went under are not trustworthy again, even after they dry and even if the unit runs. Corrosion starts immediately and fails components weeks later, which is why “it came back on fine” is the most expensive sentence in flood recovery.

• Outdoor condenser, briefly wet at the base: often survives — it lives outside in the rain — but submersion past the electrical connections means the contactor, capacitor, fan motor, and possibly the compressor need evaluation.
• Gas furnace or air handler that took water: typically a replacement conversation. Gas valves and controls that have been submerged are unsafe to reuse per every manufacturer, and soaked insulation inside the cabinet becomes a mold farm.
• Flex ductwork that flooded: replace it. You cannot meaningfully sanitize the inner liner and insulation.
• Line sets and copper: usually fine — the sealed refrigerant circuit doesn't care about water on the outside.

A licensed inspection sorts your actual system into those buckets with numbers attached — and if the verdict is replacement, the repair-vs-replace framework and cost guide are the honest starting points.

Mold grows on wet materials fast — federal flood-cleanup guidance (FEMA/EPA) puts meaningful growth at 24–48 hours — and Gulf Coast humidity means a storm-opened house doesn't dry on its own. Your AC is normally the dehumidifier for the whole home, so a post-storm house with no cooling is a house actively growing things. The moves: open it up and move air (fans, cross-ventilation) whenever outdoor humidity allows, pull soaked carpet, pads, and wet drywall cuts early rather than late, run portable dehumidifiers if you have power, and prioritize getting the HVAC inspected and running because it is the drying machine. If the house already smells musty, our musty-smell guide and humidity guide explain what you're smelling and what actually fixes it.

Documentation beats recollection. Photograph and video everything before anything is moved, cleaned, or repaired: water lines on walls and equipment, the equipment nameplates (model and serial), each affected room, and the debris field around the outdoor unit. Note the date and depth of flooding if you know it. Keep every receipt — tarps, dehumidifier rentals, emergency service calls are often reimbursable. Two structural facts to know going in: wind damage and flood damage are usually separate policies (flood is typically NFIP or a rider — a homeowner's policy alone often won't cover rising water), and your insurer may want their adjuster to see equipment before it's replaced, so get the inspection report in writing and ask before hauling anything away. Your pre-storm photos are the before/after pair that makes all of this fast.

Every disaster brings the storm-chasers: out-of-town trucks, door-knockers with “leftover materials,” cash-up-front deals, and “we handle the insurance so sign here.” The defenses are boring and effective:

• Verify the license. Texas HVAC contractors carry a TACL number and electricians a TECL number, both searchable on the TDLR license lookup at tdlr.texas.gov. A legitimate contractor prints them on everything — Mackey's are TACLA 112769C (HVAC) and TECL 558211 (electrical), and we'd rather you look them up than take our word.
• No large cash deposits, and be wary of anyone who “needs” full payment before work starts.
• Never sign an assignment of your insurance benefits on the doorstep. Read anything that mentions your claim.
• Get it in writing: scope, price, timeline — and a local physical address that will still exist in six months.