We have serviced the same models on both sides of the Intracoastal for the better part of eighty years, and the ones nearer the water do not last as long. Not dramatically. Consistently.
What the air is actually doing
Airborne salt is hygroscopic. It pulls moisture out of the air and holds it against whatever it has landed on. On an aluminium condenser fin that means a surface that is permanently slightly damp, and slow corrosion follows. On an electrical contact it means a film that raises resistance, which becomes heat, which eventually becomes a failed relay.
None of it is fast. A refrigerator in Delray does not stop because it is in Delray. But a condenser that would have wanted cleaning every three years wants it every eighteen months, and a start relay that would have gone at year twelve goes at year nine.
Where it shows first
- Condenser coils, especially the ones underneath, already collecting dust and pet hair.
- Garage and lanai units. Anything on an outside wall or in a space that is aired to the street.
- Ice machines. They run hardest in the month the salt is worst.
- Outdoor kitchens. Obvious, and people still expect ten years from equipment sitting in it.
- Dryer ducting, corroding at the seams near an exterior vent hood.
What genuinely helps
Vacuum the condenser twice a year rather than annually, appliance unplugged, brush attachment on, and no water. Keep a foot of clear air behind and above anything freestanding, so the corroded fins that remain still get airflow. Check exterior vent hoods for salt crust once a season. Replace flexible duct with rigid metal where you find white bloom at a joint.
None of that is expensive and all of it buys years. It is also the whole of our maintenance advice for coastal properties, which we would rather give away than sell.
If a compressor is already running longer than it used to, have it looked at before it becomes a sealed-system job. Call (561) 276-4169.
