Damaged insulation on new AC refrigerant lines
New AC installations frequently leave refrigerant lines with torn insulation, exposed pipes, or tape hastily hiding the damage. This leaves homeowners worried that unsealed pipes running through tight spaces will cause condensation, water damage, and mold.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Leaving the fiberglass alone to avoid making it shed more
- 2Using no-rinse coil cleaning spray with mildewstat
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Just moved in. Both air handlers look like this. Is this just a cleaning or replacement? What to do about fiberglass insulation inside of here? Can we encapsulate, if so with what?”source ↗
“We had our new AC installed yesterday and found this after., a lot of damage insulation of the refrigerant line.”source ↗
“Some were torn with visible pipe and some were taped up to hide the pipes.”source ↗
“I’m worried that the pipes up the ceiling have damaged insulations too due to how they install it (squeezing the pipes under a tight gap) and might cause condensation and eventually water damage/molds.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 4Can you just refill a leaking HVAC system with refrigerant to get by?