Why is there a huge block of ice on my copper line when it's 90 degrees out?

The ice on that copper line means your evaporator coil is completely frozen over into a solid block of ice, and you need to shut the cooling off immediately. If you keep running the compressor with a frozen coil, you risk liquid refrigerant slugging back into the unit and killing the compressor for good. Turn the thermostat to **System: Off** and flip the **Fan: On** setting instead of Auto. This will force the indoor blower to run constantly and pull warm house air over that ice to melt it faster.

Since you already checked the filter, the next most likely culprit is a airflow restriction at the coil itself or a dead blower motor. Even a new filter won't help if the aluminum fins on the evaporator coil are caked in dust and pet hair from years of use. If the indoor fan isn't blowing strong air out of the vents, that's your sign. But honestly, if you have good airflow and the filter is clean, you are almost certainly low on refrigerant. Low pressure causes the temperture of the coil to drop below freezing, which turns condensation into ice instantly. To speed up the melting process so you can get a few hours of relief, you can use a hair dryer on the copper pipes or the coil itself, but be careful not to overheat anything. Just keep the fan running. It usually takes 2 to 4 hours to fully thaw a solid block of ice. Once the ice is gone and the water is drained, you can try turning the A/C back on, but keep the temperature set at something modest like 74 or 75.

If it freezes up again within an hour or two of restarting, you definatly have a leak. At that point, there's no DIY fix; you'll need a tech to find the leak and recharge the system. For tonight, just focus on getting that ice melted so the fan can at least move some air around while you're stuck inside. Keep some towels handy because when that block of ice finally lets go, it's going to dump a lot of water into the drain pan at once.

That sounds like a nightmare given the circumstances. If you can get someone to run to the store, grab a Midea Duo Portable Air Conditioner to wheel into the bathroom. I keep one as a backup and it’s way better than the single-hose units becasue it doesn't pull hot air back into the house.

After you get this sorted, look into installing an Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium. It has an 'AC Overcool Max' feature and freeze alerts that whould have pinged your phone the second that coil started dropping toward 32 degrees. It's much cheaper than replacing a slugged compressor.

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that, expecially today. I don't know much about these systems, but I was wondering about the hair dryer trick someone mentioned. If I use one to melt the ice faster, do I need to worry about the water getting into the electrical parts of the furnace? I'm always scared of mixing water and power. Also, if I keep the fan on all night like suggested, does that use a ton of electricity compared to the regular cooling? I hope you get some relief soon!

I had this happen last July and the hair dryer was taking forever. I ended up pulling the service panel off the indoor unit and pointing a big high-velocity floor fan directly at the coil block. It cleared the ice in about 45 minutes instead of four hours. Just make sure you've got a pile of old beach towels shoved under the unit becasue once that ice starts letting go, the drain line won't be able to keep up and it'll spill over the pan. Getting that direct airflow right on the metal is what finally got my air moving again so I coud survive the night.