Why Is My Air Conditioner Leaking Water?

This is one of the most common problem calls that air conditioner contractors get. A homeowner sees water dripping out a line on the side of the home or worse yet, leaking right through the ceiling. There can be any number of reasons why this is happening but the most common is a stopped up main drain line in the air conditioning system.

All air conditioners produce condensate

All air conditioners produce water. This is a perfectly normal byproduct of the a/c cycle. When the air conditioner is working correctly this condensate water normally flows down the drain line into your plumbing system. Sometimes this drain line can become stopped up with algae and gunk due to a lack of regular maintenance on the system. When this happens the water should flow into a secondary drain pan and then outside the home via a drain line that usually exits the home under an attic eve.

If water is coming through the ceiling the problem could be larger

If the leak is allowed to continue outside of the home there are a couple of things that can happen. The secondary drain line can become clogged up itself. Then the water leaks through the ceiling. This can cause considerable damage to your home. Often it will require sheet rock repair, painters, and electricians.

Both of these issues can be simply solved

When the drain line stops up it is just a matter of calling an air conditioning contractor to come out and clear the drain line. While he is there he will add an algae preventative to the system to prevent future occurrences. Proper air conditioner maintenance is the key to preventing water leaks.

Other causes of a/c water leaks

There can be another cause of an air conditioner leaking water. Most of the older model evaporator coils were built with main drain pans made of metal. And we all know what happens to metal when it is constantly exposed to water, it rusts! If your main drain pan rusts out it can cause water to leak outside or inside your home. The only real solution is to have the evaporator replaced by an air conditioner contractor. But the good news is that these days most of the air conditioner manufacturers are making the coils with plastic drain pans.

What to do if your air conditioning system is leaking water

This is a definitely a job for a professional. A/C technicians keep special tools used to blow out these drain lines in a jiffy. So what would take you a couple of hours to find and clear, they can do in as little as an hour. Plus they have the algae preventative chemicals that are made for air conditioners, so this won't happen again for the season. As long as you are having an a/c technician out, this is also a great time to go ahead and have the air conditioner maintenance done. In fact most a/c maintenance plans include all of the steps necessary to fix, and prevent drain lines from clogging.