My Air Conditioner Is Leaking Water

My Air Conditioner is Leaking Water

Seeing that your air conditioner is leaking water is strange if you don’t know where it could be coming from, but it’s actually the result of several common problems your unit could run into this summer season.

If your air conditioner is leaking water, turn off your unit completely! Ensuring the power is off is critical for your safety and to prevent any damage to your home and the unit itself.

First you need to understand why there’s water in your air conditioner. The inside unit of your air conditioner has a part called the cold evaporator coil that cools warm air that flows over it. This process creates condensation on the evaporator coil. The condensation then drips onto a special drain pan which leads to a condensate drain line. This line leads out and away from your home to drain the water from the unit either outside or into plumbing.

Some of the more common issues that could cause the water to pool around your unit instead of drain away include:

• A clogged drain line: The drain line gets dirty and clogged with dust, sludge, insects and more, blocking the water from draining out and backing up around the unit.
• A broken condensate pump: If the indoor unit of your air conditioner is installed in the basement, then it has a condensate pump to help pump the water outside. If this pump is broken, the water will have nowhere to go and begin pooling around your air conditioner.
• Low refrigerant: We recently discussed this issue and how it affects your air conditioner. Low refrigerant can freeze the evaporator coil and once it begins to melt, overflow the drain pan and cause the leaking water around the unit that you see.
• Dirty air filter: A dirty air filter can also cause your evaporator to freeze over. When the filter gets too clogged up with dirt, cool air cant blow through it and instead flows back over the evaporator coil. This forces the coil to freeze and eventually overflow the drain pan as previously mentioned.

The best way to avoid water around your air conditioner is to schedule proper maintenance with a professional. Martino HVAC’s technicians are fully trained and capable of assessing all problems your air conditioner may be facing along with making any repairs you may need.

Having your air conditioner cleaned and well maintained will prevent this problem from occurring and save you from any costly repairs.

Schedule a service appointment today for professional maintenance or contact us for more information.