Water Around Your AC? How An HVAC Contractor Can Handle It

Posted on: 10 February 2023

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Air conditioners do produce some water. Usually, this water is gathered and shuttled away by the condensate drain system. So, if there is water around the base of your air conditioner, that usually points to an issue with the condensate drain system. Luckily, the problems that result in water puddling are usually pretty easy for HVAC contractors to fix. Here are the common ones. 

Disconnected Condensate Drain Tube

Any condensation the AC unit produces is first shuttled into the condensate drain tube. Sometimes, this tube can become disconnected from the unit. Water then falls right off the coil rather than being funneled into the tube. Your AC contractor will be able to quickly identify a disconnected condensate drain tube. They can either put it back into place or replace it. (If the tube came disconnected because it stretched out on the end, then your HVAC contractor will likely want to replace it.)

Clogged Condensate Drain Tube

It's also possible that the condensate drain tube is clogged with dirt and grime. Water is hitting the blockage, and since it is not able to travel any further, it is then backing up and spilling out of the tube. An HVAC contractor can use a long, brush-like device to remove grime from a drainage tube. But sometimes, if the blockage is bad, they may opt to simply replace the drainage tube. The tubing used for this purpose is relatively cheap and easy to cut to length. A new tube may be less likely to clog because it is less textured inside. 

If your HVAC contractor does find that your condensate drain tube is clogged, they'll probably show you how to clean it to prevent this from happening again. All this really involves is adding bleach to the condensate drain periodically.

Broken Pump

If the drain that your AC empties into is not right next to it, then you may have a little pump that pumps the water through a tube that leads to a drain. This pump might be broken, in which case, the water will spill all over the floor. An HVAC contractor will usually just replace a broken pump. They are small, inexpensive devices that are not usually worth fixing.

If there is water accumulating around your air conditioner, then you need to do something about it. Talk to your HVAC contractor to learn more about what's causing this problem and how they can solve it.

Contact a local AC repair service to learn more.