While your air conditioner is busy cooling your home this summer, it’s also sending many gallons of water down the condensate drain. Humidity extraction is a critical part of making your home comfortable in hot weather. Dehumidified air cools more efficiently and feels more comfortable to occupants. As warm household air passes over your A/C’s evaporator coil, water vapor condenses and drips down into a condensate collection pan. From there, the water is conveyed through a drain line leading outside the home or to a connection to the sewer system. Because a large A/C can produce 20 gallons of water daily, overflows due to a clogged condensate drain can be catastrophic. While most systems include safeguards such as backup drain lines and/or float safety switches to turn the unit off if the drip pan fills, preventive maintenance is always the best defense against property damage from a condensate overflow.
- Schedule an annual inspection with an HVAC contractor. He’ll check for signs of mold or algae in the coil, drip pan and drain lines. These are a major cause of plugged drains. After cleaning the pan, the contractor can install time-release biocide tablets to keep the pan and drain lines mold-free all summer.
- After the system has been idle all winter, check the condensate drain trap next to the drip pan for accumulation of dust that has dried out and hardened during the winter. A clean-out port with a removable cap is integrated into most drain traps.
- Make sure condensate drain lines are maintained with sufficient downward slope to ensure gravity flow of condensate all the way to the drain or exit point outside. Sags in flexible lines can cause gravity flow to stop, and condensate will back up into the drip pan.
- Change the air filter monthly. A cleaner air flow means less dirt, dust and mold spores washing down into the drain pan along with the condensate.
Paitson Bros. Heating & Air Conditioning in Terre Haute is the Wabash Valley’s trusted heating and cooling source since 1922. Ask us about services that keep your condensate drain open and prevent damaging overflows all summer.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Terre Haute, Indiana about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about condensate drains and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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