If you are looking for reasons for the air conditioner not draining water and what you can do, there are many reasons and how you solve them varies depending on the underlying causes.
But before we proceed, it’s wise you know that the air conditioner drains different amounts of water at different times depending on the amount of condensation that is affected by a variety of factors such as: air filter maintenance, outdoor air temperature, indoor air temperature and the condition of the air conditioner.
So, before you run to the conclusion that your air conditioner isn’t draining water, it’s wise you get in touch with an air conditioner repair services technician to help you find out whether the air conditioner is simply not producing a lot of water.
Why should you be worried when the air conditioner isn’t draining?
The obvious worry with experienced homeowners is that the air conditioner’s failure to drain will cause the drip pan to overflow and cause water damage.
Even if the drip pan doesn’t fill, there is the risk of bacteria and mold forming in your unit and damaging it.
In some cases, the appliance’s failure to drain is a sign of a bigger problem. For example, if the AC technician inspects the unit and concludes it should be draining a certain amount of water, but that’s not the case, this could be a sign of a larger underlying problem.
What should you do when your AC isn’t draining?
While the AC’s failure to drain might seem like a minor problem, it can lead to serious and expensive damages if you don’t fix them early enough, so you should always move with haste when you suspect it not draining properly or not draining at all. Some of the things you should do include:
Turn off the air conditioner.
Before you do anything, this is the first thing you should do. While the AC cools and makes the house comfortable, it has fans running at extremely high speed, and they can hurt.
Check the refrigerant
If your AC doesn’t have a refrigerant, there is no way there will be water to drain as there is no cooling or condensation taking place.
You should note that if the refrigerant is simply low, the suction pressure will drop to a point where the water will freeze to the evaporator coil. So, when you shut the AC, you will see the water as it melts.
Whether the refrigerant is out or it’s simply low, you shouldn’t be receiving enough cooling so the AC won’t be producing as much water to drain as before.
To fix this issue, you need to ask your contractor to inspect your unit and determine whether it has a refrigerant leak. The contractor should then proceed to fix the issue and refill the refrigerant and raise their levels.
Check the drain line.
Plenty of things can go wrong with the drain line that the AC stops draining. One of the issues you might be having is a disconnected drain line. Some connections might have gotten loose due to vibration or improper installation; hence water not reaching the lines for removal.
If this is the case, you simply need to connect the drain line and tighten things up, and the AC will resume to normal working.
If you don’t take good care of the drain line, it might get clogged by dust and debris. To unclog the line, you can use a wet/dry vacuum or flush the line with bleach. If this doesn’t work, ask a technician to help you out.
Check the evaporator coil.
One of the most common issues with evaporator coils is freezing. And when the coils freeze, water leaks instead of flowing through the drain line. To avoid water damage, you should move with haste and fix this problem.
In some cases, the coils might get dirty or damaged and, as a result, block the water from flowing to the drain line. Don’t attempt to fix a damaged evaporator coil and instead let an AC repair services Plainview provider do the work.
The cool thing is that the contractor will fix the problematic parts and inspect and fix any other problematic areas.