Is Your Condensate Drain Line Clean?
It had better be, because a clogged condensate drain line can mean big trouble for your air conditioner. The issue is, many homeowners are not aware of what a condensate drain line is, let alone how to go about clearing one out. Read on to learn more about what the condensate drain line in your AC does, and how its backing up can negatively affect your system and your property.
What Is a Condensate Drain Line?
Your air conditioner’s condensate drain line is a drainage tube that removes condensate from your home. During the cooling process, as the evaporator coil removes heat from the air by evaporating refrigerant, moisture is drawn out of the air in your home. This moisture collects on the coil as condensation, and drips down into the condensate drain pan.
Obviously, you don’t want this water to just sit in a pan, nor do you want that pan to overflow. That is why is the pan is connected to the condensate drain line. This simply ushers the condensation out of your home. The issue is that this condensate drain line can back up from time to time. It may develop algae that clogs it up, or it may be otherwise obstructed.
Cleaning the Drain Line Is Simple
If your condensate drain line is backed up, water can overflow from the pan and damage your floors. The moisture can also lead to the promotion of biological pollutants that thrive in damp conditions. Fortunately, cleaning the drain line to get rid of any obstructions is fairly simple, and is something many homeowners are comfortable doing on their own.
You can simply vacuum moisture out of the pan with a wet vac and clean it up, then use the wet vac in order to draw any obstructions out of the drain line, as well. If there is a clog further down or one that cannot just be sucked out, pouring some distilled vinegar or hydrogen peroxide can loosen it up and flush it out. There are cleaners that you can purchase at hardware stores, but these home remedies generally suffice. If you do need professional air conditioning maintenance, give Goettl a call!
Contact Goettl Air Conditioning for any AC services that you may need. We Do Things the Right Way, Not the Easy Way.
