Does Your Furnace Leak When You Turn on The Air Conditioner? Keep your home cool and dry with helpful hints from the pros.
You’ve held off as long as possible, taking in this spring’s rising temperatures like a champ. But your house is starting to feel more like an inferno than your comfortable personal retreat. So you’ve flipped the thermostat over to cool to bring the cool, bountiful breeze of your air conditioner inside. But soon you notice a puddle beginning to form around the base of your furnace!
Don’t panic!
A leak at the base of your furnace, formed while your air conditioner is running, is a common household problem. It’s no secret Utah has some of the country’s driest air, but moisture still gets into your system through condensation and natural household humidity. By design, that moisture is intended to flow into a drain and not parts of your finished home. If left unattended, leaks can cause huge problems down the road. Leaks can cause damage to your system’s internal mechanisms, weakening your walls and floors and it can lead to mold.
There are three likely conditions that may be the cause of the water to off-spout in the wrong direction, leaving untimely puddles under your furnace. The first is a dirty air filter. Make sure you change your air filters routinely to avoid further damage. Another common leak-causing condition could be a clogged drain, with the third option being problems with the evaporator coil.
How to tell if your drain is clogged?
One of the easiest ways to tell if you have a clogged drain is to just take a look at the PVC drain line or downpipe. Check to see if it’s full of water or if you can see a clog. Feel if there is any air coming while the blower is running, which would indicate the pipe isn’t plugged. The line can be clogged with debris, excess condensation, bugs, mold, and the like. If the line looks clear, check the evaporator drain pan, which is right under the evaporator coil, to see if it’s rusted out. If it is, it’s time to call in the pros.
So my drain wasn’t plugged, what now?
If your drain line wasn’t clogged, your leak may be a result of the evaporator coil freezing up then thawing when the air conditioning is on. When it freezes, ice prevents moisture to flow as intended. This clogs the drain and causes the water to overflow the normal catch point. There are two things that cause a problem with your evaporator coil, first your filter could be dirty, or the air conditioner could be low on freon.
The solution.
If you’ve checked your filters and you’ve checked your drain, it’s time to call in the professionals. If you don’t already, look into investing in a maintenance plan to be proactive before you’re left with an unexpected breakdown.