Is Your Air Conditioner Leaking Water?

Is your air conditioner leaking water? When running properly, your air conditioning system is one of those things that you never pay attention to. But imagine looking at your air handling unit and there’s a huge puddle of water around it, or you go down to the basement and find a puddle of water near the air handling unit.

What’s going on?

It could just be normal condensation — especially if it’s an unusually hot and humid day where your system is working overtime to cool your home. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t be too alarmed if:

• Outside: There is a small puddle around the outdoor unit. This may simply be the result of outdoor unit’s normal condensation from colder components.
• Indoors: There is a small amount of water indoors near the drainpipe. This is a common if the piping is not properly insulated or sometimes when your HVAC system is working overtime to cool your house on the most humid days but could indicate a clogged drain pipe.

Although there’s generally no cause for alarm, make sure to monitor the situation. If the puddles grow or persist over time, you may have a more serious problem. This could be the result of:

• A dirty air filter which restricts airflow to the evaporator’s coils, causing them to freeze, and forcing water to spill out of the drain pan in large amounts.
• An obstruction in the drainpipe that will force water to back up and out of the drain pan, spilling water all over the floor.
• A crack in the drainpipe, which again, causes water to spill out on your floor

If any of the above happens, you can try replacing your filters, removing the obstruction from your drainpipe and fixing any cracks. If these solutions do not solve the problem, it is advisable to call an HVAC professional.