The last thing you need as a homeowner is for anything to leak in your household. But did you know that leaks can occur from more than just your water heater or your plumbing system? Your air conditioner can actually leak too! This probably hasn’t crossed your mind, but if you see water dripping out of the HVAC cabinet and starting to puddle on the floor, it’s time to call our pros for air conditioning repair in Maumelle, AR.
So what’s going on when this occurs? It could be one of a few things actually, and we’ll cover the possibilities below. Read on!
Is There Water In My AC?
Yes and no. No, there is no water in your air conditioner upon manufacturing or installation. Your air conditioner does not need or use water in order to operate. So where does the water come from? Condensation!
Cold refrigerant moves through the evaporator coil of your cooling system, which draws heat from the air in order to cool it down for your home. As the refrigerant evaporates int the coil, it creates moisture in the air to condense along the coil.
This process dehumidifiers the air a bit, by the way, but is not a substitute for a whole-home dehumidifier.
Where Does the Water Go?
The water on the evaporator coil will drip off of it, and your air conditioner has a condensate drainage system to catch and remove it. A shallow drain pan below the coil collects the mosture, and then a pump draws the water out. A tube carries the water outdoors, where it safely drips onto the ground.
What Can Go Wrong?
The problem occurs when this water doesn’t exit the system from the right area. And this happens most often when the condensate drain is clogged up. Humidity in the drainage condensate system can lead to mold and mildew growth, plus dust and other debris can get inside the drain pan and create more problems, as the condensate pan isn’t designed to hold that much water, so the water sloshes out.
Your air conditioner is equipped with a component called a limit switch that trips when this occurs and shuts off your air conditioning system. This is for your safety, as you don’t want water making contact with the electrical components of your air conditioner. The problem is, you don’t want your air conditioner suddenly stopping operation in the middle of summer!
Fortunately, this is unlikely to occur if you’re keeping up on your annual professional maintenance appointments with our team. We thoroughly inspect, clean, and adjust components of your air conditioner to make sure that everything is operating as it should.
However, if this does occur, all you need to do is give our team a call for quality air conditioning repair. Please do contact us, too, even if your air conditioner is still running but you see water leaking out. This is never normal and needs to be addressed by an experienced team such as ours.