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+--- Thread: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( (/showthread.php?tid=104096)
Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - space-time - 09-29-2010
I notice a water stain in the ceiling of the walk-in closet downstairs. I tell wife, and she says: "BTW, I wanted to tell you that I noticed water in the plastic tray under clothes washer upstairs"
OK, I go there, 1 maybe 1.5" of standing water. But that does not explain the stain in the ceiling... above that stain is the AC/Furnace
I check the AC Furnace, and of course, there is water there too. Looks like the drain is clogged. Back in the middle of summer I noticed some moisture every morning outside in the backyard where gas line, electricity and telephone lines come into my town-house. Looks like the drain is there, but I never saw the actual drain pipe.
It was the only spot wet in the entire back-yard, and the most logical place for the AC drain (the closest to the AC furnace).
So now I have 2 apparently unrelated problems to deal with: fix/replace the washer (5 year old, GE Profile IIRC) and unclog the Ac drain.
Wish me luck and tell me how to unclog the drain, since without AC life is really hard, very humid outside
With the washer I can deal later, apparently she ran 3 loads today before the tray filled up, so I can live with that several days until I decide what to replace it with.
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - John B. - 09-29-2010
I have had success clearing an AC drain using a shop-vac. Slip the vac nozzle a couple inches up over the external pipe drain, wrap your hand (or some tape) across the joint, and turn the vac on for a couple minutes. You'll hear the stuff being pulled out by the vacuum (make sure you're in wet vac mode). On my shop-vac, I had to remove the hard plastic nozzle end of the hose to have enough diameter to overlap the PVC pipe drain.
My A/C company has also used an inert gas to pressurize the drain line and force the block out.
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - decocritter - 09-29-2010
I cleared the floor drain in the common basement of our condos with baking soda and vinegar. Then flushed it with really hot water poured from about waist high (pressure). Then I used a hose and ran cold water in it. Now I pour bleach in it once a month and flush with water.
The owners ac unit which drains into floor drain, flooded the common basement and lint etc. was in the drain because of improper dryer venting.
Your ac drain hose could be clogged with mildew, etc, as my next door neighbor's is currently.
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - space-time - 09-29-2010
"Slip the vac nozzle a couple inches up over the external pipe drain,"
is this the drain located in the AC closet inside, or the pipe outside? as I said, I think I know where the drain is outside, but I just looked again and I cannot see the PVC pipe
I was thinking something like liquid plumber or drano (or whatever the competitor of liquid plumber is called). Or just get one of those long snakes and push it down the pipe from inside?
I can also call an AC guy if all else fails, but I would rather learn to deal with this myself for next time it happens
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - decocritter - 09-29-2010
I would not do draino, etc.
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - John B. - 09-29-2010
Attach the vac to the outside where the water is draining out of the house. It may just be a little stub sticking out of the wall.
I don't know that liquid plumber will work unless you are willing to introduce more water into the pipe to flush it out. When you use liquid plumber on a sink drain, you are instructed to flush it with water to clear the clog.
You could also try feeding in some electrical fish tape from the outside, if you have that. Honestly, if you have a shop-vac and can find the external drain, you'll probably be amazed how quick and easy it is...I was the first time I tried it. Like I said above, one A/C guy used this fancy gas thing. Another A/C guy said "just use a shop-vac".
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - space-time - 09-29-2010
yeah, I wish it was that easy. I just looked again, and there is no pipe outside. The only think that I see is a little metallic thing, with a shape like this
[_______]
and tilted 30 degree or so, coming from the wall and that could be the drain, but it is also attached to the gas pipe.
is this the drain?
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - space-time - 09-29-2010
the damage is worse than I thought. I noticed that the ceiling in a corner near fireplace is also flooded
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - olnacl - 09-29-2010
I use my air compressor to blow out the junk that accumulates in the drain pipe (I know, not much help if you don't have an air compressor) To avoid the problem, my A/C repair guy told me to put 1 oz of liquid bleach in the drain pipe (at the A/C unit) every two weeks. I have a recurring reminder in iCal so I don't forget.
Re: Oh, Joy of home ownership :( - John B. - 09-29-2010
The condensate drain is most likely 3/4" or 1" PVC pipe...I have 4 A/C units between my home and my business and all of them have white PVC pipe drains. It's possible that at some point someone sheared yours off flush with the exterior wall of the house and put in some kind of little metal diverter, or maybe you're just looking at the wrong thing.
Air handlers installed above living spaces are supposed to have a drip pan underneath them, and some kind of cutoff switch. Ideally, if the main drain pipe plugs, the resulting overflow would drain into the drip pan, which should either have its own alternate drain, or a cutoff (float) switch that shuts down the power to the unit when the pan is full, or both.
So work backwards. Go to the A/C air handler...does it have a drip pan under it? Is the pan full of water? Get rid of that first. Then...does the drip pan have its own drain? Try to trace and clear that. Is there a float switch (probably clipped to the edge of the pan)? Why didn't that work? Oh, and keep looking for the outlet for the primary handler condensate drain as well.