F/U: Oh, Joy of home ownership :(

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the thread is one page back....

so I ask on a HOA (home owners association) newsgroup, and one lady tells me the AC Drain pipe should be near the gas and electric meters, where I thought it was, since I saw some moisture there back in June and July when it was drought here.

I ask a colleague at work, he lives in the same development, same thing, which PVC pipe at "ground level"

I get home and dig. dig. dig. I see moisture. dig some more. at about 8 inches under ground I find the hole where water comes out, and boy, once I dig in there, and probably dislocate whatever was plugging the hole, water comes rushing out and probably 2-3 gallons of water come out with high pressure, whatever accumulated in those pipes

now I need to determine if the washer is actually leaking or not. I suspect it was all coming from the AC, so the washer might be good after all.

[Carm]

You need to cut the pipe to ground level and put an elbow on it. Dirt in the pipe is causing it to get plugged.

Joe

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Carm wrote:
You need to cut the pipe to ground level and put an elbow on it. Dirt in the pipe is causing it to get plugged.

Joe

as far as I can tell (I cannot see very well now, because it is submerge in water, and now it got dark), it seems the pipe comes out of the Stucco wall already some inches below ground level. I will look again later maybe during the weekend when I plan to remove all that dirt and put some stones in there

[Grateful11]

Let me get this right, someone buried the AC condensate drain line?

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Grateful11 wrote:
Let me get this right, someone buried the AC condensate drain line?

it seems like it.

The previous owner had an obsession with plants and she may have added some dirt in there, but not more that 1-2" I would say. I peeked at the AC drain of my neighbor and it is a PVC pipe, at ground level, at least 4-5" away from the house. Mine seems cut flush with the house, and definitely way below ground

[olnacl]

You might find this interesting…

[Acer]

One immutable rule of home ownership: The guy who owned the place before you was an idiot. New home corollary: at least one subcontractor was an idiot.

(And I'm sure the guy who buys my house from me some day will say the same of me.)

[John B.]

Hey, at least you pursued it and you know you can fix it. I agree with Acer's rule as well.

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John B. wrote:
Hey, at least you pursued it and you know you can fix it. I agree with Acer's rule as well.

and many thanks for your advice, and other's advice as well posted last night in the original thread. You guys are great

[rgG]

Glad you found the exit for the pipe. You definitely need to get that water away from your house. Draining water right by the foundation is a no-no. All of the drain pipes (large diameter black pipe) from our gutters were buried when we bought our house, and over the years almost all of them have become clogged with dirt. I have had to replace most of them with above ground pipes, and now I can see if they are draining correctly. As Carm said, cut the pipe at ground level and put an extension on it to get that water away from your house.

I will bet you that the washer was not leaking, that it was just the drain backing up.