It's a very common air conditioning service issue here in the Tampa Bay area - the ac unit drip pipe backs up and starts sending the water INTO your home, instead of OUT of it. Not good, but usually a pretty easy fix.
Here's what to check before calling the professionals who service Air Conditioning Tampa.
First - Turn your AC system to the off position at the thermostat, but make sure to leave the fan set to ON. This will prevent more water damage from occurring while you're in the process of trying to fix the issue. Don't do this and you could wind up with a soaking wet carpet, or ceiling, or something else that you certainly do not want.
Most of us living in Lutz, or Tampa or Brandon areas would think this is an easy fix: the drain has simply plugged up for some reason or another and all you need to do is blow it back out and get rid of the blockage, problem solved, right? And you'd be correct 4 out of 5 times.
Sometimes, however, there is another problem causing the water leak - but we'll look into what that could be in a sec. First things first.
Check to make sure nothing is blocking the drainage pipe - like maybe you haven't mowed your grass in the last 6 months. That would do it. Air Conditioning units are surprisingly picky about this sort of thing.
Once that's settled, take a piece of flexible wire and fish it through the p-trap that is usually at the end of the drain line. If water starts coming out, hurray! Go have a drink and pat yourself on the back because you have most likely fixed the problem and saved yourself a little dough. But before you do that, take a sec to do a little preventive maintenance on that pipe so you're not back out here a month later.
Wrap a rag around the tip of your garden hose and the end of the drain line. Now get your wife, husband or someone walking down your sidewalk to help you. Have them quickly turn on the water hose and then shut it off immediately (like within 3 seconds of turning it on) or you are going to have a flood in your house. This will blast a lot of that gooey slime back out of the pipe.
If only clearing our arteries was so easy, huh?
If you're really motivated, you might consider extending the drain line out about a foot to a foot and a half from the house. This helps to avoid attracting termites (they love water), by sending it away from the home where it can disperse and dry out.
A couple other things to do and then you can relax:
If your air handler (that big mysterious metal box with pipes running out of it) is in the closet and you can get to it, look to see if there is a cap on a pipe at the drain line leaving the air handler. Remove the cap and pour a bleach solution down the opening. Say goodbye to the slime! Most units do not have this port installed at the air handler, though - so don't sweat it if you don't see it. Make sure to put that cap back on. Make a habit of marking your calendar 6 months and one year from that date - so you can do this again. It takes 5 minutes, but saves a load of headache.
Some newer homes have the air handler in the garage or attic - there you'll need to find the power disconnect switch (a square metal box with a black handle inside), yank that puppy out - make sure it's the right one and not your water heater or something else like that - and then remove the handler outside panel with a screwdriver to get to the water drip pan. If you see any slimy goo, get it out with a wet dry vac or a bunch of paper towels, then pour some bleach down it as well to prevent more gooey buildup.
NOW you can go back inside, flip your ac back on, and relax in the cool breeze.
p.s. If that DIDN'T do it, contact us. After all, we're the best ac company in Tampa.
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