Air conditioners don’t actually use any water to run. Evaporative coolers may do so, but these are not common in our area, and most of us have refrigerant-based air conditioners that run via refrigeration. So when water is leaking from an air conditioner, it may be a bit confusing for you.
The first step is to call in a licensed technician. Local HVAC technicians can take care of the issue relatively quickly because they know just what to look for. This problem cannot wait for long, or you risk major water damage to your property.
But if you’re curious to know why water would leak from an air conditioner in the first place, we’ve got some information below.
How Water Factors into Your Air Conditioner
The way water factors into an air conditioner in the first place is humidity. There’s humidity in the air—which is something you can identify with if you live in our service area—and that moisture (water vapor) comes in through the HVAC system along with the warm air the system is in charge of cooling.
Air cools as refrigerant in the system evaporates and removes heat. As it does, the evaporator coil cools down quite a bit. Warm, humid air blowing over loses some of its humidity as water condenses on the outside of the coil. Think about a cold glass of water on a hot day—water will collect on the outside of the glass just as it does on the cool coil of your air conditioner.
This water needs somewhere to go. It drips off the coil and into a drainage system. The problem is that the drainpipe can become clogged with debris.
When that happens, water can overflow into your home! You need to have emergency service, as it could damage your property. That’s why we recommend scheduling service for your air conditioner long before you encounter any issues. Routine maintenance involves a condensate drain cleanout, and we recommend scheduling this service at the beginning of the summer.
Call MarGo Plumbing Heating Cooling Inc. for quality, honesty, and excellent customer service in Montclair. We offer 24-hour emergency service!