My Air Conditioner Drain Pan Is Stopped up

Drain Pan Function

• Air conditioners produce a lot of condensation. Moisture builds up inside them when warm air interfaces with the evaporator coil that dries and cools the air before filtering it back out. Most air conditioners are equipped with a condensation pan, or drain pan, that collects the water as it drips from the coil. From there, a drain line empties water from the pan to an external drain. Yet when the line clogs, it causes water in the drain pan to spill over and leak from the air conditioner.

Clog Location

• A stopped-up drain pan is almost always attributed to an obstruction in the drain line in an area known as the trap. The trap is the location along the drain line with a slight bend. Due to its curvature, a small amount of water that contains large concentrations of dirt, dust and mineral deposits lingers inside, and eventually the residue just gums up unless it's flushed away.

Clog Removal

• When you can easily access the drain line, you can attempt to remove the clog and clean the drain line and pan. The drain line is usually a PVC pipe or plastic hose that attaches to your air conditioner and runs outside or into another major drain pipe for the home. Shut off the air conditioner, and detach the drain line. Clean the line with water from a garden hose or compressed air to completely clear the passage. Always flush the system from inside the unit to outside it to prevent water from entering your home. Flushing also clears away any remaining water in the drain pan and quickly ushers it through the drain line. Contact an air conditioner specialist to flush the drain line, and clean the pan when the line isn't accessible.

Prevention

• A way to prevent your drain line and pan from becoming stopped up is to clean it at least once a year. Have your air conditioner serviced annually by a specialist who can inspect the drain line and pan and address potential issues before they become worse. If you don't want to pay someone to have your air conditioner serviced yearly, use air conditioner condensation tablets obtained from a home improvement store. The tablets help to eliminate scum and debris that accumulate in the pan, which can eventually block the drain line. Place a tablet directly into a pan. It works for about six months before you need to replace it with a new one.