Is your air conditioner leaking water? This is a sign that there is an urgent issue with your AC. Unfortunately, there are numerous reasons why an air conditioner is leaking water.

No one wants to deal with a leaky air conditioner. When the water leaks inside your home, your primary objective should be to get the cause of the leak repaired immediately. When you have a mixture of warm weather and moisture in your house, you will be dealing with mold and mildew problems within no time.

While sometimes leaks from an AC are normal, certain circumstances warrant a call to a technician. Below are six major factors that contribute to a leaky air conditioner.

1. An Old and Worn-Out Drain Pan

When your AC is cooling your indoor air, it absorbs the heat from the air, drawing moisture in the process. The refrigerant absorbs the heat in the evaporator coil. The moisture that results from the warm indoor air passes through the coil and collects in the drain pan.

If your drain pan is worn out, it may be rusty and cracked. The collected water may pass through the cracks and leak into your house. If your AC is leaking due to a rusted and cracked drain pan, the only solution is to replace the pan.

Remember to contact a professional and reputable air conditioning technician to help with the replacement.

2. A Clogged or Blocked Drain Line

After the drain pan collects water and moisture from your warm indoor air, it’s passed through the drain pipe. Debris such as dust and mold may clog the drain pipe, blocking any water from flowing through.

Instead of the water flowing freely, it may collect in the drain pan and spill over into your attic floor after it fills up. Contact an HVAC technician to take care of this problem. They will clean the drain pipe and unclog it so that the water can freely flow out and avoid leaking.

3. Frozen Evaporator Coil

The refrigerant in the evaporator coil makes it very cold. Sometimes, ice can form on the coil due to the low temperature of the refrigerant. This can lead to significant issues with your air conditioning unit.

A frozen evaporator coil is one of the biggest air conditioner problems faced by homeowners. It causes the air conditioner unit to start overheating due to lost cooling power.

The frozen coil also forms ice and frost. This frost starts to overheat, gradually melting and dripping into the drainpipe. The water can flood the drain pan and leak out of your unit into your house.

So why is ice formed in the evaporator coil? One of the biggest reasons for this is due to lack of enough airflow through your AC system. The culprit is often clogged and blocked air filters.

When a blanket of dust and debris fills up your air filter, the system will struggle to pull and push air through. This consequently leads to less warm air from your house flowing through the cold evaporator coil. The coil gradually starts to form frost and ice.

Refrigerant is quite toxic to the environment. Thus, it’s advisable to contact an AC repair professional to handle this problem for you. If you don’t have experience in handling HVAC units, don’t attempt to solve the problem on your own

4. A Broken Condensate Pump

Do you have your heating and cooling unit installed in your home’s basement? If you do, then a condensate pump helps push the water outside. Unfortunately, a broken pump means that water is not being pumped out anymore, leading to leaking.

To solve this problem, you will need to replace or repair the pump to allow for water to be pumped out of the unit. Ensure you contact a technician to assist with this.

5. Low Refrigerant Level

A low refrigerant level problem is similar to a dirty air filter. It lowers the pressure that the AC system uses when cooling air. Low refrigerant levels may cause the evaporator coil to freeze. When the frost melts, it flows out and spills out of the drain pan.

If you notice that the AC is not cooling your indoor air as it should, you may be dealing with a low refrigerant issue. You can also determine the refrigerant level from the noise the unit makes. A bubbling or hissing sound could also be an indicator that there is this problem.

A leak of the refrigerant fluid causes a low refrigerant problem. Depending on how severe the leak is, you may need to repair the leak and replace the fluid or install a new AC unit. Regular AC maintenance will help you catch any problems with your refrigerant early in advance.

6. Faulty Installation

Installation problems are often experienced in new cooling systems. If your AC unit is new but experiencing a leak, your technician may not have installed the unit properly. The problem may also be that the unit is improperly sized for your house.

To correct the problem of a leaky AC unit, call your technician to have it checked. A unit that was installed incorrectly will not be as efficient in cooling your indoor air temperature. Instead, you will deal with numerous issues such as sensor problems, drainage issues, and electronic control failures, which can be quite dangerous for you and your household.

Contact Us Today If Your Air Conditioner Is Leaking Water

Are you experiencing AC problems? Most AC issues can be prevented if you schedule an annual AC maintenance. Routine maintenance can help your AC perform at maximum efficiency to keep your home comfortable and energy-efficient.

If your air conditioner is leaking water, contact us today at Mr. Central Air Conditioning, and we will have our technicians examine the components of your unit for any potential problems. Our technicians will also conduct any necessary repairs and efficiently solve the root cause of the leak.