Comments on: How To Unclog Air Conditioner Drain

By: Colin

Colin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:40:28 +0000

Here is a story.
My Inverter Air conditioner has 2 drains out that drain to a downpipe connected to the guttering. Well the downpipe got clogged and the water went up the drain pipes of the air-con into the unit and leaked all over the floor in the house.

After removing the drain pipe from the down pipe (to stop the flood inside the house) I am scared to even start the air-con in case its electrics have been damaged.

I wonder if the water that went inside it will just drain out again.

I plan to let it dry out for a month. And then turn it on.

I wonder if I can claim on insurance if it doesn’t work anymore.

By: HoustonBill

HoustonBill — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:39:52 +0000

I have had continuing problems with our AC units in the attic draining through the same drain as the upstairs sink. I was putting algaecide down there once a month, forgot last month and it backed up into her sink. I am guessing there is a trap below her sink on the first floor that is getting clogged? I have a snake I run down there and it clears the clog. I like the baking soda and vinegar idea, this creates a foaming? How often do I need to do this? Our AC runs almost year round in Houston.

By: Binxian Zhang

Binxian Zhang — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:43:38 +0000

I found water dripping from both the pipes outside our house and the one upper on our front door. Any one here have an idea why this happened? I have tried the tips suggested here before and it worked but not this time. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
Binxz

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:34:14 +0000

@TominWP: Nice job! Hope the fix holds up so you can avoid paying for any repairs.

By: TominWP

TominWP — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:11:10 +0000

FIXED – Sorta…

Tried shop vac sucking and blowing on any and all available pipes exiting the house – no dice.

Then, escalating the destruction, I drilled a good-size hole in a high point on the drain pipe near it’s exit from the AC unit. I figured if I was going to wind up cutting the pipe off, this couldn’t hurt. No water came out, so I stuck the curly-q end of an undone wire clothes hanger down the hole – it came out wet and covered in goobies. So I bent a 90deg bend in the other end of the wire hanger, shoved it into my drill, worked the rest of the wire hanger down into the hole, and commenced to give the begoobied pipe a good internal scrubbing. poured some water down in the drain pan, and it drained right out – success!

I did pour some chlorox in there too, and will add some more later, along with some hot water and vinegar and baking soda.

$0 total out-of-pocket expense so far. Thanks for all the help!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:21:38 +0000

Tom in WP – Mine goes straight into the floor too, but I do have an access port for pouring bleach in. My husband and I looked at every other drain in the house, even behind the bathtub, and the drain pipe doesn’t connect to any of them. we believe it has it’s own drain. I unclogged ours the other night by pouring about 1/2 cup of baking soda followed by 2 cups of vinegar into the T pipe (after I used the shop vac on it). I can’t remember the website I got that tip from, it may have been this one, either way, it worked perfectly!!! It might be a good idea, if you are going to have to cut into the PVC anyway to add on an access port for bleach or baking soda and vinegar so you won’t have this happen again…if you are planning on staying in the same house for a while. Good luck.

By: TomInWP

TomInWP — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:53:42 +0000

Great tip! I’m renting and i just noticed that my lease says I’m responsible for dealing with A/C drain line clogs! I about freaked out until I found your post.

Now, mine’s a little tricky. The system is old, and the drain pipe is PVC and comes out of the unit (in the garage), then disappears down into the slab. The whole system is sealed and glued (I assume by pvc glue), so there’s nowhere I can access the line to try sucking anything out. Should I cut into the PVC pipe and try to suck/snake it out? Just had a baby and it’s August in central FL so AC is pretty important. Thanks!

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:31:49 +0000

@Rebecca: While it’s good you were able to put the shopvac on the “T,” I worry that you may be pulling any blockages back up the line. If you can’t locate any exterior drains check around bathroom sinks – builders have been known to drop them there (see a couple examples in comments above). It might be possible to loosen/detach the AC drain line from the primary sink drain and shopvac from there. Bleach or vinegar with a warm water flush should help as well.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:11:06 +0000

Last night my husband and I noticed our AC wasn’t working as it normally does do I suggested changing the filter. It was absolutely filthy, but what made us more upset was the fact it was soaking wet. We turned off the AC and I did a little research on why water would be dripping and we figured it was the drain pipe (even though I regularly put bleach in at the T – actually did it on 6/10/09 same as the last filter change). Anyway, my husband and I set off into the night with a flashlight looking for the exterior drain and we couldn’t find it. there are no exterior drains coming from our home besides the one for the hot water heater relief valve. We decided to do the shop vac at the T to see if that would help. We ended up with approx 2-3 gallons of water and trash. Should we be concerned that we are unable to locate the exterior drain? Or should we just continue to use the vac at the t pipe inside if this happens in the future?

By: Billy

Billy — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:33:51 +0000

My drain is clogged as well, however the primary drain goes to a bathroom sink, and the secondary drain (where water is now dripping out) sticks out of the roof on the second floor. Any idea on how to unclog a primary drain that goes to a sink?