Central air, water leaks in the basement when it's on?

Question

Hey all,

We have central air here at the house. The unit is old, 17 years. Can't replace right now so we have to work with this one.

When the air is on, water leaks into our basement. There is a small pipe outside the basement which water used to drip out of. We wet-vacced the pipe and got a lot of goop out, looked like wet paper. Water does not get into the basement as long as we keep the external pipe vacuumed but I was wondering if someone may know what the problem is so we can have a more permanent fix. Thanks.

Answer 1

your drain line is clogged-look  inside unit and see if there is a access hole to pour bleach in line-if not run stiff wire up the line and unclog

Answer 2

Water condenses on the cold parts of the air conditioner when there is humidity in the air (just like when water builds up on a glass of ice water).  That water is collected in a pan underneath the air conditioner and drains out of that pipe.  The more humidity in the air, the more that pipe is going to be dripping.  

If that pipe is getting clogged, you will want to change your air filter more often and clean out the a/c unit. If you feel comfortable with doing it, you can take the panel off of the a/c unit (while it is off) and vacuum out the fins on the grid (kind of looks like the front of a car radiator).  If you don't change your filter often enough, dust eventually passes through and sticks to the grid. It is this dust that builds up on the grid that eventually makes it down to the pipe that gets clogged.  If the pipe were to become totally blocked, water backs up into the pan and causes the water to freeze on the grid, making your a/c not work at all.

If you aren't comfortable with taking the panel off, call a HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning) service and they can clean everything out for a couple hundred bucks or so.  Be sure to have them show you all of these things so you can do it yourself next time.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

the condensate drain is blocked. dirt may be passing the filter. replace the pipe with the next size up . your trap should have a clean out plug . something from the outside may be trying to make a nest in the pipe .

Answer 4

Follow the pipe back to the air conditioner, sometimes there is a small pump unit that is supposed to pump the condensate out of the house, maybe yours is wearing out. It is usualy a plastic chamber with a small pump which activates when the liquid level in the chamber gets deep enough. (note: it is pretty small, not like a sump pump). If that is the problem, I  think you can just get another one, I don't think it costs very much.

Answer 5

The most efficient method to clear the blocked line is with air pressure.

It may need to be done at the AC.  The drain runs from the drip pan under the AC.  Check there.

Once cleared, add bleach to the pan.  It will prevent the dirt coagulating.

What you may be experiencing is overflow running down the outside of the pipe.

Answer 6

usually you would drain the moisture to a floor drain close by but having the unit piped to the outside may be your problem. If the water has to build up before it can run outside then I would think your problem is here. If the pipe or tube is a flexible sort is it run with proper slope or is it sagging.