Excess Condensation? | Air Conditioning Service | Paradise Valley, AZ
Have you seen excessive condensation coming from your air conditioner? Or is there no water coming out the condensate line? Have you noticed that water is leaking into your house? When summer arrives in Paradise Valley, AZ, and you’ve got the air conditioner at full blast, the last thing you need is unexpected condensation causing dampness on your ceilings, water damage, or moldy smells. If you notice issues with condensate drainage, an air conditioning service from the pros at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Phoenix can help you. Here’s all you need to know about air conditioning condensation!
What’s Air Conditioning Condensation?
Your air conditioner circulates air through your home, and it can be trusted to help remove humidity from the air. The evaporator coil in your HVAC unit is responsible for this; making dryer air feel cooler in the sweltering summer months. In a healthy HVAC system, the condensate tube carries any accumulated moisture from the evaporator safely away from the unit.
Is Condensation Normal?
An air conditioning service can help you identify if the level of condensate you are seeing is normal for your household. Healthy air conditioners do not tend to produce a lot of noticeable condensation. Instead, any condensation will find its way into the drain pain, and then exit through fitted condensate lines. However, if you notice that your drain pain is regularly overflowing or any other worrying symptoms, then you may need the assistance of a professional.
If you see water dripping constantly from your AC, for example, it is likely that one or more AC parts aren’t working properly. A malfunction in one of many integral components may be responsible for expending excess water outside the unit. A professional air conditioning service can isolate, repair or replace the faulty component. One of the most common reasons you’ll see noticeable condensation is if the condensate line has clogged up.
Signs Your Condensate Line is Clogged
The following symptoms can indicate a blocked condensate drain line leading from your air conditioner:
- A musty, moldy odor near your indoor unit
- Inability to reach the set temperature
- Noticeable water damage to the unit
- Standing water under the indoor unit
- Unexpected shutdowns and inability to restart
Ideally, you want to isolate and fix the issue early, which is why arranging for a regular air conditioning service is crucial. You won’t want to be without AC when the summer months arrive in Paradise Valley, AZ!
So, How Do You Remove Condensation?
By making sure each related component that deals with moisture removal is kept in top shape! When one component experiences excessive wear-and-tear, or breaks down completely, it can have a detrimental effect on many other components of the system. There are five main pieces of equipment that you need a professional to analyze, if you’re experiencing issues with frequent, excessive condensation. An air conditioning service can incorporate analysis of the following equipment to help remove condensation:
- The condensate lines. This critical component is the pipe that runs from your primary drain pan to the exterior of your house. Often, HVAC specialists will target this area first because lines can get clogged by bacteria, dirt, or grime. Blocked drain lines can cause backups and water to drain where it shouldn’t. You can arrange for drainage of the AC unit’s if it seems blocked. The line may need to be snaked in order to clear the clog.
- Evaporator coil. During an air conditioning service, HVAC inspectors will also check the evaporator coil to make sure it is not ice-coated. The water leaking from your unit might be the result of an ice thaw.
- Air filter. There are several reasons the evaporator coil might be freezing, including issues with refrigerant or ill-kept air filters. An inspection of the air filter will determine if a dirty filter is the underlying cause. You can replace or clean your filter yourself, depending on the system. Alternatively, you can rely on a HVAC technician.
- Drip Pan. An air conditioning service will commonly include an inspection of the drip pan. Normally, condensation drips from the coils into a fitted drip pan under the unit. Accumulated water should flow from here through the condensate tube. Water leaks can be caused by cracked or rusted drip pans that require replacement.
- Safety Float & Switch. The condensate safety switch is another vital component of an air conditioner that can cause an inordinate amount of condensation to rear its ugly head. Typically, a faulty safety float or switch will not stop the HVAC from running. You might not even be aware there is a malfunctioning or missing safety float or switch unless you book an air conditioning service to evaluate it.
What Damage Can Condensation Cause?
Too much water in your HVAC system can have some surprising side effects that you may not have previously considered. You’ll likely notice the humidity issues, as your HVAC will struggle to take excess moisture out of the air, plus you’ll have excess moisture forming in and around your unit. You’ll also notice your AC struggling to maintain low temperatures.
Excess moisture causes more than temperature and humidity struggles. It can cause dampness on your ceiling, walls, floors, carpet and rugs. This dampness promotes mold and mildew growth. This can cause allergies and other health problems for those who live in the home! Mold and mildew can also attract cockroaches, and other unwanted pests.
Wood and laminate flooring, in particular, absorb water quickly, causing them to warp and buckle as they retain excess moisture. Excess condensate leaking from a drain pan can also cause irreparable damage to drywall. Drywall replacement is an expensive but preventable repair!
Condensation can also cause your air conditioner to stop working altogether. Here at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Phoenix, we’d like to help you avoid the unpleasant side effects of excess condensation.
Book an air conditioning service in Paradise Valley, AZ, to ensure your AC is free of condensation. Call One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Phoenix when you need help!
