Ceiling Leaks and Preventative Measures
You are sitting on your couch or your favorite chair watching TV, and all of a sudden, you notice a drip hit you in the face. That's when you realize it's coming from your ceiling. You look up, only to see this giant bubble waiting to burst and dump water all over your hardwood floors-- or worse-- the expensive rug you just purchased. You know if you don’t do something soon, your ceiling will end up all over the floor.
Some people
would get a large garbage can to place under the bubble and poke a hole to help
drain the water build up. Not sure if I
like that idea, but it will release some of the pressure off of the ceiling and
hopefully prevent it from falling down.
What causes this to happen? Seems like every year I have a drain problem. What can I do to prevent this from happening again? Isn’t there some type of miracle stop I can use? I just had this ceiling replaced; I’m going to give that airconditioning company a piece of my mind. This is their fault and they have to pay for my floors and my ceiling. This is their fault. They were just here a year ago and fixed the problem.These are just a few things that may go through your mind as frustration sets in trying to figure out what to do with this problem. We hear it all the time. It even happens at our own houses from time to time. So let’s look into why this happens and how we can prevent it.
What Causes Drain Clogs?
Depending on
what part of the country you live in, an air conditioning system working at its
peak can produce as little as 5 gallons a day or as much as 20 gallons per day
in more humid climates. That’s a lot of
water flowing through a ¾ inch pipe tied into the plumbing system of your
house. In a perfect environment, this
water should be clean and leave nothing in the pipes to clog them. Unfortunately, this just isn’t so.
The blower
in your heater or air handler is either pushing or pulling air over the
evaporator coil, and this is where the water is produced. This air usually has particles of dirt in it
that gets stuck on the fins of an evaporator coil. Some of this dirt gets washed down the fins
into the drain pan and of course into the drain line itself.
Over time,
this creates a buildup, which we refer to as slime or sludge. After some time, this slime/sludge material
will completely clog either the drain pan or drain line causing water to leak out
of the system and onto your ceiling or flooring, depending on where your indoor
unit is located. A lot of people might say, “I use the best filters and replace
or clean them all the time so this should never happen.” Well let’s talk about that, because you might
be surprised.
How do I stop the Dirt Build up?
The truth is,
you can’t.
All filters
are not created equal and even the ones that claim they stop 99.9% of the dirt
aren’t telling the whole truth. Dirt
particles are very small and can get through almost any filter. Some filters can be very restrictive on air
flow so the unit will pull air from any place it can, especially if the system
isn’t sealed properly.
Air leaks
around heater doors, air handlers, or even your duct work means unfiltered
air is drawn into the system leaving dirt everywhere.
Now, don’t
get me wrong, you should use the best filters possible according to what your
system can handle. It’s not about what fits
in the grill. It’s about what type of
system you have, where the best location of the filter is and, most importantly,
whether the filter is the right size for your type of system. We’ll talk more about this in another blog
soon. Let’s get back to your ceiling
caving in and making a mess of your house.
How Do I Prevent Ceiling Leaks from Happening Again
Total
prevention can never be guaranteed, but steps can be taken to greatly reduce
the risk of it happening and destroying your ceiling.
Let’s attack
the drain pan in the evaporator coil first.
This is where the first signs of slime/sludge can (and will) occur. Most manufacturers have started using aluminum
tubing again, (it’s better, trust me) but the downside is that some units will
produce the slime itself. There are two
ways to help reduce the possibilities of this happening.
1 | Pan Pads
One manufacturer told us in a training session that putting a piece of copper pipe in the pan
will help. I tried this once myself, but
didn’t see any difference. However, we
do offer pan pads that release a chemical into the water, which reduces some of
this buildup.
The best
part is this also goes down the drain line, which helps keep it clean too. These pan pads need to be replaced every year
because they have a limited lifespan.
Here is what they look like. We
simply put them directly in the drain pans and they will do the rest.
Does this guarantee you’ll have absolutely no clogs? Unfortunately it doesn’t. But it’s a great line of defense in reducing your risk.
2 | Float
Switches
Another
option is to have an inline float switch installed in the main drain line. Now, this doesn’t release any chemicals in
the water, but it will turn the system off in the event that the drain line
clogs up somewhere between the float switch and where it ties into the plumbing
stack of the homes drain system. It has
wires coming from it that turn the low voltage to the system which turns the
unit off so that it no longer produces water.
Below, are pictures of 2 types of float switches that can reduce the
chance of water leaking in through the ceiling or on the floors ruining floors
and carpet? The second type goes in the
emergency pan (every unit needs one) and will turn the unit off if that pan
fills up to.
Again, these cannot guarantee you won’t ever have a problem, but it will greatly reduce the risk of it happening.
Preventative Maintenance
This is the absolute first plan of attack against drain line issues. This time of year is a great time for your
technician to blow out the drain line using nitrogen or install a pan pad to
protect your system.
This is the time they should note anything they may see that could
become an issue later like a dirty filter or a dirty coil, and in most cases, they will
clean them on the spot.
Think of your air conditioner like your car. You would never drive your car without having
the oil changed or your tires rotated would you? Running your air conditioner for a year is
like driving your car 100,000 miles. We
just can’t drive our cars that long without having some type of issues.
Be proactive with your air conditioning and heating systems. Have them checked every year and pay special
attention to the drain pans and drain lines.
About the Author
Korey’s
Bio
I’ve been in the air conditioning and heating industry since I was 15
years old. I have been working in the
family business full time since 1984 and have been an owner of the family
business for over 12 years. Our main
goal is to give our customers the best possible experience and to help educate
them as to how an air conditioning system works.
Korey Knobloch
Co-Owner, IAQ Specialist
504-733-5888
Korey@helpserviceco.com
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