Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help!
Ask    ||    Answer
 
Advanced  
 

Ask QuestionsprogressAnswer QuestionsprogressBuild ReputationprogressBecome an Expert
 
Free Answers in 3 Easy Steps

Register Now
3 Steps

At Ask Me Help Desk you can ask questions in any topic and have them answered for free by our experts. To ask questions or participate in answering them you must register for a free account. By registering you will be able to:
  • Get free answers from experts in any of our 300+ topics.
  • Accept money for answers that you provide.
  • Communicate privately with other members (PM).
  • See fewer ads.

Home > Home & Garden > Heating & Air Conditioning   »   Condensate line cleaning

 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Question
 
 
#1  
Old Sep 13, 2008, 10:26 AM
waterwoman
New Member
waterwoman is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 22
waterwoman See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
Condensate line cleaning

Does one use clorox or ammonia to help clean out a condensate line. We found the pan for the AC FULL of water. Dont know if just water will flush out condensate line, or will it need clorox/etc?

Reply With Quote
 
     

Answers
 
 
Old Sep 13, 2008, 10:38 AM   #2  
Ultra Member
wmproop is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,954
wmproop See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
can`t hurt,but once you get the line unstopped can`t say that it would help. it just happens .Ive found it to be pretty successful to suck out the plugged line with a shop vac,if you poke a wire into the line you are just pushing the clog back into the pan and it will happen again when it works its way back to the drain again

Comments on this post
ballengerb1 agrees: yep, pretty accurate
waterwoman agrees: thanks
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Sep 13, 2008, 11:22 AM   #3  
Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
ballengerb1 is offline
 
ballengerb1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Wheaton, Illinois, USA
Posts: 15,392
ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.ballengerb1 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
wmproop gave you a good answer. Did you assume the clog was caused by mold or something?? Most clogs are wet dust in your home that got past the furnace filter. The dust collects on the A coil or exhaust pipe and get damp, falls into the pan for the pump.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Sep 13, 2008, 12:43 PM   #4  
New Member
waterwoman is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 22
waterwoman See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
I just know both the main condensate line is clogged and the overflow condensate line is also clogged. At this point, tired of fooling with this problem. Will let an AC man take it from here. The pan for collecting the water was full, 5 gal of water, plus the wires to the AC were IN the water. Maintenance man drained the pan and put the wires up out of the way of the water, but now the drip on the floor is happening, which I suppose is from the main condensate line being plugged. Did NOT need a new thermostat once the water was drained out of the pan. However, an AC man is scheduled for Wednesday. Can hobble until then, thanks.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Sep 13, 2008, 12:52 PM   #5  
Ultra Member
wmproop is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,954
wmproop See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
is impossible to think 5 gallon of water ,1 gallen maybe,,,but glad you got help coming,the water overflowing onto the wiring is not good,,I guess if the furnace is in a pan that catches the overflow could hold that much,,is your furnace in the attic?
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Sep 13, 2008, 02:45 PM   #6  
Full Member
EPMiller is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 433
EPMiller See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
Missed this change in thread. I can believe 5 gallons easily. The pan under some lay-down AC units holds more than that. I like to blow the drain lines out. The water in the trap with 80 psi behind it cleans them out real nice. The clorox does a good job of stopping algae buildup for a while. It kills that clear snot (or whatever you call it) junk for the rest of the season too. Just don't get too happy with the clorox around the evaporator. IIRC it is hard on aluminum.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Sep 13, 2008, 08:25 PM   #7  
Ultra Member
wmproop is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,954
wmproop See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
she didn`t say the unit was laying in a pan,but with that much water it would have to be
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Sep 13, 2008, 09:28 PM   #8  
Ultra Member
T-Top is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,159
T-Top See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
If you have a heat pump with a fan coil unit, you will need to block off the breather tee on the condensate drain before trying to suck it out with a shop vac. That way your cleaning it out from the outside to the drain pan.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Sep 14, 2008, 02:46 AM   #9  
New Member
waterwoman is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 22
waterwoman See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wmproop
is impossible to think 5 gallon of water ,1 gallen maybe,,,but glad you got help coming,the water overflowing onto the wiring is not good,,I guess if the furnace is in a pan that catches the overflow could hold that much,,is your furnace in the attic?

I SAW the 5 gallon container full of water, from the wet/dry vac. The pan was in the attic. Two wires from the unit were IN the water. The fellow helping us cleaned off the wires, dried them off well, and emptied the pan. The accessory condensate (overflow) line was sticking up in the air. Anyway, since I couldn't get up in the attic, I can't explain it more than that.

Oh, well, you all tried to help, and we appreciate it very much. Thanks.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Nov 2, 2008, 01:17 AM   #10  
New Member
waterwoman is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 22
waterwoman See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
Just to finally finish this question, the AC man came out, blew water into the outside condensate line, blowing a whole lot of greenish junk out of the line and breaking up the clot. It took several trips of 5 gallon buckets to get the water out of the condensate line, and now the problem is totally gone. Glad the AC man did all this as the drain pan was in the attic. Thanks for all your comments. waterwoman
  Reply With Quote
 
     

Your Answer
Email me when someone replies to my answer
Join Login





Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

 
Similar Sponsors


Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Show Printable Version
Email this Page Email this Page

Similar Threads
AC condensate line termination
(2 replies)
Condensate line not draining
(2 replies)
Routing an AC condensate line
(1 replies)
Condensate line cleaning
(5 replies)
freezing condensate line
(1 replies)

Search this Thread

Advanced Search

Bookmarks

Sponsors



Copyright ©2003 - 2009, Ask Me Help Desk.
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 11:36 AM.