OK, I've been reading all about my problem of a clogged condensate drain. I understand what is happening, I can see the parts involved, but what I need to know is the steps to take to fix it. I've read the steps regarding clearing the drain, but none mention how to disconnect the drain. Mine is PVC and appears to be glued at all joints, and is either glued or stuck real good onto the outlet coming out of the metal box atop my furnace, then goes (loosely) into a larger diameter drain pipe near the floor of the utility closet. So do I cut it off up near the top, clear it and then re-attach it? Will this PVC pipe be the only thing that is clogged or do I need to poke around in the place where it comes out of the metal box? What about the drain pipe in the floor? Could that be clogged too, and how would I know, and how would I clear that?

For ease in future maintenance on this part, could I replace it with something other than glued together PVC?

You can cut it and "poke around" clean all the piping, even to the opening to the pan. Also rinse the pan out. You can reattach with a coupling

I cut it off. The pipe itself didn't seem clogged totally, just a bit obstructed. The outlet from the pan was apparently the main problem-I stuck a wire in there and a glob of rust colored stuff came out, and then a rush of water. Does this seem normal? I heard algae was the main culprit, so I was expecting green goo, but it looked more brown/red and rust like.

There is a little black "plug" or valve thing next to the outlet, is this where the overflow drains from when the drain is clogged? I'd like to know so I can watch for water when I reconnect everything and fire it up.

To rinse the pan, I assume squirt water in there? Also, should I snake the drain in the floor? I don't even know where it goes, if it's even connected to anything. I poured bleach/water down it and listened, it sounded like any other drain. I didn't hear water splash on the ground.

Thanks for the help! I really appreciate it!

You more than likely have the problem resolved. This happens from time to time. The pleg is probably the secondary drain. You can pour some bleach water into the pan and will help clean

Well, I got it done and it seems to have done the trick! It only cost me 18 cents for the new fitting and about a half hour of my time!

Thanks for the help and giving me the confidence to do it myself!