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waterwoman · Sep 13, 2008, 10:26 AM

Does one use clorox or ammonia to help clean out a condensate line. We found the pan for the AC FULL of water. Don't know if just water will flush out condensate line, or will it need clorox/etc?

wmproop · Sep 13, 2008, 10:38 AM

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

ballengerb1 · Sep 13, 2008, 11:22 AM

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.

waterwoman · Sep 13, 2008, 12:43 PM

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.

wmproop · Sep 13, 2008, 12:52 PM

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?

EPMiller · Sep 13, 2008, 02:45 PM

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.

wmproop · Sep 13, 2008, 08:25 PM

She didn`t say the unit was laying in a pan,but with that much water it would have to be

T-Top · Sep 13, 2008, 09:28 PM

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.

waterwoman · Sep 14, 2008, 02:46 AM

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.

waterwoman · Nov 2, 2008, 01:17 AM

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

EPMiller · Nov 2, 2008, 07:10 PM

Thanks for the update.