Well that’s strange, you think as you step in a puddle surrounding your air conditioning system. It appears that my air conditioner has sprung a leak. Never seen that before. While you are not hallucinating or imagining the fact that there is water surrounding your indoor AC unit, the fact is that your air conditioner does not actually use water in its cooling process. If the system does not contain water, though, where is it coming from? Has a pipe sprung a leak, with the water pooling around the AC?
Not necessarily. You see, while the AC does not actually have water in it to leak, exactly, it may still be the source of this water. Confused enough yet? Then you are lucky that we are here. Today, we’ll explore a few reasons as to why your air conditioner in Ludlow, VT may appear to leak, as well as discuss why it may be a cause for considerable concern.
It May Be Ice Melting in the Unit
Now, you obviously know that your air conditioners primary function is to cool your home down during the hottest time of the year, right? So ice developing in the system probably isn’t that big of a deal, right? Wrong! If there is ice within your indoor air conditioning unit, then you could have a potentially serious problem on your hand. Remember, an air conditioner is a cooling system. It’s not a freezer.
Your air conditioner cools the air by evaporating refrigerant in the evaporator coil. This allows the refrigerant to draw heat out of the air surrounding and passing over that coil. During this process, condensation is also drawn out of the air, and it collects on the coil before dripping off. If a problem causes the coil to get too cold, though, that condensation can freeze, then melt off and wind up pooling around the unit. But what kind of problems could cause this situation?
The most benign possibility is a very dirty air filter. If the air filter in your system is dirty enough, it can create so much airflow resistance that the coil doesn’t have enough heat to draw air out of. Simply changing the filter can fix this problem. Much more serious is the chance of a refrigerant leak. If there is not enough refrigerant in the system, it will fail to remove enough heat. That can cause the freezing as well, and low refrigerant levels can also lead to much more damaging issues.
It Could Be a Backed Up Drain
As we said, the condensation on your evaporator coil is supposed to drip off, not freeze on. Where does it go once it has dripped off, though? Into the condensate drain pan and drain line. If this drain assembly is backed up due to algal growth or other blockages, though, the water can spill out and surround the unit. Keeping the drain clean and clear is very important. This type of water spillage can lead to wood rot and the promotion of biological pollutant growth.
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