An air conditioner pulls water out of the air as it cools. Through a long Glendora summer, a central system makes several gallons of condensate on hot days, and all of it has to drain through a small pipe from a pan under the air handler. When that drain clogs, the pan fills, and in an attic the overflow lands on the ceiling.
Why condensate drains overflow
- Algae and sludge that grow in the drain pipe and trap
- A cracked or rusted primary drain pan
- A secondary pan with no float switch, or a switch that failed
- A drain pipe that sagged or came loose in the attic
- Dust from a dirty filter washing into the drain
Many attic units have a secondary pan and a float switch that shuts the system off when water rises. The Energy Saver program covers routine air conditioner care, including the condensate drain.
AC condensate leak cleanup in the attic and below
Condensate that sat in a dirty pan counts as Category 2 water. The restoration crew removes wet insulation under the unit, opens ceiling drywall that sagged or stained through and dries the joists with air movers and dehumidifiers. In the room below, the team checks carpet and walls with meters, because a slow overflow can run for days before the stain shows.
Keeping it from happening again
An HVAC technician clears the drain, checks both pans and tests the float switch. Changing filters on schedule and flushing the drain before summer both help. The EPA indoor air quality pages explain why damp insulation and ceilings matter for the air inside a home, and ceiling leak water damage covers leaks from plumbing above.