HOME AC CONDENSATION DRAIN LINE CLOG HOW TO MAKE IT EASIER TO UNCLOG & WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T

AS WITH ALL MY VIDEOS I TRY TO GIVE THE MOST INFORMATION IN THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TIME AS POSSIBLE SO I DON'T WAIST YOUR TIME. IN THIS VIDEO I EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE DRAIN LINES COMING OUT THE SIDE OF YOUR HOUSE FOR YOUR AC AND WHY THEY CAN GET CLOGGED. I GO OVER TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO CLEAN THESE LINES OUT AND WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU DON'T.

[@coscu435]

The fact that you added what it looks like a year after is gold! 🙏🏽

[@Moondoggy1941]

I have found that 80% of all 12 minutes videos could be summed up in a 1 minute short, your video was so full of good information it felt like a 5 minute video. Well done Sir.

[@trevorchargois4590]

Agreed

[@kidritalin1]

Better and far more informative than most any "professional" videos out there. My kinda stuff, right here. Cheers!

[@JeffInDFW]

Perfect! RIght to the point, no repeating something 20 times, great ideas, great explanation on how everything works and how your modifications resolve the issue. Thank you!!!

[@lturchini]

Really exceptional information. Looks like I have a lot of work to do. Not only do I have to create a trap for the drainage but I have to replace the coil which has corroded. But, your video and your tips have helped immensely. Big thanks!

[@christopherbergstrom1053]

Very helpful and well explained. Loved the guest appearance from your dog too

[@reinaldodejesus4153]

I like the idea of the unions on those lines , makes the job of doing it next time alot easier. Thank you 😊! Great video!!

[@davidboucher4]

Thank you! Your system looks identical to mine and helped me understand how to fix the clog

[@MrBoazhorribilis]

Thanks! informative , productive and well explained . The graphics are also useful. Many have the knowledge, few can pass that knowledge on to the lesser informed. Nice pooch !

[@rdftx2990]

Thank you so much for that. Incredibly informative and to the point. I definitely liked and subscribed. Awesome video and explanations.

[@nms1508]

Ty so much for this information very helpful for a single mom 😢gonna try this today bcuz the my second floor drain is spilling water and I don’t have $$ to have someone look at it so I’m gonna use this today after work🙏🏻. Bless u!

[@loosescrewzzviews]

Thank you so much for making this video. I’m dealing with this same issue. Thanks again for the great information. I just subscribed!

[@garrygrant8222]

Love the dog, I will call him next time I need help. nice job thank you.

[@Tracy11G]

Thank you so much! It helps a lot, we fixed it ourselves by watching your video.

[@trevorchargois4590]

The best and most informative on this subject 🎉

[@willowJ-nb3iy]

Nice and clarity, love your cutie dog 🐶 😊

[@rudraprasad8650]

Very valuable tips to improve drainage THANK YOU!

[@jackww839]

Great video and great advice👍

[@JFlywheel]

Thank you, I found this very helpful.

[@TexasGovernor]

Man. Such a good video. Thank you.

[@Coin_Scavenger]

Good info. I’m having that problem now so looks like I’ll be cleaning my unit soon.

[@jorgeosorio1242]

Thank you so much. amazing video .

[@VGreggUndercover]

This just seems like a problem that’s been around since the dawn of air conditioners. You’d think with this long of a known issue they would make some kind of indefinite fix… like a once-a-week squirt of bleach to kill of that algae. Seems so simple to fix for good but I guess manufacturers don’t care. Great video!! You helped me out tremendously

[@damonried1720]

The manufactures don't want to put their service techs out of business.

[@modaride]

found your video and its the exact piping layout as mine in the attic. Your solution works!!! Love your dog being curious about your diagram lol :) Think the elbow replacement is best route for me.

[@ladiloxx1984]

This is a great very detailed

[@ramcity2540]

Amazing video

[@haycall]

Very good video. Thank you!!!

[@TyroneSettles]

Excellent video!

[@alexspcs8688]

Good and very informative 👍🏻

[@tdz69]

Something strange happened to me. I had water leaking on my ceiling from the air handler. But there was no water in the pan. How can the main drain line be blocked and over flow when there’s no water in the pan?

[@timbui5556]

Thank you for an informative video

[@mabbaticchio]

Great video. Thank you.

[@JollyBeJolly]

Video was perfect thank you

[@jimhill6586]

The Christie's glue is the best for pvc. The union a great idea. My Mesa house I just push fit the fitting together. Clean it every year.

[@ScottCooper136]

At any AC supply, you can get chlorine tablets for just a couple bucks. They are made for that air handler. I still clean everything out like you do but I put a couple of those tablets in the air handler before I reassemble. Great video

[@frankd3505]

Float switch should help prevent water damage, great video thks

[@original2k]

this was a really great video, i've had this happen twice now and just caught it starting up again (luckily my unit is in basement though). Looking to upgrade that based on a couple of your suggestions here as my evap drain/p-trap is almost impossible to service without a bit of "drama" if you know what i mean thanks again!

[@user-xq7jf2jz1d]

Thank you for your thoroughness

[@callmebackfriday2]

Thanks for the video.👍

[@jameshall8455]

Thank you so much. You saved us.

[@janibashamolla]

Exlent explanation thanks a lot sir

[@jaynekercheval3605]

Lots of good info. My system was done by some folks over 20 years ago so no "P" trap, and no secondary drain. What you've shown me will help with part of the problem. Vinegar and a shop vac for the cleaning of what's there. I've also discovered the return pipe from the coils was NEVER wrapped and so suddenly there's lots condensation all over that's dripping OUTSIDE the drip pan directly to the floor of the air handling chamber, out the lower corner onto my back porch cement flooring. My HVAC guy has been helping via texts, me sending pictures and now I heading out to get some armaflex insulation and tape.

[@ibthemaster]

To the point explanation, ty

[@cantu916761]

Thanks for the video.

[@johnchambers5408]

Nice simple instructions on your video. Thanks much. One suggestion on your drawing: add a PVC water cut off valve between your Evaporative unit and your Tee. This will allow you to isolate your Evap. unit so you can run your pressure clean out from top of the Tee with no pressure going into Evap. unit. Thanks Again.

[@drew7155]

Beautiful. This is what I was looking for

[@ashleyg872]

Thank you for taking the time to make a video to help others.

[@AaaaandYerDhem]

Appreciate the video brother. I just had to deal with this. Brand New house with a brand new system. Mine was all clogged up with drywall dust. Frustrating, but I did something very similar to what you did. Luckily for me my unit is in the basement so there's a drain hole into the ground right next to it so I have far less PVC to deal with

[@deangrey1165]

I am having the same issue with a brand new house. Shouldn't warranty cover this issue ?

[@TheZackward]

Fantastic. Thank you

[@recroompaintballelite8203]

Great video! My dads house is a little bit different though. It was a house built in 1958. Never had a A/C installed till 1988 on the first floor. Its a very tight space where you can barely put you hand to the left and right of the A/C. The drain runs below the house where it drops onto the ground. I'm not suppose to work with anything electrical, mechanical or anything hazardous to the body like chemicals, knives, fire etc. But I do as much as I can. Any suggestions. 👍

[@johnnyblanco1834]

Awesome

[@timmcneil906]

You da man Dan!

[@pickett47]

Pretty cool ideas. I pour distilled vinegar down every month but I noticed today that water was leaking out the corner of the unit like yours was. Guess I got another clog.

[@davegooden7179]

Good stuff

[@brianwest1501]

Good job!

[@ImaDB69]

wow great video, just had to do this in florida house, one question, why arents drain lines bigger for ac lines, wouldnt 3 or 4inch lines be less prone to clogging??? we use 3 or 4 inch gutters and plumbing lines....why are ac drain lines so small in diameter?....i am a total amatuer, just wondering`

[@user-lf7en6rf8m]

Excellent thank you,

[@robertbrost7777]

Hi Dan. Had this issue resolved years ago. Had a drip from the clogged pan onto the floor and my neighbor downstairs alerted me to the fact he has a ceiling stain. Ended up with a new unit. This time, the installer installed a pump box for the condensation. It works well as I can hear it come on occasionally. My problem is, my place is an upstairs condo and, I believe all 4 units on my side of the building feed into the same drain pipe'spout which out front. Curiously, there is a second spout next to that one but it never does anything. Not sure what it goes to. I want to clean the PVC pipe my plastic drain hose goes into but, I'm not sure if I'll do more harm than good. Four people tie into that pipe as I see it somewhere along the line and, I don't want to affect anyone else's flow/line. If I ran a hose off of the HWH into the open top PVC pipe in my place, shouldn't I be able to go outside and see a decent flow from the spout that now drips? Would you say I should feel comfortable with this? Do you have any suggestions for finding out if the pipe is obstructed and, what would you suggest I do if it is? I own my place while the other 3 are renters. I can't get to my pump box easily as it's in a tight spot with the heater/AC and HWH all in one little room. Thanks!

[@Darton-ok5xt]

thx, the best

[@khashcpt]

I would also use a water alarm that connects to your Wi-Fi and will send you email or text notifications in case of a leak

[@josemolina3858]

Water alarm? What are you talking about? Have you not heard of float switches?

[@jantravia6984]

Can you tell me which drain pipe goes to the outside? Would it be going into a silver foil wall then to the outside? Thank you! ❤️

[@osquare8638]

Thank you for posting this video, very helpful. Why do you need the vent connected to the T connector ?

[@conspiracytheorist2192]

As the water is running away from the trap it may cause a siphon that will pull the water out of the trap. The vent stops the siphon.

[@thenanook]

magic, thanks!

[@migueltrejo6614]

Great video !! Lots of info and the white board sketch was great idea to demonstrate the yearly cleaning. One question does the unit it self recommended to be off level. Because mine is perfectly level so it has some secondary drip coming out of the tape. Which I’ll be fixing with the secondary drain that I just learned about from your video. My unit is in the crawl space so I don’t have a drain pan under my unit. Thank I’m advance hope to learn more from you.

[@diydan7019]

So I just noticed I've got the same thing happening on mine I haven't looked at it yet but it shouldn't be coming out the tape that's what the secondary drain is for I will post a video when I get to it but no telling my time frame on that good luck but the unit should be level to the best of my knowledge

[@geng7191]

Great ideas. Just feel inside the AC box, there must have some accumulation of dust over there.

[@condor5635]

Great video. My unit line is mostly clogged with green gunk like yours. I didn’t have a P-trap and I’m not sure I really need one. It’s worked fine for 20 years without one. Per the code probably is required. Love the idea of the unions.

[@topbuilder3790]

The P trap is to eliminate the possibility of pests crawling into the attic.

[@condor5635]

@@topbuilder3790 no that’s not the reason for a P trap at all. Might be considered a secondary benefit but not really.

[@topbuilder3790]

@@condor5635 No worries! When we found out you thought they were not necessary, we all climbed in the attic and cut them out.

[@condor5635]

@@topbuilder3790 - great when I heard you as a top builder did this to prevent pests I immediately put them in mine. Forget about the science of positive pressure and air loss! Let’s keep those bugs out

[@topbuilder3790]

@@condor5635" I didn’t have a P-trap and I’m not sure I really need one. It’s worked fine for 20 years " I am the science" he says in a Faucian voice.

[@joeycopperson]

helpful

[@piezoman79]

I’m not an expert, but you might consider removing the barb elbow you have in the secondary drain port and install a plug instead. I know it’s a small thing in the grand scheme of things but if that barb fitting is left open it can allow additional debris to enter the condensate drip pan and contribute to the growth of algae and buildup of gunk. Just a thought.

[@DS-fb9te]

Maintenance is the key to avoid clogging. Learned the hard way.

[@vermontmike9800]

Should a drain line have a breather tube if the line is connected to the house’s main sewer drain?

[@robertalvarez8128]

Really good video. My problem is the clog is somewhere down the line. AC guy couldn’t even unclog it with a blower. Will probably have to call a plumber. Thank you.

[@GregoryGuay]

It’s ridiculous that I got a brand new air handler installed in my Spray foam attic and there’s no clean out. There’s a trap, of course on the primary but not the secondary. I’m a little unsure of whether I need a vent or just add the clean out tee? I’m thinking just to clean out, keep it simple.

[@MyRideisMe]

Thanks for this!! Nice job! Great karma for you for sharing!!

[@gustavoalvarez9676]

Thank you🙏

[@TruckerJoe]

Thank you

[@stage2screenproducti]

good video love the boxer looks like mine

[@Isaac-47517]

Vinegar etches metal and glass, I would guess that it etches/eares into/roughs up pvc. On metal roofs, stuff grows even faster in etched areas.

[@matthewhoffman9242]

I've often wondered why they never install a union after the trap for ease of clean out

[@Kains_whored]

Cool transcript! Thank you

[@MrSymbolic7]

My main drain doesn't go outside , it is connected to a near by attic drain PVC pipe and just goes down to grade and out of the home as any other liquid waste and I have never seen it done any other way in a Texas attic , the only line going out of the home is the back up drain line and my A/C Unit has a high level switch in the pan to shutdown the condensing unit prior to overflow of the drip pan .

[@topbuilder3790]

For Texas, the constant water drip does bad things to foundations. Depends on your soil type.

[@magedawad8045]

Hello, I really like the modifications that you did in order to do the annually maintenance but my main AC drain outlet doesn’t appear outside, it’s connected to the drainage system of the house. So I couldn’t see it. How I can assure that the main drain is got clean in this case? Thanks

[@jasonrodjana209]

Hey, did you check underneath all your sinks to see if the drain line connects to one of the sink drain pipes?

[@josemolina3858]

Cut the primary line, cut a water hose, stick it inside and blow in it. That's how you will know if it's clear but check in all your sinks if you see a flexible black pvc line going to the sinks

[@conspiracytheorist2192]

Making air condition maintenance great again.

[@rickeykeeton4770]

What is the L shaped piece of pipe going up the side of unit? Vent for the drain? If so, shouldn’t be before the elbow?

[@diydan7019]

That is a vent and the p trap is meant not to waist cool air from the unit if it was on the other side the cool air would go into the attic defeating the purpose and it is to prevent a symphonic on the unit

[@mikesiefkas3873]

Have you used the tablets that are made to stop the algae? I haven't used them myself but they claim all you do is put one or two in the drain pan every spring and it stops the algae from forming.

[@diydan7019]

I haven’t but that’s worth looking into thanks

[@ST-rj8iu]

live in an apartment. happens all the time as a renter. about once every 1 to 2 years. I told them "something" was clogged and the guy just added more freon to the AC. He said the "pressure was low". UGH! I now can tell them in more detail what is happening. The maintenance people cannot seem to figure it out. It is spilling water again everywhere within a few weeks of them supposedly fixing it.

[@josemolina3858]

When the unit is low on refrigerant the compressor sends more refrigerant than usual to the coil so it could reach VSAT temperature so it doesn't allow it to ice and cause more condensation. If you were having condensation leaks and he added frion it was most likely because your coil is leaking and getting more refrigerant than it should

[@luisnieto4800]

So its normal to have water drip out of pipes that are on the side of your house? My a/c is leaking water though the secondary pipe, the pipe that's coming out from the ceiling, but the bottom drain pan is empty.

[@diydan7019]

That seems backwards maybe they got the lines crossed when they plumbed it in if the drain pan under the AC unit is dry that sounds like your primary drain is working but it’s coming out of the wrong place on the side of the house maybe they plumbed it wrong when it was installed it doesn’t really matter as long as you know it so if it stops coming out of that drain and starts leaking out the other one then you’ll know your primary is clogged

[@moneyshotbjc]

That primary drain on the unit to the left you have a grey pipe/fitting what is that? Mine doesn't have that and water dripping out from here. Any idea

[@diydan7019]

That is the way the unit came I believe it is a secondary drain from the unit but if the primary clogs it usually leaks around the tape around the base before coming out of that go figure

[@robertjohnson4401]

I noticed that you poured vinegar in the evaporator unit drain(not referring to the extra drain pan below the evaporator unit). I watched another video where they said do not pour vinegar in the evaporator unit. It can corrode the metal within the evaporator unit. Vinegar will not cause a problem inside PVC piping.

[@diydan7019]

If you notice the fittings going into my unit are pvc and from what I could see it appeared to be a plastic pan in my unit as well so I figured it was not a problem plus it was a one time flush it would take a long time of constant vinegar to cause it to eat threw a pan made of metal.

[@dallaskubano214]

Wish I would have seen this video a day before. Paid someone to do it luckily only paid $300

[@racksonable]

Perfect for emergency earthquake supple

[@Kains_whored]

5:21 thank you I couldn't find it anywhere hahaahga

[@ruthdanielson919]

Had new Carrier installed today and tech capped off the port to the drainpan. I'm complaining to the office/ Elite A/C Jax fl, no drainpipe needed. What a bunch of bull.

[@robertcarullo4926]

Why does the condensation water keep getting dirty

[@st7650]

I pour bleach down my pea trap seems to work pretty good yearly

[@dannytela6775]

Where are you what city

[@jellybean2032]

the fastest way to clear and clean PVC/condensate drains is to attach a shop vac to the outside fitting. Sucks any clogs clean through and you can pour in any cleaning solution you choose directly into the condensate drain.

[@kcross4293]

Does this really work?

[@jellybean2032]

@kcross4293 yes, I am an HVAC tech and do it a lot

[@ping_me1vp]

Wow that's either an extreme lack of preventative maintenance since its tgat that dirty (which isn't just filter change), that evaporator is probably pretty damn dirty & so is the drain inside of the fan coil unit, that indokr unit needa partial R/R to gain access to both sides of an a coil if that whats in there, brush the dirty lightly off the coil, use a none corrosive chemical & preasure wash the damn thia, wash the blower wheel & the drain pan inside of the unit than upgrade to a pleated filter if regular (Merv8 usually works wellone os being used) than keep up with real prevemtative maintenance & + on every maintenance apply amonia type based pan tablets nucakhon works great or trane bramded ones that look blue or green put 3 or 4 i there every 4 months & u should really never have that much algea build up in such short time & that's how u extend life of you equipment & save lots of $ on electricity (& don't forget to keep your condensers clean as well & i inspect electrical 2x a year contacts & wire connections they burn pitt & losen overtime from vibrations etc... GOOD JOB OVERALL

[@econtrolable]

Use liquid copper (like you use on plants). Once a month. It will control algae, slime and mold.

[@rastaewabeach]

My trap is not clogged at all. What if furnace is still leaking?

[@topbuilder3790]

It is possible the inner pan is rusted. Could be replacement time.

[@OilFuturesTrader]

What is the size of the PVC?

[@diydan7019]

3/4"

[@melodywayman6400]

What if our pan is dry but the secondary drain is constantly dripping somehow?

[@diydan7019]

Then they might have accidentally plumbed it wrong so the bottom drain might be the secondary and the top might be your primary

[@diydan7019]

That’s not a big deal they might have accidentally plumbed it wrong where the lower drain is actually your secondary and your primary is the one at the top as long as you understand that there’s no issues besides the fact you might get a stain on the side of your house from it constantly leaking out of the top drain.

[@melodywayman6400]

Thank you so much Dan! 👏🏼