Introduction to Aircon Dripping Water
Aircon leaking water, what should I do now?? It is a common worry among Aircon owners on water leaking from Air-conditioners. That is why your Aircon contractors have always advise you not to put electronics item under the Air-conditioner. Contrary to popular opinion, water dripping from your Air-conditioner is extremely common. However, water leaking issue could be extremely problematic to business owners. That is especially so for owners in the retail sector. This does not necessary need an aircon repair just to solve this. To know how to solve this issue, you have to first identify why is your Aircon dripping water. Following which, you will be able to identify solutions to this problem. In this article, we are going to talk about why your Aircon is leaking water and what are some of the ways to solve them. Do note that we are only covering normal residential wall mount units in this Article. For commercial units, you might not be able to solve them using the methods as outlined below.
Here’s a video for an overview of what we will discuss later:
Summary of Content
Why is my Aircon leaking water?
Temporary solutions to aircon dripping water
- Place a pail underneath the aircon dripping water
- Tape a few pieces of cloth onto your wall
- Identify the fan speed
How much does it costs to solve aircon leaking water?
- Drainage pipe choke problem
- Due to ongested back tray of aircon
- Condensation issue
- Summary Price List
Conclusion
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1. Drainage pipe choke.
If water is leaking from the Aircon unit itself. It would most definitely be due to a congested drainage pipe. In these instances, the water leakage will likely appear from the front of the ac unit, near the flap. It will usually appear as a gush of water dropping from the flap. Usually, this form of leaking will not appear as droplets. You would be able to hear water dripping onto your floor board. If you are unsure if this is the issue. You could also pour water into the fancoil. That is right, you will not hurt your Aircon by doing so. If the water didn’t get absorb by the drainage pan. It will immediately cause an outflow of water. All of the water that you pour into the evaporator coil will end up on your floor.
2. Aircon leaking water due to congested back tray.
This is a problem that is much harder to identify. If you see water droplets dripping down from the back of your aircon. This could be an indication of a congested back tray. In the past, air-conditioners used to be longer in vertical length. This evaporator coil is flat. All of the condensation form on the evaporator coil will drip onto the drainage pan. However, design is a bigger factor for the outlook of an indoor fancoil unit now. The design is now an inverted V shape. That means that part of the condensed water will flow towards the back of the Aircon. In air-conditioning term, we call it as back tray. Over time, the water accumulated from the evaporator coil will clog up the back tray. Hence, water still start dripping from the back of the fancoil unit.
3. Condensation of your copper pipes.
How do you know if your copper pipes have condensation issue? If you are living in a hdb flat. You can most likely see the trunking of your Air-conditioners. Take a look and observe if there are moisture forming on the trunking exterior. If you trunking is white, and you see black patches forming. It could be Aircon condensation problem. The reason for condensation of the copper pipes could be due to worn out Armaflex insulation. It could also be changing of new Air-conditioners. Inverter Aircon have a much higher gas pressure than non-inverter Aircon. Hence if you change into a newer aircon, you might need better aircon installation materials. The Armaflex insulation used in the past is most likely ⅜ inches. However the upgraded materials used these days are ½ inch in thickness. This extra thickness will have a stronger layer of protection from condensation issue. Water leaking from the copper pipes is a serious issue that will require major work to rectify. There’s a few immediate solution to solve this problem temporarily as outline below.
4. Loose water hose.
Another reason that might leak to aircon leaking water will be loose connection of water hose. If you just had your Aircon serviced recently, you will likely encounter this problem within 24 hours of it. That is because the technician has likely been careless in tightening the Aircon hose and drainage pipe. We would advise you to call up the Air-conditioning technician to rectify this issue. (P.S, we are guilty of this from time to time as well)
However, there are cases of the hose clip being broken due to wear and tear as well. In these instance, you might not be able to easily identify this issue. Hence, your bet is to prepare those pails to contain the dripping water, and call us up for an Aircon servicing appointment to rectify your issue.
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Place a pail under the dripping water
If your Aircon leaking water is caused by choke in drainage pan. The only way to solve it by yourself is to get the largest pail possible. Put dry unwanted cloth in it, and place it under the area, which is leaking. The dry cloth should absorb the water and prevent unnecessary noise. This will likely buy you some time to call up an Air-conditioning contractor to rectify this issue. For drainage pipe choke, normal servicing of your Aircon would suffice.
Tape a few pieces of cloth onto your wall
If aircon dripping water is caused by clogged back tray or loose water hose. You will likely have water dripping onto the back of your wall. You would not water this flow of water to slowly drip from your water to your floor. Overtime this could cause damage to both your wall and your flood board. What you can do is tape a few pieces of cloth onto your wall. This will absorb the flow of water that is dripping water down from your wall. As listed above are only temporary solutions. For congested back tray, you might require to do a full chemical overhaul to prevent it from choking again. Because you will need to dismantle the entire fancoil to access the back tray section. However, if the leaking issue is due to loose water hose, you will have to call the Aircon technician down to reattach back the hose.
Identify the fan speed and wash your aircon filter.
This solution is only applicable for aircon leaking water due to condensation issue.
First, identify the fan speed of your Aircon. Do not turn it on Auto mode. A general rule for Aircon maintenance is, always turn it to maximum fan speed. This will result in lower pressue in the copper pipes, hence less condensation. Therefore, check your remote control and turn it to maximum, monitor the situation from there. Note : you might have to wait for a while for the insulation inside the casing to dry up first before you turn on the Aircon again.
Second, check your Aircon filter. A dirty Aircon filter or dirty coil will result in Aircon condensation as well. As the air will be prevented from coming out from the coil, resulting in pressure build up in the copper pipes. So if your Aircon filter is dirty, you can try washing the filter and see if there’s any changes to the condition. If your Aircon is dirty, it might be time for you to call us up for an Aircon Servicing appointment.
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Aircon leaking water due to drainage of pipe choke
The number one reason why you Aircon is leaking water is due to drainage pipe choke. As listed below are several ways to clear the choke in your AC water drainage pipe.
1. Servicing of Aircon units
Normal servicing of Aircon units involves clearing of your Aircon water drainage pipe. The usual method of clearing the drainage pipe involves vacuuming of the Aircon unit from the Aircon itself. Or from the tail end of the water drainage pipe.
| Number of units | Normal Aircon Servicing Units |
| 1 unit | $50 |
| 2 unit | $60 |
| 3 unit | $75 |
| 4 unit | $90 |
Contract servicing of Aircon units
Most of the time you do not require Aircon servicing contract. Sure, drainage pipe choke is an issue that will definitely occur some day. However, most of the time, it does not come every 2 months. However, if Aircon is located above the bed or other expensive electronics item. Then you may consider doing Aircon contract servicing instead. As you clear the drainage pipe of any possible blocking every 3 months. Sometimes, due to the structure of the house, the gradient for Aircon water pipe is not too steep. Hence the Aircon may leak more often than usual.
2. Chemical flushing of aircon pipe
There is no scientific proof or clinical trial done to prove that this can help to clear your drainage pipe. However, the dirt that is causing your drainage pipe to choke is collected from the dust on your Aircon unit when mix with water. And this chemical solution that we are pouring to your drainage pipe is exactly the same solution that we use to do chemical overhaul with your Aircon unit. And it does the job of clearing your Aircon unit of all these dirt. Hence, we have reasons to believe that by lacing your Aircon water pipe with chemical solution. It may prevent your Aircon from leaking water more often. The cost of this is around $80.
3. Purging of Aircon water pipe using gas
For more severe case of Aircon water pipe choke. Even using vacuum may not work. Hence to solve this issue, we may have to use high pressure gas to purge the Aircon water pipe of blockage. To do so, we’d usually block out the water hose from other fancoil unit. Because the water may purge out from the water hose near the fancoil instead. This may cause damage to the mother board of the fancoil unit. Once the water hose of all fancoil units are blocked. We will purge it. The cost of this ranges from $80 – $120.
Aircon dripping water due to back tray congested
Aircon Chemical Overhaul
The default way is to do Aircon chemical overhaul on the unit. The whole unit will be dismantled and we will wash the coil with chemical solutions. Refer to the table below:
| Aircon types | Aircon Chemical Overhaul Price |
| Normal wall mounted unit | $130 |
| Ceiling Cassette | $260 |
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Aircon dripping water due to condensation issue
If the water is dripping from your Aircon trunking or false ceiling (for condo or landed properties). It could be an indication of condensation. This is the most serious problem by far. As there is no surefire way to solving this issue. And the easiest way to solve the root of this problem is to re-run the entire set of copper pipe. This is very costly. When you purchase an Aircon from major appliance store, there may be workmanship warranty. However the workmanship warranty will not guarantee condensation issue! Hence, as listed below are some solutions to Aircon leaking water.
1. Turn on higher fan speed
This may come as a surprise to most people. But do you know, many times, if you’d just turn on the fan speed to maximum. You will be able to stop condensation from happening. This is because the pressure on the Aircon copper pipe till be less intense when the Airflow is stronger. Hence most of the time most condensation case we encountered stems from people that does not turn on high fan speed.
2. Install additional layer of insulation – For condominium or landed properties
If you are staying in a condominium or landed property. And you notice moisture marks on your false ceiling. It could be an indication of condensation issue in your Aircon copper pipe. However, there is a way to solve this without re-running the entire set of piping. You may choose to cut open that area that has moisture mark. Attach another layer of insulation on top of the current one. There is a high chance (not 100%) that can solve this condensation issue. However. if there are many parts of the ceiling that have this issue, you may consider re-running your entire set of copper pipes.
3. Add in newspaper or foam
For customers that stay in HDB. Another way to solve this is to insert newspaper or foam in areas that are affected. However, this only applies to houses that have condensation issue in only a few areas. If the entire trunking has condensation issue, you may consider re-running the copper pipe instead.
4. Open up trunking and inspect for torn Aircon insulation
If condensation occurs due to torn Aircon insulation. Then the immediate step is to re-tape the insulation. This may prevent condensation immediately. However the Aircon technician will have to open up the trunking and inspect first.
5. Inspect for loose water hose connection
This is not due to condensation. However, sometimes it is very hard to see carefully. As to whether the water marks inside the trunking is due to condensation or it could be due to a different cause. Hence, the technician will have to be very careful with it’s diagnosis. As we have encountered a case when the water inside the trunking is caused by loose water hose connection instead. Hence, the number one step is to open up the Aircon trunking and inspect carefully first.
Summary Price List
To conclude, the table consolidates how much it costs for each services required to solve the problem of aircon leaking water as mentioned above :
Conclusion
The solutions suggested to Aircon leaking water are temporary. You will likely still need to book a schedule with an Aircon company to solve the water leaking problems. Here at Silverback Aircon, we have a team of experienced Air-conditioning technicians to get it rectified. Call us at 9177 5500 if you have any enquiries!