Why is my aircon leaking water and should I stop using it immediately?
Introduction to Aircon Leaking Water Singapore Issues
“Why is my aircon dripping water” is such a common query because it is a widespread problem throughout Singapore. It’s also why aircon contractors usually advise not to put electronics items under the air conditioner. To solve this issue, you have to first uncover why exactly your aircon is leaking. In this article, we are going to talk about why your aircon is leaking and what are some of the ways to solve the leakage problem. But 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 outlined below.
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Why Is Your Aircon Leaking?
Generally, it can be attributed to these few reasons:
- Drainage Pipe Choke
- Choke Back Tray
- Condensation of your Copper Pipes
- Dirty Air Filters
- Damaged or Rusted Drip Pan
- Low Refrigerant Levels
- Faulty Condensate Pump
- Worn-out Insulation
- Loose Connection of Water Hose
Drainage Pipe Choke
The aircon drain pipe is integral to the aircon’s functionality. Over time, debris and mold can accumulate, leading to blockages. Regular maintenance is crucial to prevent aircon pipe leaking, ensuring that the water produced by aircon condensation is properly drained away.
Congested Back Tray
The back tray plays a vital role in collecting condensation from the aircon coil. Congestion in this area can cause overflow and result in aircon water dripping from indoor unit. Keeping the tray clean from debris and checking it regularly for blockages can significantly reduce the risk of leakage.
Condensation of Copper Pipes
This is a serious issue that will require major work to rectify. There’s a few immediate solutions to solve this problem temporarily.
First, identify the fan speed of your aircon. Do not set it to Auto mode. A general rule for aircon maintenance is to always set it to the maximum fan speed. This will result in lower pressure in the copper pipes, hence less condensation. Therefore, check your remote control and turn it to maximum, and then 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.Condensation of your Copper Pipes
Dirty Air Filters
Check your aircon filter. Dirty or clogged air filters restrict airflow, causing the evaporator coil to freeze up. When the ice melts, the excess water can overflow the drip pan and leak from the unit. So, a dirty aircon filter or dirty coil can also result in the formation of aircon condensation. As the air is obstructed by dirt from circulating out of the coil, pressure builds up in the copper pipes. If your aircon filter is dirty, you can try washing the filter and see if there are any changes. If your aircon is incredibly dirty, it might be time for you to call us up to secure an Aircon Servicing appointment.
If aircon dripping water is caused by a clogged back tray or loose water hose, you will likely have water dripping onto the back of your wall. You would not want this flow of water to slowly drip from the wall to the floor. Over time this could cause damage both your wall and your flood board. What you can do as a temporary solution is to tape a few pieces of cloth onto your wall. This will absorb the flow of water dripping down the wall.
For a congested back tray, your aircon might require a full chemical overhaul to prevent it from choking again. Because you will need to dismantle the entire fan coil to access the back tray section. However, if the leaking issue is due to a loosened water hose, you will have to call the aircon technician to reattach the hose.
Damaged or Rusted Drip Pan
The drip pan, also known as the condensate pan, collects water from the evaporator coil. So, if it gets damaged or damaged, or cracked, water can leak out. Thankfully, the drip pan, once damaged, is easy to replace.
Low Refrigerant Levels
Low refrigerant levels can cause the evaporator coil to freeze, which in turn produces excess water when the ice on the coil melts. If you suspect low refrigerant levels, contact a professional technician to check and recharge the refrigerant. Fixing any leaks in the refrigerant lines is also essential to prevent future issues.
Faulty Condensate Pump
In some aircon systems, a condensate pump is used to remove water from the drip pan. If the pump is faulty or not working, water can accumulate and leak. refrigerant levels can cause the evaporator coil to freeze, which in turn produces excess water when the ice on the coil melts. In aircon leakage situations, try to check the condensate pump for signs of malfunction. If it is not working, repair or replace the pump to prevent water leakage.
Worn-Out Insulation
The refrigerant lines in your air conditioning system is insulated to prevent condensation. But if the aircon insulation is worn out or damaged, condensation can form on the gas pipes and drip. To effectively prevent condensation and leakage, replace as soon as possible any worn-out or damaged insulation material.
Loose Water Hose
Another reason that might lead to water leakage is a 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 this case, you might not be able to easily identify the issue. So your best bet is to prepare those pails to contain the dripping water, and then call us for an aircon servicing appointment to fix the problem.
The aircon leaking water HDB solutions suggested are only temporary. You will likely still need to book a schedule with an aircon service 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 91775500 if you have any enquiries!
When is it dangerous to use your aircon if it’s leaking water?
If your aircon is leaking water while your compressor is running but the fan coil is not
In this situation, usually your magnetic contactor is faulty. It’s why the evaporator is cold while the fan coil is not turned on. Hence there will be ice building up on the evaporator coil. This situation can be dangerous because your compressor is running 24/7. It may result in the compressor overheating and malfunctioning. However, you can turn off the unit by turning off the isolator that controls the condenser. In this situation you should have your air conditioning unit repaired as soon as possible.
If you have electronics or vinyl flooring located below the fan coil unit.
If you happen to have vinyl or wooden flooring, an aircon leaking water may damage part of the flooring. In addition, if you place electronic item such as a television below the leaking fancoil unit, you could easily end up with a power trip. Any broken or exposed wires may also cause fire. Hence in this situation it can be dangerous, as well.
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 of the leak. The dry cloth should absorb the water and muffle the dripping noise. This will buy you some time to call up an air-conditioning contractor to rectify the 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. Over time this could cause damage to both the wall and floor boards. 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 in aircon maintenance is to always turn it to maximum fan speed. This will result in lower pressure 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.
Below is a table that summarizes aircon leakage issues depending on where the water drips from.
What’s the Brand of the Aircon That You Are Using? Is It Leaking?
Here are our go-to guides to help you fix the leakage problem:
OUR TESTIMONIALS
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.
Normal Aircon Servicing Units
Contract servicing of Aircon units
Most of the time you do not require any aircon servicing contract to prevent an aircon leaking water repair cost. Surely, drainage pipe choke is an issue that will definitely occur someday. But most of the time, it does not come every two months. Unless your aircon is above the bed or other expensive electronics item, you should definitely consider securing an aircon servicing contract. It will clear the drainage pipe of any possible blocking every three months. Sometimes, due to the structure of the house, the gradient for the aircon water pipe is not steep enough, so an aircon leak happens 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 a 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 Chemical Overhaul
The default way is to do a 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 dripping water due to condensation issue
If water is dripping from your aircon trunking or false ceiling (for condo or landed properties), it could indicate condensation. This is the most serious problem so far. As there is no surefire way to solving this issue. And the easiest way to get to the root of this problem is to re-run the entire set of copper pipe, which 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 issues. Hence, 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 that if you simply increase the fan speed to maximum, you will be able to stop condensation? This is because the pressure on the aircon copper pipe becomes less intense when the airflow is stronger. So, most of the time, the condensation cases we encounter are from aircon users who don’t 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. And, 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 a moisture mark. Then attach another layer of insulation on top of the current one. There is a high chance (not 100%) of solving 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 aircon users in HDB flats, 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 aircon trunking area has a 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 first step in addressing it is to re-tape the insulation. This stops the condensation immediately. But the aircon technician will still have to open up the trunking and inspect it 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. So, the technician will have to be very careful with the 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 it carefully first.
Aircon Compressor Leaking Water
An aircon compressor–which comprises part of the condenser or the outdoor sub-unit of a multi-split type air conditioning system–can also leak. And this is quite common. This is why no one should position themselves underneath the aircon compressor. However, the amount of water leakage is not predetermined. Some units leak more, while some leak less. An aircon compressor leaking water is usually due to a clogged or damaged drain line, causing condensation to overflow instead than draining properly.
It is also advisable to install a water tray below the aircon compressor. But most homeowners will want to save money, so the default is to not install one. Fortunately, those living in HDB flats with an aircon ledge don’t need to install a water tray. It’s because the water will end up leaking down the ledge instead. It will also not be serious enough to affect the occupants of the HDB units below.
Why Is My Aircon Trunking Leaking?
The aircon trunking hides and protects the wiring and piping network of the air conditioning system. And it can leak mostly from condensation if the pipes are not well insulated. The problem can also be caused by piping that was not properly installed. If you want an in-depth discussion of aircon trunking leakage, check out our “Types of HDB Aircon Trunking and Which One Causes Aircon Condensation.”
When Should You Call a Professional?
While some leaks can be fixed temporarily with the steps above, most require professional attention — especially if the leak persists after basic troubleshooting, there’s ice buildup on the coils (a refrigerant issue), the drainpipe is severely clogged, or the insulation or drain pan is damaged.
Preventive Maintenance Tips
To avoid future leaks: clean or replace air filters monthly, schedule professional servicing every 3–6 months, check drain lines for blockages regularly, and ensure the unit was installed with the correct slope. Understanding these common causes lets you take the right steps to fix — or prevent — aircon leaks effectively.
Conclusion
Regular maintenance and understanding the common causes of why is my aircon leaking are key to a well-functioning air conditioning system. Whether it’s a minor issue like an air conditioner leaking water or more complex problems are involved, being proactive can save time and money. For those who are not comfortable handling these issues themselves, it’s always advisable to seek professional help. For reliable and expert aircon servicing in Singapore, don’t hesitate to visit Silverback Aircon and for repair you can check out our Aircon Repair Singapore, your go-to solution for all aircon servicing Singapore needs.
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I just did Aircon chemical wash 1 month ago, and my aircon is leaking again. Is that normal?
It depends on which part of your air conditioner is leaking and where it is leaking from. If it’s leaking from the back of your unit, that means your back tray is choked. Only an aircon overhaul involving the dismantling of the entire fan coil unit will solve the problem.
Will my Aircon consume more electricity if my Aircon is leaking water?
Aircon leaking water is usually caused by clogged drain line. It does not make your compressor work harder. Which means it should not affect your electricity consumption.
Can I prevent my Aircon from leaking water?
Regular servicing will usually reduce dust build up in the coil area. Furthermore it will also reduce the rate in which the drain line gets clogged up. In a way this will prevent it from leaking water. However, there is no foolproof way to guarantee that your Aircon will not leak water. As there are a lot of reasons why it can leak water. Even the humidity level in the room affects the rate of condensation for your Aircon pipe.
Can I still use my aircon if it’s leaking water?
It is not recommended to continue using your air conditioner if it is leaking water. A water leak can indicate a problem with the unit, such as a clogged drain line, a frozen evaporator coil, or a malfunctioning condensate pump. Continuing to use the aircon in this condition can lead to further damage to the unit, potential electrical hazards, or water damage to your property.
What should I do if my aircon is leaking water?
Immediately switch off the unit to prevent further damage or safety risks, and then check for simple issues. Inspect the air filter and ensure it is clean. A dirty filter can restrict airflow and cause the evaporator coil to freeze, leading to water leakage. Check also if the drain line is clogged. If it is, you may attempt to clear it using a wet/dry vacuum or a pipe cleaner.
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