Homeowners Tip - Take a Second
Posted by: info | September 10, 2007
This week was a harsh one for my house. I had a leak in the ceiling and wall that I could see but couldn’t find. I knew it was coming from the roof or attic area. However, it is so hot up there, you can’t stand to stay up there for more than five minutes. Here in Texas, near Dallas we have seem some hot temperatures this week. Highs have been in the upper 90’s with dew points in the high 70’s. Very hot and muggy. Now if the heat index is 105-110, imagine what the temperature is in the attic. It feels as if you can easily add 20 degrees.
I had to bear the heat in order to save some money by doing it myself. The problem was the roof and wood underneath it seemed fine. I had an idea where the leak was due to the water on the sheet rock and in the ceiling. I had felt water but couldn’t for the life of me figure out where it was coming. The water wasn’t on any of the insulation, it was just beneath it. There didn’t seem to be enough water to even show up on the ceiling.
Wednesday came around and rain was in the forecast. I thought this would be the best shot in determining my water problems. It was a lot cooler and with the water coming down, I figured that it wouldn’t be hard to spot any leaks. The cooler temperatures allowed me to stay up in the attic until the leak was discovered. I finally found ithe leak in less than 15 minutes.
The leak was actually coming from the drain pipe off the air compressor. I don’t have a lot of experience in doing it yourself projects, otherwise this could have been solved with in minutes. The fan unit was getting so hot it causes the compressor to leak out condensation. This is why the units have a drain pan underneath them. I did see this before, but there was no water coming from it and the pan was low. I just didn’t think about it. The leak was about 15 feet from the unit.
Cleaning out the unit was very easy for me. I took a clothes hanger and unclogged the pipe from the outside. I also put some Drano in the pipe to clear out any leftover mess. Important! Drano probably isn’t safe to put in the pipes, please don’t do this yourself. The clothes hanger alone probably unclogged the pipe. I now see a good flow of water and haven’t had any problems since.
This information may be helpful if you find a leak. To keep your air conditioning unit at its best you should change your filters at least once a month and make sure your pipes and drain pan is flowing smooth. Both of these can be done in minutes and may add many years of life to your air conditioning system.
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