Hello
My AC drain pipe appears to be clogged, and I have shop vacced it 3-5x now, last time I did was for 5-10 minutes while sealed and my safe t switch still has water coming in it. Granted not a lot like it was last night but still enough.
I called a technician and he said shop vac it From the outside and listen for it next to the inside drain pipe. I heard it and it stopped leaking water into the safe t switch only to come right back.
Any tips?
I know sometimes snails creep up in mine and need to be snaked out.
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Well if it is, rip that fucker
Probably got sucked up by now
I don’t think its a snail though but if it is how can I “fish him out”
Is there any Hvac employees or hvac guardians who guard their secrets to fixing this?
Im not paying $140-200 to get a clog unclogged when i can diy it
Cut the pvc drain close to the unit. Unscrew the pipe going into the unit and clean the drain pan. The water may not be making it out if the right hole. Also cut the trap out and clean it thoroughly
I like to blow the pipes out with nitrogen,
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Idk if I can get to any of that
The paper towel is where the safe t switch is and where water continues to come in
Take the panel off of the unit and you will see the drain pan. It is the pipe in bottom left of that pic
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Thanks
When i open it, and how do i open it without fucking anything up, i just clean the drain pan?
This is what i have sucked out of it
There should be some screws that hold the panel on.
It should be kind easy to pull off.
Then like @TheGreenDotStore said, clean that pipe out.
You’ll need to cut it and once it’s all cleaned, you’ll need one of them black rubber pvc sleeves to join it back together.
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This requires a trip to hardware doesnt it lol
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Yeah, maybe?
You’ll also want to put something under the pipe where you cut it, or you’ll get water everywhere.
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Edit: this video covers the basics of what @TheGreenDotStore told you to do.
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Dilute some acetic acid and pour it into the drain pan, should act as a shock and prevent mold from growing. If there’s a lot of mold this can cause it to clog, beware.
Edit just use white vinegar from the store same stuff
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I was thinking similarly, but with peroxide. And if it got desperate, there is a drain cleaner called liquid fire that will dissolve almost anything.
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I redid my whole central air system and learned me some HVAC this summer! That fucker is a pain but a bristled bottle brush helps really well. The longer the better. Depending on humidity levels you could have a nasty black buildup on the walls - if that doesn’t work the next step is checking out the a-coil. Excess condensation that would cause a blockage of nastiness can also be caused by a few things and you’re just treating a symptom. Such as…
Dirty filter, no airflow to go through A coil so it freezes and melts a lot making all that dirt and shit go through the drainage pipe instead
Dirty a-coil, see above except you need to spray indoor HVAC cleaner (no foam, dry cleaner) - you’ll be able to look at it with a flashlight and tell this, the dirty a coil is another big factor in clogged drainage
Shitty/dirty blower motor. If you have longhaired animals and don’t regularly change your filter this is common. I think something like 1/16th or 1/8th of an in. Of dirt and hair buildup on your blower motor fins will fistfuck the efficiency.
I literally took my entire fucking HVAC system in the house apart piece by piece this year - before on a 90 degree day it’d maybe get it down to 85? Now if I wanna wear a coat during a record high, its doable. My small office room is a goddamn icebox!
It seems really intimidating to take it apart but it isn’t, you can do it. Take plenty of before pictures and if you have different sized nuts and bolts put them into labeled plastic bags. Also the foil HVAC tape is goddamn amazing, if you take anything apart line the seams with that shit so no air escapes. Don’t cheap out though get the good shit
Also one of those flexible drill driver things are worth their weight in fucking gold when working on HVAC unless you’re a fan of sliced up hands. That thing saved me at least 2 hours or more in not having to take 10 things apart to reach ONE screw on early 2000s furnace
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I think you have a mold problem if it’s clogging up over and over. Sometimes those things just get gunked up with dust/debris in the air but the rate it’s accumulating it sounds like mold.
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Ok
Me and @TheGreenDotStore have been talking in Dm’s
The bottom ac vent cover couldnt be removed due to the pipes blocking it so im cutting the drain pipe off, shop vaccing that then going from there