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How You Can Use Vinegar To Clean Your AC Drain Lines
At Sea Coast Air Conditioning, we know that a clean AC is a happy AC… and an even happier owner! That’s why we always encourage all of our customers to keep their air conditioners in peak performance with regular maintenance.
However, between maintenance visits, there are ways that you can help your AC stay in great shape! And it’s easier than you might think. For instance, simply adding vinegar to your system can easily and effectively help keep your drain tube clean and free of problems. Learn how this one trick can keep your AC running and save you from a lot of headache.
Why You Need to Clean Your Drain Line
Your air conditioner’s drain line is a small but important PVC pipe responsible for removing condensation. It takes all the water produced by the evaporator coil, and channels it away from your system.
Unfortunately, if this line is not properly maintained, bacteria and algae can start to grow inside and clog the drain. This may lead your drain pan to overflow, causing water damage in your home.
No one wants to waste their time or energy trying to clean up after their drain pipe. That’s why it’s important that you regularly maintenance your pipe to keep it clean and clog free.
Cleaning Your Drain Line
Cleaning your drain line couldn’t be simpler! All you need is a few minutes and some household basics. All you will need is some regular distilled vinegar.
– First, locate your drain line. It is generally located in the attic or utility closet near the condensate pan. It should be a long, white PVC pipe sticking straight up with a small cover on top. If you’re still not sure where your drain line is, ask your technician to show it to you during your next maintenance checkup.
– Remove the cap and pour in distilled vinegar. There is no exact amount you need to add, but around ¼ a cup should be fine.
– Repeat every month for a clean and bacteria free drain line!
Be aware, that if at any time while doing this you see water pooled, or the vinegar will not go down the drain, you may have a blockage. This needs to be taken care of at once by either yourself or a professional HVAC technician.
Keep Your Entire System Clean and Healthy
The best way to keep your AC in peak performance all year round is with regular annual maintenance! At Sea Coast Air Conditioning, we offer total maintenance for your entire home comfort system. Call today or go online to schedule your appointment.
So your AC drain line is clogged and you are trying to figure out what to do next. You've come to the right place.
Being an air conditioning company located in the heart of Central Florida, we are well acquainted with clogged AC drain lines. Our year round high temperatures and high humidity make us prone to higher rates of clogged AC drain lines than just about anywhere else in the country. And our technicians collectively unclog and clean thousands of AC drain lines each year.
So please trust us when we tell you to put away your bleach and your vinegar.
Despite it being common for people to recommend using a vinegar or bleach solution to clean your AC drain lines, we're going to tell you why it's not a good idea.
Bleach and Vinegar are Corrosive to metals
The reason you shouldn't use bleach or vinegar to clean your AC drain line all boils down to the fact that these chemicals are corrosive to metals. In other words, they literally eat away at metal.
Why is that a problem you ask?
They Can Damage Your Evaporator Coil
The evaporator coil is inside of your indoor air handler. It is normally just inches away from your AC drain line.
The job of an evaporator coil is to cool your air by removing moisture. The moisture from the evaporator coil then collects in the drain pain and is directed into the drain line and out of your home.
Evaporator coils are normally made out of copper or aluminum. So what happens if a corrosive chemical such as bleach or vinegar comes into contact with your evaporator coil? It's going to corrode!
Using bleach or vinegar can be especially risky if you think your AC drain line is clogged. If the drain line is clogged, the corrosive mixture will simply back up in your drain line and flow into your drain pan, which in turn can damage your evaporator coil.
So if using bleach or vinegar can damage your evaporator coil, what should you do instead?
How To Clean A Clogged AC Drain Line
Failing to clean your AC drain line will cause your unit to turn off when it's clogged and potentially cause water to pour out onto the ground.
So you definitely need to be cleaning your AC drain line regularly.
But what is the best way to do it? Well, here is how we do it when we perform an annual AC maintenance for our customers.
Attempt To manually Clear any blockage
The first thing you should do is to use your hands to manually clear blockage. Find the end of your drain line (located outside of your home) and make sure it's not clogged. Reach your fingers inside and attempt to clear away debris.
Use A Shop Vac And Water
Next, connect your shop vac hose to the end of your drain line (the one outside). If the hose connects loosely, you can use a cloth or duct tape to create an airtight seal. Turn the vacuum on.
At the same time, get a gallon jug of water and a funnel. Slowly pour water into the drain line access point near your air handler. The shop vac should suck the water (and any debris) out of your drain line and into your vacuum.
Be careful because if the clog does not loosen, water will back up into your drain line and potentially leak onto the floor.
Use A Drain Snake
If you have a very stubborn clog that doesn't come out with a shop vac and water, then you can try using a drain snake. Push the drain snake down into the drain line access near the air handler. Make sure the that the drain snake does not go towards your air handler or you could potentially damage the evaporator coil.
Rebuild The Drain Line
In some worst case scenarios the clog is so bad and hardened, that the only way to fix it is to completely rebuild the drain line. We have only had a few situations that warranted this extreme approach, but we do want to include it as another option.
Join Our Comfort Club Preventative Maintenance Program
If all of this sounds "nice", but you just don't have the time or desire to do this on a regular basis, then we invite you to sign up for our Comfort Club annual AC preventative maintenance program.
We'll come to your house once or twice a year (you choose) and do a complete tune-up on your system. This always includes cleaning the drain line.
And if you choose to sign up for the twice a year plan, then we will always come unclog your drain line for free, which can end up saving you a lot of money (Call (407) 291-1644 to sign up).