OK to flush a/c drip tube with drain cleaner? (floor, Air Conditioner)
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We had an awful leak when our air conditioner drainage pipe (I guess it takes out condensation????) on the second floor of our building got stopped up with what the a/c guy said was "gunk" and leaked all over the floor at the a/c.
The a/c guy used his air tank to blow the piping out, and it seems to be working fine, but what do we do to prevent said "gunk" from blocking the tube again?
The tube is white plastic pipe - poly something? And has to go a long and circuitous way from the 2nd floor down to the basement drain. Yes, I'd love to have it reconfigured, but there's no money in the budget for that now.
Our maintenace guy thinks we should just flush some drain cleaner through the pipe with hot water. I'm thinking something more like algae cleaner like they use in fish tanks. We think the "gunk" is just from what is in the air combined with the fact that water probably just sits in the pipes, especially at some of the turns it takes.
Any advice? Would the drain cleaner be too harsh???
Drain cleaner wouldn't be terribly effective and might damage the fins if it splashed. There are tablets that get put in drain pans to inhibit the "snot" growth. When I have had the problem, I used a shop vac to clean out the worst, then put a little bleach in the drain pipe. Ask at a hardware store for the AC drain pan tabs.
He is talking about the drainline of the sewer where the inside condenser line empties into;I believe. Most have a trap and the line just stuck inside it in closet unit. I would have the line cleaned by a plumber myself as just blowig it out with air may only partially clear it.Problem can some times occur when there is other backup that clogs the line from other sewer materials. On a short line to the main sewer pipe a hand auger will clear it fine. Not too crazy about chemical cleaners myself.Also use vacuum every once in awhile to clean the drip pans beloe the inside comdenser and suck the tube that drains it. Often they get clogged by jusnk that will stop it up if condenser as a leak. The AC tech should clean it when you have yearly AC service really.
We had an awful leak when our air conditioner drainage pipe (I guess it takes out condensation????) on the second floor of our building got stopped up with what the a/c guy said was "gunk" and leaked all over the floor at the a/c.
The a/c guy used his air tank to blow the piping out, and it seems to be working fine, but what do we do to prevent said "gunk" from blocking the tube again?
The tube is white plastic pipe - poly something? And has to go a long and circuitous way from the 2nd floor down to the basement drain. Yes, I'd love to have it reconfigured, but there's no money in the budget for that now.
Our maintenace guy thinks we should just flush some drain cleaner through the pipe with hot water. I'm thinking something more like algae cleaner like they use in fish tanks. We think the "gunk" is just from what is in the air combined with the fact that water probably just sits in the pipes, especially at some of the turns it takes.
Any advice? Would the drain cleaner be too harsh???
Drain cleaner can damage PVC pipe if you do not flush it sufficiently so no don't use drain cleaner. If you want to use anything you can use a 1 part bleach and 10 part water mix. Another good item is white vinegar straight out of the bottle. White vinegar will not damage anything and is a great cleaning agent. Pour a gallon of it down the drain and it will not only help clean it but also remove smells. The vinegar smell won't stay around for long.
We used it once - it was an acid-type drain cleaner. VERY effective. Cleaned it out immediately. We followed it up by flushing with water.
Now, the reason we did this was because the A/C guy wanted $250 to come diagnose the problem. We didn't have the money. At all - we figured if it didn't work, then we wouldn't have A/C either way any longer, but at least the cleaner MIGHT work.
Use the bleach solution or vinegar. Once a year is all it takes to keep the snot from growing enough to clog the drain pipe. Drain cleaners are too caustic and can damage the drain pipe. It's just the drain for the AC unit and does not go to the sewer. It should be dripping somewhere outside the house. Look at it periodically when the AC is running to make sure it is dripping.
I have used a shop vaccum and a small snake augger and nothing is working still filling up with water help
Try a zip-it strip. http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products.../dp/B000BO9204 If you can get some of the water to go down but it's still draining too slow, pour a little bleach in there, wait half an hour and then pour hot water down the drain.
To prevent the problem in the future, pour a little bleach into the cleanout and follow with hot water, a couple times a year.
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