Why is the split air conditioner leaking water?

The split air conditioning is the cooling system most commonly used in homes. That is why learning about its operation and knowing the possible causes of breakdowns will allow you to identify more quickly when a fault occurs and act as quickly as possible in its repair, which can contribute to increasing the useful life of the device.

One of the difficulties that can arise if you have had a split air conditioner at home is dripping, the indoor unit leaking water. Far from thinking that it is a normal situation, you should know that this can be a symptom of a failure in your unit and that the sooner you solve it, the more chances of saving your equipment you will have.

Why is the air conditioner leaking water?

We ignore many aspects of buying air conditioning online because every new system does not present failures, has a guarantee, and is guaranteed a useful life if you use the equipment properly. However, over time, unexpected situations may arise, including the indoor unit starting to leak. Before telling you the main reasons for this happening, we ask ourselves: Why does a split air conditioner produce water?

The answer lies in the phenomenon of condensation. What happens is that air conditioning condenses the ambient humidity in space because a refrigerant gas circulates through the interior of the exchanger of the equipment at a temperature much lower than the ambient temperature. This turns into water that goes into the drain system of the unit.

Of course, there are times like summer, when there is more humidity, that the equipment can add more water. However, we should not confuse a normal process such as draining water with dripping from the indoor unit.

4 reasons why your split air conditioner leaks

Now that you can identify the abnormal presence of water in your split air conditioner’s indoor unit, it is time to find out the main reasons this occurs:

1- Blocked drain

Among the most common reasons a split air conditioner can leak is a clogged drain. What happens in these cases is that the domestic units have a factory drain pipe with a small diameter of about 16 mm. Although it is a sufficient diameter to fulfill its function, this tube can become clogged with dirt over time, for example, which can contribute to generating a kind of plug that makes it difficult for the water to flow to its correct drain and drip from the indoor unit.

A possible solution to this problem, using the appropriate air conditioning tools, is to locate the drain pipe and try to unclog or open it to help the drain water flow is correct, thus eliminating the dripping of the indoor unit.

2- Dirty filters

Another common reason why a split air conditioner can start to leak is due to a lack of filter cleaning. It is known that cleaning air conditioning filters is one of the maintenance tasks that users are obliged to do if they want to extend the life of the equipment, guarantee its proper functioning and avoid bad odors or the spread of bacteria since this component is the one in charge of filtering the air.

When the filters are very dirty, the unit does not manage to eliminate all the cold that it produces, lowering the gas pressure and causing the indoor unit to freeze. When you turn off the equipment or stop its operation, all that ice accumulated inside the appliance will begin to come off and generate a higher water flow than usual, which is why the equipment will begin to drip.

3- Exterior obstruction

The dripping of the split air conditioner can be related to external issues such as an obstruction, no longer in the drainpipe, but in the container in which the water produced in the equipment by condensation is deposited. In many homes, the drain tube is placed in a bottle, bucket or container. If the latter is too full, the tube may be submerged and water can be flushed through the indoor unit.

4- Incorrect leveling in the drain pan

Inside the indoor unit of your split air conditioner, there is a drain tray responsible for properly draining the water produced by condensation and that falls under its weight due to gravity. If the level is not correct, that is, if you do not have the correct declination, you will not be able to drain the water properly. Therefore, the water will drip inside. Similarly, if the tray is broken or has any cracks, the indoor unit leaks could be the case.

How to install and repair a split air conditioner?

It may happen that after having made a general review of the equipment, you cannot discover where the fault is or simply, you do not know how to solve it. For this, there are professionals specialized in repairs, such as Clima Offers. They can be of great help because, in addition, they will take care of checking the entire unit so that it works correctly, which can be very helpful, especially if your equipment is already a certain age. You have not given it the proper revision.

At the same time, when buying air conditioning online, you can carry out the installation yourself if you have the knowledge and the relevant air conditioning tools. Still, you will always obtain a greater guarantee if a specialized technician performs it, considering that you know the components perfectly. Its proper arrangement may even indicate the type of maintenance you can do to extend your appliance’s life.