air conditioning unit causing wood floor damage

robismyname

I have a carrier unit air conditioner system in a two story home that is 6 years old.

Dont know how long this has been going on but the at the bottom or base of the the first floor unit I had a pool of standing water, about 2 gallon. I noticed this after I opened the cover of the unit. Below the coils, this water somehow leaked out and went under the wood floors next to the unit. I knew that the water was underneath the wood floor because the wood began to change color and I can hear a squishy sound.

I sucked out all the water with a shop vac and placed a fan pointing down toward the air conditioning system vent to try to dry it out. I will probably end up replacing the wood in this area but not until I fix the root cause of the problem.

I compared the bottom system to the top and I dont see any water in the bottom/base of the upstairs system.

I did notice that for the downstairs unit there is some water in the pipe that the overflow valve is placed in where the upstairs unit pipe is dry as a bone.

I have not turned on my downstairs system since I found the problem but am curious to know what the hell happened? And what will it take to fix the problem? What I mean by this is how much will it cost, is this a DIY job, what material/parts are needed to repair?

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biggles

ever had this water problem before? does that pvc white drain line have a trap on it?so the fan section is above that coil there,and sucks air up that return duct where the water is.unit might of iced up left on when the night cooled off with no load inside....just wondering.is the condensate pan clean on the lower left corner of that coil....lets hear back on trapped or not?

robismyname

No, first time. I have been living in this house for 2 years 7 months.

I think so , it doesnt look like a trap that you would see under the sink but I think it is functionally a trap. please look at new picture to confirm. the picture shows a better view of both pvc pipes.

Ok

I took out the overflow switch and there is water inside of it. I also see water deposit on the very narrow drip pan right underneath and behind the coil area. See picture

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biggles

it was workingbut i don't see an actual trap off either line abd one is above the other? somebody else might kick in on the trapping question.definitly seal those refig lines openings with rolled armaflex and push it it....so no air is sucked in or blown out.could case condensation dripping away from the pan when the unit is running..

robismyname

So its not broken? Will the bottom/base need to be replaced? When I touch it it was very soft. What do you call the bottom/base section? Will it every dry completely? How do I get the water out of the pvc pipe that holds the overflow switch?

biggles

that second pix is the return duct where the air comes back from the house back up into the unit.the water in the ver flow switch has to come from that pan so sop up the water in there or cycle the water out....yes that will dry up in the base of that return throw some towels newspapers down with the unit off...it will soak it up.then the return air will dry it out...might want to put an air freshener down there it will scent the entire house...esay way to do it.the only proof the drain setup works there this is the first time you had this problem? how is your stat setpoint during the day and night as the outside cools down....?

robismyname

Cool down????!!!!!Haha I forgot to mention I live in Florida. There is no cool down I mean its 80 degrees at night. 90-95 during the day for the next 5 months.

Generally I keep my thermostat on 79 degrees hold mode. So the thermostat will only kick in when the room temperature goes above 79 degrees otherwise it will stay off.

Never had this issue before. About 2 years ago i had a ac service tech come to my house for a routine maintenance service on my units. I remember he showed me a drain pipe that was outside near the fan unit. He told me that it can get clogged and that I should vacum it regularly. Well I never did it and was wondering if this had anything to do with my problem.

I mean why is there water in the pipe where the overflow switch is in? Something is happening to keep water in there. That is why Im thinking I have a clog somewhere.