Water in Furnace Ducting - DIY Chatroom

sdoca · 09-13-2007, 02:25 PM

Hi,

I just had my furnaces cleaned and was told I have a problem with water in the ducting. My house is what is called an up/down duplex. The basement is a separate living space (was always designed to be) so has its own hot water, furnace etc. The ducting for the downstairs furnace is in the floor, it was laid and the concrete poured over it during construction.

I'm not sure what to do about it. I could probably get a sump pump to remove what's there now (and plan on doing so). The furnace company says I need to discontinue use of that ducting and put in new ducting as it will just continue to build up over time. Since the basement is fully finished, and rented out, this is no small thing.

Does anyone have any advice? I'm not sure who I should be calling to see what my options are.

kemerick · 09-13-2007, 11:52 PM

My first question would be how much water? If it is minimal and the leaky area can be rerouted, then a water vapor remover is a possibility. A co-worker has one and he used it to remove the mold and moisture from his very water damaged bathroom. It was $3k but they can be rented.

I'd say the real issue is the continual leak if it is persistant and then if there are mold concerns. Rerouting pipes is a popular and cheap way to resolve slab leaks.

If the issue is ground water seaping into the ducts and not pipes, maybe you can have a Rescue Rooter type place do an "inside the pipe" re-pipe. They run a balloon through the broken pipe and when it expands and dries, it works like a new pipe.

sdoca · 09-14-2007, 01:57 AM

Thanks for the response.

I don't think anything can be re-routed without major repairs/renos. The ducting is under the concrete floor. I suspect it is ground water seepage as it's in the bedrooms, far from any water pipes and we had a really hard downpour the other day for over 12 hours straight.

My plan was to dry it out (sump-pump?) and then monitor it to see if it recurs and if so, how quickly. If it stays dry, then that's great, but I'm doubtful.

When you refer to re-piping inside the existing pipe, do you mean the hot air ducts? That's an interesting idea and definitely worth looking into if that's available here.

kemerick · 09-14-2007, 08:54 AM

Yes, I assume repiping the ducts could be done just the same as a normal pipe.