My Home Heating System is Leaking – What Should I Do?

Water leakages in your home are a huge inconvenience and can cause costly damages.

What do you do when it's your HVAC system that's leaking water? 

Here's what you need to do if you find yourself in this circumstance instead of panicking.

Why Is My Furnace Dripping Water to begin with?

1. High-Efficiency:  There's a Leakage or a Clog in the Condensate Lines

High-efficiency furnaces create condensation through the warmth exchange process. When working accordingly, this condensation is drained securely far from your heater and through the condensate line as well as the drain trap.

2. High-Efficiency:  Your Condensate Pump Isn't Functioning

A condensate pump pushes water through the pipes and away from your heating system. These can experience mechanical issues, which often lead to water leakages.

3. Standard: The Metal Exhaust Pipe is Creating Condensation

If your furnace has an AFUE ranking of less than 90, it'll have a metal exhaust vent pipe (vs. the white PVC air vent pipe of a high-efficiency furnace). If this venting pipeline isn't correctly sized for your heating system, gasses can get caught by the extra air. Eventually, they cool off and this type of condensation leaks out of your heater.

4. For Any Heater: The Humidifier is Leaking

Lots of homeowners add an integrated humidifier to their furnace to make their houses extra comfortable during the dry and cool winter months. While your humidifier will keep working even with a clogged or dirty humidifier pad, it won't work very well so be sure to replace it when needed.

5. For Any Furnace: It Might Actually Be the Air Conditioning Unit

If you're in that seasonal period where you use your air cooling unit on some days and then turn on the heat the following day, it might not be your heater that's leaking water.

6. For Any Kind Of HVAC System: Warm Exchanger Issue

Warm exchanges are an important part of your HVAC system and also the heating process. It is a steel shield that prevents the exhaust gases produced throughout the burning procedure from entering your ductwork with the warm air. When the warmth exchanger heats up, the metal increases and cools down and also contracts back to the shape it held when it was at room temperature. However, after years of this process, it is not unusual for the HVAC system to fail and leave you with a broken warmth exchanger. If the warmth exchanger cracks, it can cause serious carbon monoxide to circulate in the home's air.

There is an additional heat exchanger on designs where water is changed from a vapor to a liquid to release even more warmth into the second warmth exchanger. A second warmth exchanger will need just as much regular upkeep, as they're just as prone to water dripping.

7. For Any Type Of Heater: Dirty Heater Filter

A dripping HVAC system shouldn't be your only motivator to change your filter. An unclean furnace can restrict airflow, which triggers your furnace to overwork and consequently get too hot. We advise setting a filter replacement note on your calendar every 90 days, so you do not forget!

Our group of technicians at Best Owner Direct HVAC are highly-trained and professional; we're able to identify the issue and have your HVAC up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible. Contact us today!