Why is My Furnace Leaking Water? Fixes and Options

You come again from trip, come dwelling from work at some point or run errands to search out that your furnace is leaking water. What might be the trigger? Particularly in case your unit gave the impression to be operating high-quality earlier than the incident, it’s possible you’ll not know what may have prompted it.

At Hearth & Ice, we perceive that discovering the supply of an issue akin to a furnace leak isn’t at all times simple. Nonetheless, we now have helped clients hundreds of occasions with comparable points and are dedicated to serving to you with yours.

What Does a Furnace Leak Look Like?

Below regular circumstances, a furnace doesn’t leak water. Nonetheless, this might occur as a consequence of plenty of points, akin to a tilted drain pipe, a defective humidifier, or different issues that may trigger water to pool beneath your furnace.

Listed below are some frequent causes of water that you just’ve discovered below or close to your furnace.

Causes of Water Pooling Below or Round Furnace

• Water Condensation
• Furnace Humidifier Drawback
• Air Conditioner Drain Clogged
• Damaged Warmth Exchanger
• Frozen Coils

Water Condensation

Water condensation can pool if it isn’t getting exhausted out of your furnace. This might be what is occurring to your furnace. In the event you see this, name an HVAC skilled for upkeep in your system.

Furnace Humidifier Drawback

Furnace leaks are generally associated to humidifier points. The humidifiers draw water from the plumbing of your private home and provides it to your furnace’s air. The leaking may point out that you’ve a unfastened pipe or a distinct challenge that’s inflicting water to construct up.

When your humidifier is leaking into your furnace, it will also be leaking soiled air into your furnace that might be going into your private home, which suggests mould and micro organism.

Air Conditioner Drain Clogged

One other reason behind the leak might be that your air conditioner drain is clogged. In the event you can hint the leak to an inside pipe, which may be the supply of the problem. It might be linked to your air conditioner and be clogged, damaged, or malfunctioning. If you’ll be able to establish that that is the problem, inform your HVAC skilled and have them attend to your system earlier than any corrosion occurs.

Damaged Warmth Exchanger

A warmth exchanger is a skinny metallic protect between the combustion chamber and the blower that transfers warmth from the furnace to the air ducts after which by way of your private home. If this turns into cracked, it might leak condensation. That is additionally an indication you most likely want an entire furnace substitute.

This will also be hazardous and trigger CO to leak by way of your vents. Noticeable cracks upon inspection, worn areas, unusual smells, or water gathering across the furnace can all be indicators of a cracked warmth exchanger. When you’ve got any of those, flip off your furnace and name a technician to stop CO from leaking into your private home.

Lastly, your furnace might be leaking as a consequence of coils which have frozen over.

Frozen Coils

Particularly in case your furnace leaks through the summer time, the issue might be as a consequence of frozen air conditioner coils. This will happen as a consequence of a blocked filter, grime, and particles on the coils themselves, an absence of airflow, or a refrigerant challenge. If any of those happen, your coils will actually freeze over and might flip right into a block of ice somewhat shortly till it’s stopped. If this happens in your unit, flip it off to assist thaw the coils and name a technician.

Indoor Air High quality Points From Water Pooling

Mould and micro organism can result in poor indoor air high quality or IAQ in your house. In keeping with the EPA, the common American spends 90% of their life indoors. Whereas moldy smells aren’t more likely to trigger severe well being dangers for many, the EPA’s report goes on to say that those that are most prone to indoor pollution are additionally the most probably to spend much more time indoors.

Whereas the consequences usually aren’t life-threatening, they’ll actually be debilitating. Results of air pollution can embrace the next:

• Eye irritation
• Nostril and throat irritation
• Complications
• Common fatigue
• Respiratory diseases

Mould and micro organism gained’t trigger every of those for everybody, however the odor is undeniably annoying and noticeable, and the worst instances of it might certainly turn out to be well being irritants.

As a lot because the well being issues, in case you’re spending wherever close to 90% of your life indoors, it’s value ensuring that that point is as comfy as attainable.

This challenge may also influence different elements of your furnace. It will possibly result in your filter not working as successfully as a result of you’ve got mould pumped into your air, which can result in an early substitute on your system. This can’t be overstated. Your filter will refill sooner, main not solely to extra filter replacements, however your system won’t work as effectively if you don’t tackle the issue.

How Does My Furnace Work?

When you’ve got an electrical furnace, In a couple of methods, it really works a bit like a toaster. The heated coils act in a lot the identical method, even glowing pink once they’re sizzling. If there have been an airstream flowing by way of your toaster, pushing the nice and cozy air into your private home, you’d have a miniature electrical furnace.

When the thermostat notices a distinction between the indoor temperature and its settings, it should “name” for warmth from the central heating system. The heating coils within the air handler will start to heat up, and your blower fan will push the warmth at a particular charge by way of your ductwork and into your private home.

As soon as the specified temperature has been reached, the thermostat relays one other sign to the system to close down till the following name for warmth.

How and Why Does My Furnace Produce Water?

However how and why does my furnace produce water anyway? In contrast to previously, most trendy furnaces use water to create condensation. They use cooling exhaust to spice up vitality effectivity.

Nonetheless, this all relies on the kind of furnace you’ve got.

Sorts of Furnaces

There are two sorts of furnaces: excessive effectivity and normal effectivity. Excessive-efficiency furnaces could have condensation because of the second warmth exchanger that a normal furnace doesn’t have. Solely a high-efficiency furnace will produce water. That means that you probably have a water leak, you seemingly have a high-efficiency furnace.

Common Upkeep Can Assist Stop Emergency Points

Moreover, among the best methods to stop leaks and points along with your furnace is to have common upkeep carried out by an HVAC technician. At Hearth & Ice, we suggest having every system tuned up every year. Having your furnace tuned up within the fall and your air conditioner tuned up within the spring, earlier than you may be closely utilizing both one, is an effective way to verify for points and ensure issues are operating all season easily.

Upkeep Agreements Can Assist Keep away from Lengthy Wait Instances

At Hearth & Ice, we additionally suggest a upkeep settlement for his or her system to our shoppers. A upkeep settlement may also help hold your system in prime form and permits you to get forward of points earlier than they turn out to be severe, like taking your automotive in for an oil change.

Upkeep Settlement Advantages

There are lots of advantages to upkeep agreements. At Hearth & Ice, we provide our clients three completely different sorts of upkeep agreements.

For an entire listing of providers in our obtainable upkeep agreements, try our Providers Web page.

Slightly than re-list details about our upkeep plans, we speak about a couple of crucial elements of the plans and the way they’ll profit you in your house.

Restore Guarantee

Restore warranties for substitute components generally final as little as 60 days from the producer. With our three upkeep agreements extending this guarantee to at least one, two, and three years, there’s peace of thoughts figuring out {that a} restore wasn’t completed simply to gather a paycheck and get it operating for a short time. If we aren’t assured the restore will final for years, we gained’t do it, and also you’re lined both method.

Lifetime Workmanship Assure

Ensures like this are uncommon within the business. Ours states the next:

“We assure the next gadgets for the lifetime of the gear towards defects in supplies or workmanship from the date the system is put in:

• All ductwork we set up
• All ductwork insulation we set up
• Different gadgets we set up embrace sheet metallic straps, clamps, fasteners, hangers, locks, drivers, drain piping, and fittings
• All high-voltage electrical wiring, wire nuts, straps, ties, and connectors we set up
• All refrigerant piping we set up (doesn’t embrace the associated fee to achieve entry to underground or different inaccessible piping)
• Refrigerant insulation we set up
• All gear pads, stands, jacks, and vibration elimination units we set up

Correct upkeep is what permits us to supply this distinctive assure. The one requirement to maintain this safety in drive for the lifetime of the gear is to resume your annual upkeep program when due.”

And in case you assume that these are empty phrases, I can once more promise you that we’ve honored this settlement on these uncommon events when the work is finished improperly. We delight ourselves on consideration to element, however no HVAC contractor is past fault. Having a assure like it is a safety for the shopper.

No Extra time Charges

If a contractor is paid by the job, you threat them doing a fast, poor job merely to hurry to the following one. However a house owner may fear about prolonged jobs in the event that they’re paid hourly. Protections like this are designed to carry a restore technician accountable, hold an organization accountable, and standardize buyer prices.

Collective Power Financial savings

Gear tune-ups, free filter replacements, and evaporator or blower cleanings add up. All the explanations we mentioned earlier apply to those on a regular basis duties, and guaranteeing that you just’re having them completed once they’re wanted (typically at a decreased price) will profit you over your system’s life.

Don’t Wait To Keep away from Future Furnace Upkeep Points

At Hearth & Ice, we perceive your frustration and concern over points like leaks. Be at liberty to name us with any further questions you could have. Name us in case you stay within the Columbus, Ohio, space and are able to take the following step. To verify to see if you’re inside our service space, use the zip code map beneath.

To take the following step use the button beneath to schedule a free estimate.