How’s this for a kick in the pants?
You walk downstairs and notice that in the area all around your furnace, there’s water everywhere. Today’s new high-efficiency furnaces produce moisture, and if you have an air conditioner or humidifier attached, they make water as well.
This water is generally channeled down to a floor drain, or what’s called a condensation pump, which is attached to your furnace with 3/4-inch PVC pipe. Because of the slime and junk that collects after a while, it’s a real good idea to clean this out from time to time so that you won’t have any surprises.
Locate the cleanout area in your PVC pipe, which is usually a T located somewhere in the line. If you don’t have one, you may want to put one in to make it possible to clean the line in the future. Mix a one-gallon solution of half water and half bleach and pour it into the line. The bleach will help remove any mold or bacteria that’s been sitting in the lines.
Make sure it runs out freely. If not, you may need to unclog it with a long wire or some compressed air and then perform the cleaning. Once you see it’s flowing freely and you’ve used all of the bleach solution, do the same thing again with straight water.
Just a little bit of maintenance and becoming aware of what you need to watch for can save you a whole lot of money and headaches from having water all over your floor.
Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a WJBK-TV Fox2 Detroit news contributor and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.