How to Clear a Clog in the A/C Condensate Line

How to clear a clog in the condensate line on your air conditioner

Things you’ll need for the job:

Wet/Dry Vac
3/4″ hose attachment

Before getting started, be sure to check out the following video to familiarize yourself with the process:

1. Locate your A/C’s condensate line. In most cases this line will be located outside of the home and near the condensing unit, just look for a 3/4″ wide piece of PVC piping. In most cases you’ll see a small trickle of water coming from the pipe.

The condensate pipe probably looks something like this.

2. Attach the 3/4″ hose attachment to your wet/dry vac. Simply take the 2 1/2″ end of the attachment and slide it onto the end of the wet/dry vac hose.

3. Attach the wet/dry vac hose to the end of the condensate line. Simply take the smaller end of the attachment and slide it into the end of the condensate line.

4. Remove the paper filter from the wet dry vac. It’s a good idea to remove the paper filter before turning on the vacuum since the water coming from the condensate line will ruin the filter. Simply open the lid of the vacuum and remove the filter.

5. Turn on the wet/dry vac, and let it run for five minutes. Now that you’ve connected the hose of the vacuum and removed the filter it’s time to clear out the line. Simply turn on the vacuum and let it run for approximately five minutes.

6. Turn off the wet/dry vac and dump the contents. By now the condensate line should be clean and clear and the vacuum should be filled with dirty water from your A/C system. Simply remove the lid and dump the contents into either the lawn or nearby storm drain. It’s also probably a good idea to use an old rag and wipe out the inside of the vacuum.

If you’re looking for more ways to make your home more energy efficient, be sure to check out our green home improvement projects: Green Living Ideas, after all, is a top 20 home improvement website!

Photos courtesy of the Flickr Creative Commons, Paul’s travel pics and Today’s Home Owner.

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Tags: A/C, clog, condensate line

About the Author

Scott Cooney Scott Cooney is a serial eco-entrepreneur including being the solo founder of Pono Home, HomeEfficiency.com, and CleanTechnica; author of two books; former sustainability consultant with clients including Johnson & Johnson, Eastman Chemical, Wal-Mart, and Duke Energy; former Adjunct teaching the first course in sustainable business in the MBA program at UH Manoa; lover of local, healthy food and especially vegan nachos. Find Scott on Twitter