This will prevent any electrical accidents during cleaning. The breaker box is usually located on the ground floor of your home, or the basement if you have one, and sometimes in a storage room or the garage if you have one of those. Check these spots for the breaker box. If the switches aren’t labeled, then you will have to try turning several off, and seeing if the AC is turned off, in order to find the corresponding breaker.
When you locate the drain line’s exit point, you can also check for any obvious obstructions right at the end of the drain. Remove anything obviously clogging the drain with gloved hands or a pair of pliers if it is hard to reach. If you don’t see anything, then proceed with vacuuming it out.
Depending on your model of wet/dry vac, you may be able to vacuum up small amounts of water with the filter in. Just keep in mind that you need to remove it, rinse it thoroughly with clean water, and let it dry completely after vacuuming any water and clogs to prevent mold and mildew from growing on it. Any standard wet/dry vac will work for this job. If you don’t have one, you can often rent one from a hardware store.
You can also wrap duct tape around the connection to create a tight seal instead of holding the hose and the drain together with a cloth.
If the clog persists, then keep running the vacuum in intervals of 5-6 seconds until you have run it for a total of 1 minute. If you are unable to clear the clog this way after a full minute, then you may need to call an HVAC company to come inspect your unit. You can make sure you cleared the clog by pouring some water into the drain line’s access hole, located inside your home where the drain line comes out of the unit, and watching to see if it runs out the other end. Once you are sure you have cleared the clog, turn the AC unit back on and test it to make sure it is running as normal.
If you perform this yearly maintenance on your AC unit’s drain line, you will be able to keep it clear and you shouldn’t need to vacuum any clogs out.
This will eliminate the risk of any electrical accidents while you perform maintenance to keep your AC system’s drain line clean. Check in the basement, a storage room, the garage, or a hallway of the ground floor of your home to find the breaker box. Experiment with turning off different switches and checking which one turns off the AC unit if the switches aren’t labeled.
If you already know that the AC drain line is clogged, then you need to vacuum it out first before proceeding to clean it with bleach. After you clear the clog, clean it with bleach right away to kill off any remaining mold and mildew and prevent it from growing back.
The exit point of the drain line is normally outside your home next to the AC unit’s condenser. If it’s not, it may be located inside your home next to a bathroom drain or other drainage point. If nothing comes out the other end, then the drain line is clogged and you will need to vacuum it out before proceeding.
Use a funnel to help you get all the bleach into the drain line if it is easier.
If you perform this yearly maintenance on your AC unit’s drain line, you will be able to keep it clear and you shouldn’t need to vacuum any clogs out.
