The air conditioner is leaking. While waiting for after-sales service, conduct a self-inspection first. Some problems can be handled by yourself

2025-04-24

In summer, air conditioners are working hard, and the number of incidents where air conditioner companies deal with air conditioner failures has increased, and air conditioner leakage is one of them. When there is a leakage problem, after calling the after-sales maintenance hotline, it will take at least a few hours for the technician to arrive at the door. During this period, one can only endure the days without an air conditioner. If you know the cause of the air conditioner leakage, you can solve some problems by yourself without relying on after-sales service. First, check these places, and then find the solutions.

Problems with the Condensate Pipe
When the air conditioner is cooling, a lot of condensed water will be generated during the process of the refrigerant absorbing heat. The condensed water will condense on the surface of the evaporator and be discharged into the designated pipeline through a special condensate water drainage pipe. When we use the air conditioner in summer, we often see a large puddle of water near the outdoor unit of the air conditioner. This is caused by the discharge of the air conditioner's condensed water to the position of the outdoor unit, which is a normal phenomenon during the operation of the air conditioner.

Problem of the Slope of the Condensate Pipe
The condensed water of most air conditioners is drained by gravity through a natural slope. The slope of the condensed water should be at least 2‰, which is convenient for the rapid drainage of the water flow. Therefore, the higher the condensate pipe is near the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and the lower the condensate pipe is near the drainage point. If this slope is not enough, it is very likely to cause the condensed water to flow back to the indoor unit of the air conditioner, resulting in air conditioner leakage.
When there is a problem of insufficient slope of the condensate pipe, if it is a central air conditioner, the condensate pipe needs to be reinstalled, or a condensate water lift pump can be added to the indoor unit of the air conditioner; if it is a wall-mounted air conditioner, you only need to lower the condensate pipe. Of course, for the situation where the air conditioner hole is too high, you can increase the height of the indoor unit of the air conditioner or drill a lower air conditioner hole again.
Blockage and Breakage of the Condensate Pipe
The installation of the condensate pipe includes indoor drainage and outdoor drainage.
Indoor drainage generally involves embedding the pipeline in the wall and leading the drainage into the sewer pipe of the bathroom or the living balcony. When the condensate pipe is broken or blocked, it is usually necessary to abandon the original condensate pipe and plan and install a new one, which causes less damage to the decoration.
Outdoor drainage mostly occurs in split air conditioners. The condensate pipe is led to the position of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner together with the copper pipe, and then the condensate pipe is inserted into the drainage pipe. After the condensate pipe is blocked or broken in this case, it is relatively simple to deal with. Just remove the original condensate pipe and connect a new one. In an emergency, you can cut off the condensate pipe and connect the indoor part of the condensate pipe to a bucket to ensure the normal use of the air conditioner.

Problems with the Air Conditioner Hole
The indoor unit and the outdoor unit of the air conditioner are connected through holes in the wall or the floor slab. Excluding the problems of damage and backflow of the condensate pipe, the most common leakage phenomenon is the intrusion of rainwater.
When drilling a hole in the wall, there are also certain skills. The holes are usually drilled obliquely with the inside higher than the outside, and there are also standards for the size of the hole, which should not be too large or too small. If the inclination of the hole is not enough, when the air conditioner hole is impacted by heavy rain, it is very likely to cause rainwater to flow in. The remedy is to seal the indoor and outdoor holes tightly with fillers; if the air conditioner hole is too large, there will still be a large gap after installing the pipeline, which gives mosquitoes, insects, and mice the opportunity to get in and cause damage. It is necessary to block the air conditioner hole with a hard material; if the air conditioner hole is too small, when the copper pipe and the condensate pipe pass through the pipe together, it is easy to cause extrusion, resulting in the deformation of the condensate pipe, the reduction of the drainage pipe diameter, and the slow drainage speed. At this time, it is best to reinstall the condensate pipe.

The air conditioner is leaking. While waiting for after-sales service, conduct a self-inspection first. Some problems can be handled by yourself1745507916551

Drilling a hole in the floor slab is also a way to connect the air conditioner pipeline. The outdoor unit of the air conditioner is installed on the roof, and the pipeline passes through the floor slab and enters the room, and then connects to the indoor unit. This will damage the waterproofing of the roof, and this operation method is usually not allowed. However, on the premise of doing a good job of waterproofing, the position of the pipe penetration of the air conditioner can also have good waterproofing. Generally, the position of the penetration is higher than other planes to reduce the backflow of rainwater. If there is a leakage at this position, only the position of the pipe penetration can be reinforced.

Problems with Air Humidity
When using an air conditioner in summer, especially after rain, the phenomenon of condensation and dripping often occurs at the air outlet of the air conditioner. Many people mistakenly think that the air conditioner is leaking due to a failure. In fact, this is related to the air humidity and the use of the air conditioner. There is a large amount of water vapor in the air after rain, and the water vapor enters the room through doors and windows, increasing the humidity of the room. When the air conditioner is used and the temperature setting of the air conditioner is too low, the cold air at the position of the air outlet of the air conditioner will condense into dewdrops when it meets the hot air. When the condensation is severe, the dewdrops will drip.
If condensation occurs at the air outlet of the air conditioner, you can close the doors and windows to block the entry of outdoor moisture, and then adjust the temperature of the air conditioner, setting the cooling temperature above 26°C (keeping the temperature difference from the outdoor temperature within 10°C) to reduce the environmental temperature difference and alleviate the formation of condensation. For the situation where condensation has already occurred, you can turn on the dehumidification function and the blowing function of the air conditioner (adjust the wind speed to the maximum) to quickly evaporate the dewdrops at the air outlet position and prevent more dewdrops from forming and dripping onto the ground.

Problems with Air Conditioner Installation
The irregular installation of the air conditioner is most likely to cause the problem of air conditioner leakage, which can easily occur both indoors and outdoors. The standard installation of the air conditioner involves the level of the indoor unit, the fixation of the condensate pipe, and the insulation of the pipeline.

Level of the Indoor Unit
The installation of the indoor unit of the air conditioner needs to be level. There is a condensate water receiving tray inside the indoor unit, and there is a condensate water drainage hole on the receiving tray. When the indoor unit of the air conditioner is not installed horizontally, the drainage hole will be tilted. When the inclined slope exceeds the edge of the receiving tray, the condensed water in the receiving tray is likely to overflow, causing the phenomenon of leakage. In such a situation, the indoor unit needs to be reinstalled horizontally to ensure that the drainage hole of the condensate water receiving tray is at the lowest point.
Fixation of the Condensate Pipe
All air conditioners need to fix the condensate pipe. The condensate pipe of a central air conditioner usually has a bracket installed every 0.8-1.2 meters to fix the pipeline and ensure the slope of the condensate pipe at the same time. If the fixing of the bracket of the condensate pipe is loose and falls off, a downward arc will inevitably be formed in the middle of the pipeline. The fall-off of more brackets will lead to insufficient load-bearing of the condensate pipe, resulting in the fall-off of the joint or insufficient slope, causing the condensed water to drip onto the ceiling.
The installation position of a split air conditioner is relatively close to the outdoor unit, and the pipeline left indoors is relatively short. Generally, there is no need to install a separate bracket for fixation. It can normally bear the weight and drain water relying on the wall penetration hole of the air conditioner. However, there are also cases where the indoor air conditioner pipeline is relatively long.
In such a situation, it is necessary to fix the pipeline of the air conditioner to prevent the pipeline from forming a downward arc due to excessive weight, so that the condensed water cannot be drained normally, posing a potential risk of leakage.
Insulation of the Pipeline
All refrigerant pipes and condensate pipes of the air conditioner need to be insulated. The refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe is in a super-low temperature state. When the refrigerant pipe comes into contact with the outside air, a large amount of condensed water will be formed on the pipe wall due to the temperature difference between hot and cold. The condensate pipe also carries low-temperature condensed water, and more condensation will also occur on the pipe wall. Without the insulation pipe as a barrier and for insulation, the condensed water condensed on these pipelines will drip onto the ceiling, thus damaging the ceiling. In addition, the quality of the insulation pipe also affects the insulation effect, and if the insulation pipe is damaged or not tightly sealed, the condensed water will also drip at the gap.

Most of the reasons for air conditioner leakage lie in problems with the condensate pipe, problems with the air conditioner hole, problems with air humidity, and problems with air conditioner installation. For installation problems, professional air conditioner technicians are needed to deal with them; for usage problems, as long as the air conditioner is used correctly according to the actual usage environment, the leakage problem can be alleviated.