Leaking window a/c

curly_kate

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My window a/c is leaking some kind of pinkish liquid out of the drain tray. Luckily, it is leaking outside, but I'd like to figure out what it is, and how to stop it. Any ideas? :)
 

SKR8PN

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Oil/water mix? It should just be water........
 

xpc

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Have you ever cleaned the coils with anything? how old is it? is it working fine? have you cleaned the filter recently? any more questions?
 

curly_kate

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It almost seems to have a waxy feel to it, but it definitely could be oil w/it. There are actually 2 doing it, and they are both working fine. One is about 5 years old, and the other was inherited from someone, so I have no idea how old it is. We cleaned the filters when we put them in last month, but haven't cleaned the coils. I'll tell DH to get right on that. :D
 

xpc

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curly_kate said:
It almost seems to have a waxy feel to it, but it definitely could be oil w/it. There are actually 2 doing it, and they are both working fine. One is about 5 years old, and the other was inherited from someone, so I have no idea how old it is. We cleaned the filters when we put them in last month, but haven't cleaned the coils. I'll tell DH to get right on that. :D
I asked about cleaning the coils in case you sprayed something into them, the filters should be blown out at least once a month of more depending on how dusty your house is - I have to do mine once a week, If the filters blind it will cost you twice the power for less cooling and also risk freezing the evaporator too - low to zero air flow.

There are special foaming cleaners for the two coils but is best done removed from the window and outside. The belly button lint has to come out for efficiency.
 

curly_kate

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DH opened one up and dug out a bunch of nasty gunk that has accumulated over who knows how many years, and it's running perfectly now - no dripping.
 

xpc

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curly_kate said:
DH opened one up and dug out a bunch of nasty gunk that has accumulated over who knows how many years, and it's running perfectly now - no dripping.
That's good, I hoped it wasn't algae as most strains are male and pink is just not right even with the new laws, plus the distilled water from the evaporator doesn't support its growth unless you are filthy. I'm not moss-ophobic just saying is all.
 
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