Hi,

The drain pipe of my AC is clogged. I used shop-vac but was only able to suck the water out. The water builds up again after the AC is turned back on for a short while.

I tried pipe snake but it doesn't work since there are several 90 degree turns.

I bought AC Line Drainline Buildup Remoer but its instruction said it does not work on a completely clogged drain pipe. Will this thing help dissolve the buildup or only prevent new buildup.

I intend to use the DranoMax clog remover but I'm a little concerned whether it would damage my shop-vac if I have to suck it out in case it does not work as expected. Does anyone have any experience with using DranoMax to remove clog in an AC drain pipe? Or is there any suggestions on how to deal with the clog?

Thanks,
Steve

 

If the pipe is just pvc cut it off about 2" off of a 90o L clean it out and just use a pvc pipe coupler to put it back. Lots of times we dont glue the pipe so it can come apart to clean. Have you tried to blow back from the end of the drain? that works lots of times ED

 

Hi Ed,

Thanks for your advice. I bought the pipe coupler at Home Depot. The service rep there suggested using Clorox. So I tried Clorox first. I waited several hours after pouring the Clorox before turning the AC back on. Now the pipe is still clogged and I can smell Clorox in the air. Does this indicate more problems? Since the Clorox is corrosive, it would not be good for the draining pan in the AC, right? I plan to suck everything out and cut the pipe to blow downward. Please let me know if you have any more suggestions.

Thanks,
Steve

 

If you can get a small piece of hose and put it in the end of the drain pipe and just blow in it first . If not cut the pipe. The clorox help to keep them clean ,but like just 1 time a year. you dont let it in there all the time. like I said when you do cut it and its clean try the pipe first with no glue at some point and see if it dont leak if it dont let it alone and you can take it apart when you want to clean it out all the time. Blow back from the end of the drain pipe first. ED

 

try clean the condensate pan from the inside... It might be ice in this case????might? sucking out the sludge is the easiest BUT sometimes it gets packed in and a nitrogen blast is the only thing to move it. Cut the pipe and snake it, your done. The bleach idea is if you have standing water that has a growth of slime in it Rinse it down with hot water...

 

Ed and hvac,

Thanks very much for your suggestions. The Clorox worked eventually after probably more than 10 hours.

Steve