I think I fixed my central air conditioner by clearing a drain. Did I really?
I noticed my central air was blowing warm air last night. When I went outside to check the unit, I discovered that the main sewer line from my house to the street was backed up (had popped the cap off the cleanout; the a/c unit is not physically near this). Anyway, I cleared the sewer line with one of those water jet things, and we turned the air back on. After a few minutes, it seemed to be blowing cold air again… overnight it dropped the temp inside the house to the thermostat level (76). This morning, it felt like there was cold air coming out of the vents.
The a/c drains into the sewer line inside the house.
My question is, did my clearing the sewer line have anything to do with the a/c seeming to work better? If it was having difficulty draining the water normally, would that cause the a/c to blow warm air?
Yes it could affect it. The condensation line must be able to drain or the ac will not blow cold air.
Yes. Most tech’s look for this in their service calls. You just saved money on a service call at least. An unscrupulous tech or company would have tried to sell you a new unit. Way to go!!
Only if sewer warm gases were backing up in to the evaporator compartment through the condensate drain. I guess it’s possible, but I have never heard of that. I think you just got lucky or it was coincidence.
All that is draining from your A/C unit is condensation from the water in the air as it’s being cooled. Where this water drains to or how it gets there should have little or no effect on the performance of the unit.
One possibility though, is this. Your condenser may have had some ice built up on it, restricting the flow of air, and ultimately giving less than desired results. By turning your unit off for a while, you may have allowed that ice to thaw, returning the unit to full power once again. If this is the case, you may also want to check your air filter to make sure it is clean and allowing maximum airflow.