Leaks in your beach lake house can be frustrating, time consuming, and cause costly damage, not to mention costly repairs, but what do you do when your furnace leaks? It’s simple for panic to set in, especially as the temperatures get colder and colder! If you discover your furnace leaking water, the first thing you should do is turn it off.
First, make sure your control unit is off.
Then turn the shut-off valve, situated on the gas line, connected to your furnace and the electrical breakers acquaintanced with your furnace. The problem causing the furnace leak is likely something only a heating and A/C professional should handle, and you should then mop up any water that’s collected around the base of your furnace, standing water is bad for your furnace and your floor. Remember, only do this once your furnace electrical circuit is shut off. Then, stop kicking yourself for not installing a floor drain, and if you do have a floor drain, make sure it isn’t clogged. If your furnace looks like a lonely island in the middle of a small pond, it’s possible to rent a wet/dry vacuum from large hardware stores to make cleanup easier. Depending on whether you have a high-efficiency furnace or a conventional furnace, many things will cause a furnace leak, then high-efficiency furnaces create condensation through the heat exchange process! When operating normally, this condensation is drained safely away from your furnace through the condensate line and drain trap! A condensate pump is what pushes the water through the lines and away from your furnace. These can experience mechanical issues, which often cause water leaks. A furnace with an AFUE rating below 90 has a metal exhaust vent pipe. Gasses produced while in combustion are carried away by the exhaust vent through the exhaust pipe to the outside while they are still hot. The extra air in this venting pipe can trap gasses. Your furnace leaks condensation when they cool down. Homeowners choose to add a built-in humidifier to their heating systems to make their homes more comfortable while in the dry winter months. As water consistently moves through them, if one of them leaks or becomes clogged, it looks like your furnace is leaking. There are many fixes for a humidifier leak, but a leaking humidifier is still a water leak.