Condensate Leak in the Attic in Los Altos Hills

Condensate Leak in the Attic in Los Altos Hills

Cooling a home makes water. The evaporator coil condenses moisture, it drips into a pan, and a drain line carries it off. When the line clogs, the pan overflows, and on an attic install the water finds its way down through the ceiling. On these large foothill estates the stain often turns up in a guest wing or a far bedroom, somewhere nobody walks through daily, which is how the leak runs a while before it's caught.

Los Altos Hills sits up off the bay and runs warmer than the shoreline towns, so the cooling side does real work here, and these big plans usually run more than one air handler. That means more attic units, more long condensate routings, and more drains to keep clear. Almost every time the leak comes back to one part though: a plugged line, a float switch that never cut the system, a failed condensate pump, or a pan that's cracked or pitched wrong.

The long line-set and drain runs these floor plans demand are part of the picture. A condensate drain that has to travel a long way across an attic to reach an exit needs consistent downhill slope its whole length, and on a sprawled-out estate that's easy to get wrong at install. The emergency pan and the float switch are the last line before drywall, and we check that the unit actually overflowing is the one we're chasing.

Common causes

Clogged primary condensate line. Biological slime builds inside the drain and blocks it, backing water up into the pan until it overflows. We clear the line with a wet vacuum from the termination, flush it, and confirm flow by running water through the pan. On these long attic routings we make sure there's a cleanout where the line needs one.

Float switch that never tripped. The safety float should shut the AC off when water rises in the pan. When it's stuck, missing, or miswired, the system keeps running and keeps filling. We lift the float to confirm the unit shuts down, and add protection where an attic air handler has none.

Wrong slope on a long drain run. A condensate drain that crosses a big attic to reach its exit has to stay downhill the whole way. One low spot lets water pool, stall, and back up to the pan. We check the slope along the full run and re-support or re-route the line where it's lost its pitch.

Failed condensate pump. Where an attic unit sits below its drain exit, a small pump lifts the water out. A burned motor or a stuck float means the reservoir overflows. We test the pump under power, check its check-valve, and replace it if it can't reliably clear its tank.

Cracked or corroded primary pan. An aging pan can crack or rust through and leak straight to the ceiling even with a clear drain. We inspect it with a light and mirror, confirm it holds water, and replace any pan that's failed.

Chasing the wrong air handler. With several independent systems per estate, it's easy to assume the leak comes from the nearest unit. We trace the water back to the air handler that's actually overflowing rather than servicing the wrong one and leaving the real problem in place.

How we diagnose it

• Identify which of the home's several air handlers is overflowing before touching anything.
• Pour water through the primary pan to tell a clog apart from a cracked or mis-sloped pan.
• Walk the full length of the drain run checking for low spots and lost slope.
• Test the float switch by lifting the float and confirming the system shuts off.
• Check the condensate pump under power and inspect both pans for standing water.

$75 diagnostic, credited toward any repair over $200. You get a written quote before any work begins.

Condensate Leak in the Attic in Los Altos Hills: common questions

Nearby and related

Condensate Leak in the Attic near Los Altos Hills: Los Altos · Palo Alto · Mountain View · Cupertino .

This is usually a ac repair in Los Altos Hills job. See our ac repair overview or the Los Altos Hills service area.