No condensate runs out on the balcony anymore – it used to run all the time
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Drumul Taberei, Brașov street, 9,000 BTU Gree, 5 years old. Last summer the balcony hose dripped continuously. This year, nothing, though the unit runs the same. No dripping indoors (yet). I fear water is collecting somewhere. Is that possible?
What is really happening
A cooling unit necessarily produces condensate in summer – if it does not exit via the hose, it is somewhere inside. The pan, with the highest bacterial load in the unit, forms sludge that settles at the hose mouth; a long balcony hose exposed to the sun collects algae. Water stagnates at 25–28 °C, exactly the mould-and-bacteria incubator EPA tells you to avoid, and when full it overflows behind the housing, where it first soaks the wall and only later drips visibly. On top of that, an evaporator standing with its base in water stays wet non-stop – biofilm grows even in the zones that normally dry. At 5 years without sanitising, this is the standard scenario.
- Water forms on the cold coil during cooling.
- The pan collects it.
- The hose carries it to the designed drain.
- EPA requires condensate pans to be clean and drain lines unobstructed; standing water must be fixed immediately. [US EPA, 2024]
- The condensate pan of household units had the highest bacterial load (~12,300 CFU/cm²), over 20 times the 500 CFU/cm² limit for public spaces. [Frontiers in Public Health / PubMed Cent, 2024]
- Mould does not grow below roughly 80% surface relative humidity, but the cold surfaces inside an air conditioner constantly exceed this threshold. [WHO / NCBI Bookshelf, 2009]
- EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally between 30 and 50%, to prevent mould. [US EPA, 2024]
What we do on site
- Collection cover; we empty the full pan and show you what was in it.
- We unblock the pan outlet and the hose with water until it runs freely on the balcony; we check the hose along its length for kinks.
- Cleaning solution on evaporator, roller, pan; pressure wash in place.
- Sanitising solution on everything, hose included.
- Water test: 2 litres over the evaporator, 2 litres out on the balcony.
- Outdoor unit, washed in place. See current rates on the Prices page.
What you can do yourself
- Switch the unit off until we come – every hour of running adds water to the full pan.
- On the balcony: check whether the hose is crushed under a pot or has its end in water (reverse siphoning).
- Afterwards: 'Fan' before shut-off and a glass of water poured over the evaporator once a month, as a test.
What NOT to do
- Do not suck the hose with the household vacuum – you pull sludge water into the motor.
- Do not cut the hose 'so it drains closer'.
- Do not ignore the signal because 'it is not dripping yet'.
Prevention
A hose dripping in summer is a sign of health. Annual sanitising and a check of the balcony end at the start of the season.
When to call us
0764 012 943, Monday–Saturday 08:00–20:00 – for these cases we try to come within 24–48 hours.
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Sources (4)
The information on this page is educational and based on cited sources; it does not replace medical advice. We do not do repairs, installation or refrigerant circuit work.