Why Is My Furnace Leaking Water?

Is your furnace leaking water? If so, you may have an issue with your furnace’s condensate drain system and you’re likely experiencing a condensation leak.

Unfortunately, this is a common problem with high-efficiency furnaces.

In order to fix this problem and avoid water damage to your furnace’s electrical components, you’ll need to contact a professional HVAC tech ASAP to repair your furnace.

In this blog, we’ll go over:

• Why high-efficiency furnaces create condensation in the first place
• Common causes behind condensate leaks
• Other issues that can cause water to pool around a furnace

Furnaces are considered “high-efficiency” when they have 2 or 3 heat exchangers instead of one. Having more than one heat exchanger allows the furnace to absorb more heat from exhaust gases, eventually producing more heat for your home from the same amount of fuel.

As the extra heat is absorbed from these exhaust gases, the gas is cooled and turned into a liquid in a process called condensation.

Typically, the furnace will drain the condensate out of your home through a condensate drain line where it drips into a drain. Some furnaces use a pump to help move the liquid toward the drain more efficiently.

If you’re noticing water around the base of your furnace, there are likely problems with the condensate line, which brings us to…

The most common causes of condensate leaks are:

Clogged drain line: If you have a clogged drain line, the clog will cause the liquid to back up and eventually pool around your furnace in your home.

Breaks in the condensate line: If there’s a crack or break in your condensate line, liquid will leak out.

Malfunctioning condensate pump: If your furnace is equipped with a condensate pump and it breaks or malfunctions, the condensate will eventually build up and leak out of the furnace.

Contact an HVAC technician to inspect your condensate system and fix any clogs or leaks. The technician can also inspect the condensate pump to make sure it’s working properly.

There are a couple of other things that could potentially cause a leak in your furnace:

Leaking humidifier: If your home is equipped with a whole-home humidifier to help maintain and regulate indoor humidity levels, a clog or leak in the humidifier could potentially be the culprit behind your water problem. Since a humidifier is attached to your furnace, it could appear as though the furnace is leaking, when in reality, it’s the humidifier.

An HVAC pro can inspect your humidifier and fix any clogs or leaks, making sure your issue is not actually with the furnace.