When you see a puddle on your basement floor near the furnace, you may naturally start to worry where it came from. Could it be …? Yes, your furnace is leaking water. What now?
Although the best leak protection is prevention and early detection, a furnace leaking water is not all that uncommon; know you’re not alone. But never ignore it – water leakage is a warning of something wrong with your furnace. Take care of the problem right away; you do not want to be left without heat on a frosty Calgary day.
First Shut Your Furnace Off
Safely shut the furnace off before you do anything else. This is essential to prevent electrical hazards if the furnace circuit gets damp.
1. Turn the thermostat setting to OFF.
2. Shut off your gas supply at the valve.
3. At your electrical panel, find the breaker for your furnace and switch that off too.
Now Contact Knight For Furnace Repair
Have you gone about as far as you feel comfortable? Now you’ve got that done, contact Knight to come and repair your Calgary furnace. After hours, call 587-317-2535. We are always available!
Clean Up That Mess
With help on the way and the electricity to your furnace shut down, it’s safe to go ahead and clean up the water. This part is important, to minimize water damage to basement floors and the rest of your home. Depending on the amount of leakage, use a rag, mop, or wet-dry vacuum.
Find Out Why Your Furnace Is Leaking Water
There are a number of causes for a furnace to start leaking. Some reasons apply only to high-efficiency furnaces, one just to conventional models, and another applies to both. (FYI: A high-efficiency furnace has an AFUE rating of 90% or greater.) Professional furnace cleaning is the fix for most of them.
1. Clogged Or Leaking Condensate Line (High-Efficiency Furnace)
Condensation (vapor changing to water) is a part of a high-efficiency furnace’s heat exchange process. This type of furnace is equipped with a condensate line and drain trap, which normally direct the condensation away from your heating system to a drain close by. Occasionally your condensate line can either clog up or develop tiny holes. If that happens, liquid could end up on the floor.
2. Condensate Pump Malfunction (High-Efficiency Furnace)
You need a pump to move the condensed liquid through your furnace’s condensate line and drain trap. When your condensate pump begins to malfunction or fails altogether, a puddle on the floor is often the result. A common problem with an easy fix – a new condensate pump can be had for under $100.
3. Metal Vent Pipe Sizing Problem (Conventional Furnace)
Conventional furnaces (AFUE lower than 90) are equipped with a metal vent pipe – unlike high-efficiency types, whose vent pipes are made of PVC. The vent pipe is designed to exhaust hot gases that are byproducts of the combustion process.
However, occasionally this pipe is incorrectly sized. As a result, the gases are trapped inside the exhaust vent until they cool, forming a liquid that leaks out of your furnace.
4. Other Sources (Both Furnace Types)
It’s possible that the “furnace leakage” is not caused by your furnace at all. One other possible source is a clogged or leaky whole-house humidifier, which may drip water that appears to come from the furnace.
Final Tip: Change Your Filter
After your furnace leak has been repaired, here’s one more important step. Since your furnace filter got wet from the leak, it will impede the airflow and prevent your furnace from functioning optimally. So clean or replace the air filter now, no matter how long it’s been since you last replaced it.
We’ll Troubleshoot The Leak And Get Your Furnace Working Fine
Call Knight to fix your furnace leak, in any furnace make or model. We’ll quickly troubleshoot the source and get your heat back on.
And consider our heating protection plan — to keep the heat on throughout the winter.