AC Leak Water Damage Cleanup in Palm Beach & Broward

In South Florida's humidity, your AC pulls a lot of water out of the air every day. It's supposed to run down a drain line. When that line clogs or the pan under the unit rusts through, the water goes into the closet, the ceiling or the floor instead, often for days before anyone notices.

Why AC units leak

• Clogged condensate drain lines. Algae and sludge build up in the line, the water backs up and the drain pan overflows.
• Rusted or cracked drain pans, common in older air handlers
• Failed condensate pumps on units that can't drain by gravity
• Frozen evaporator coils that thaw and overflow the pan
• Drain lines that came loose or were never connected properly
• Missing or failed float switches that should shut the AC off when the pan fills

Where the water ends up

AC closets

Air handlers in hallway or utility closets leak onto the floor and wick into baseboards, the walls around the closet and the flooring in the next room.

Attic air handlers and ceilings

A unit in the attic leaks into the insulation and then the ceiling below. By the time a stain shows up, the insulation above it is usually soaked. Stay out from under a sagging ceiling. See ceiling leaks.

Condos and apartments

An AC closet leak in one unit can run down into the unit below. Tell your neighbor and your association or building manager right away. See leaks from the unit upstairs.

What to do right now

• Turn the AC off at the thermostat. That stops new water from forming.
• If water is near the air handler's wiring or an outlet, shut off power to the unit at the breaker, but only from a dry spot
• Soak up standing water and move rugs, boxes and anything else off the wet floor
• Take photos of the leak and the damage before anything is moved
• Call an HVAC technician to clear the drain or fix the unit, and call us for the water damage

Cleanup, not AC repair

We handle the water damage: extracting the water, measuring how far it spread, removing wet insulation, baseboards and carpet pad that can't be saved, drying the walls, ceilings and floors, and checking for mold. Clearing the drain line or repairing the AC is an HVAC technician's job. If the cause isn't fixed yet, we'll tell you before we start so the leak doesn't come right back.

Mold after an AC leak

AC closets are dark, warm and often damp, so the drywall behind and under an air handler is a common place for mold to start after a leak. A musty smell when the AC runs is a warning sign.

If mold has started, Florida's licensing rules apply to areas larger than 10 square feet. See mold remediation for how contained removal works, or mold assessment if you need to find out what's there first. Florida law doesn't let one company do both on the same property within 12 months.

Homes, condos and businesses

We handle AC leaks in single-family homes, condos and townhomes, and in offices, stores, restaurants and medical offices. In condo buildings we can work with the association or manager so every affected unit gets dried. For businesses, see commercial water damage and mold restoration.

Part of our water damage restoration service.