AC Leak Water Damage Cleanup in San Antonio

Your air conditioner is a dehumidifier as much as a cooler. As warm, humid air crosses the cold coil, moisture condenses out of it and drips into a drain pan, then runs out through a condensate line to the outside or a drain. In a San Antonio summer, that's a steady stream of water, and here the AC runs most of the year.

The trouble starts when that water can't leave. Common culprits:

• A condensate line clogged with algae, sludge or debris
• A rusted or cracked drain pan
• A disconnected or sagging drain line
• Ice on the coil that melts faster than the pan can drain it

The ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist says it plainly: a plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels. The EPA advises keeping air conditioning drip pans clean and the drain lines unobstructed and flowing properly. That's HVAC maintenance, and it belongs to your HVAC technician.

Plenty of Texas homes put the air handler in the attic. It saves floor space, and it means an overflowing pan drains straight onto the insulation and the back of your ceiling drywall. You find out when a stain shows up in the hallway or a bedroom, often right below the unit or near a supply vent.

By then the insulation has been holding water against the drywall for a while. Wet blown-in insulation gets heavy and compressed, the drywall softens, and a sagging spot can follow. If you see the ceiling bowing, keep everyone out from under it. Our ceiling water damage page covers that safety side in more detail.

Attics are hot and they don't breathe much, so moisture up there tends to linger. If a slow drip has been going long enough to start mold on the decking or framing, attic mold removal takes over that part of the job.

Not every system is in the attic. An air handler in a hall closet or the garage leaks down instead, and the water goes where water goes: under the closet door, into hallway carpet and pad, under baseboards and across hardwood floors that don't forgive much. A unit on a platform in the garage can soak the drywall behind it and the stuff stored nearby.

These leaks are easy to miss because the closet door stays shut. A musty smell, a damp carpet edge in the hall or a swollen baseboard is often the first clue.

Two different jobs, two different trades. Texas Damage Response doesn't service AC units, clear drain lines or replace pans. An HVAC technician does that.

Until they get there, turn the system off at the thermostat so the coil stops making water, and set out a bucket or towels if you can reach the drip safely. Take pictures before anything gets cleaned up. Then call us, 24/7. Our crew comes ready to work on the first visit:

1. Moisture readings in the ceiling, walls and floor around the leak, including the attic insulation when the unit is up there
2. Water extraction for anything standing on the floor or soaked into carpet
3. Removing wet insulation and drywall that can't be dried in place
4. Structural drying with monitoring until the framing and subfloor read dry
5. The rebuild: ceiling drywall, texture, paint, baseboards and flooring, through our reconstruction team

Speed still matters with a "small" AC leak. The EPA says to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, and a drip in an attic can be going for days before anyone sees a mark.

A lot of AC leaks are slow, and that matters for a claim. The Texas Department of Insurance says most homeowner and renters policies cover sudden and accidental water damage, and that policies usually won't cover damage from gradual leaks. Whether your leak counts as one or the other is your carrier's decision.

We help document the damage and work with your insurance carrier throughout the restoration process. We don't interpret policies or negotiate with your carrier, and your deductible is yours. Read more on our insurance claims page. We handle AC leak water damage in San Antonio, Schertz, Boerne and Austin, among other towns.