The house felt cooler, but the cardboard box beside the indoor equipment had a wet corner. I moved it and found the beginning of a puddle. Our air conditioner was doing something with water that I had never thought about until it reached a box of books.
I kept clear of water near electrical parts and stopped cooling through a dry, safely accessible control. I called for advice before trying to trace tubing behind the cabinet.
Cooling also removes moisture
Moisture condenses at the cold indoor coil and should drain through the installed condensate system. Carrier identifies blocked drains, damaged pans and melting ice among causes of indoor leaks. A wet floor does not identify which one is responsible.
I described the location, whether the leak appeared only during cooling and whether I had noticed ice or weak airflow. I took a wide photograph from a safe position so the technician could see the surrounding equipment.
I did not pour chemicals into an unidentified pipe or bypass a float switch. A safety switch stopping operation is information about a problem, not an inconvenience to defeat.
Make drainage part of maintenance
The repair visit was a chance to learn which parts of the drain were intended for homeowner inspection and which needed professional service. I asked where water should normally go and what warning signs to watch for.
We kept belongings away from the equipment and made the drain route easier to inspect. A tray of towels would not have been a satisfactory long-term arrangement.
Most of the books dried without damage. The useful change was that condensate stopped being invisible to me. Cooling could still remove moisture from the air; it simply needed to deliver that moisture somewhere other than our storage boxes.
