Drain the condensate from your window air conditioner. Your window air conditioning unit creates condensation that accumulates as water inside the exterior chassis. When too much water collects, it begins to drain from the bottom or side of the unit. This can cause rust stains on stucco or on concrete beneath the air conditioner. It could also create standing water along the ground beneath the unit that becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes along with other insects. You can drain the water away from the window unit and capture it for other uses or route it through your garden to help with summer irrigation. Unplug your window air conditioner from the wall outlet. Stand outside and face one side of the window air conditioner’s chassis. Place a spirit level on the top of the air conditioner’s chassis. Position the level where one end points toward your home’s exterior wall and the opposite end points toward the rear of the air conditioner’s chassis. Find the two vertical lines marked on the exterior of the horizontal liquid-filled vial and the bubble inside it.

Approximately one-quarter of the bubble should rest just outside the left vertical line on the vial when standing with your left side toward the exterior wall; it should rest just outside the right vertical line when standing with your right side toward the exterior wall. Adjust the air conditioner support bracket to allow the chassis to tilt down slightly if the spirit level's bubble sits evenly between the two vertical lines. Insert the short drain pipe provided with your window air conditioner into the drain hole on the bottom or the back of your unit. Some units may have a permanent drain pipe attached to the chassis. Cut a length of old garden hose or a piece of washer hose. The length of the hose depends on the location of the air conditioner’s drain pipe, how close it is to your exterior wall and how far down the exterior wall you want the hose to hang. Insert a screw-band hose clamp over one end of the length of hose. Slip the hose over the drain pipe. Tighten the screw-band clamp with a screwdriver to secure the hose to the window air conditioner’s drain pipe.

This will serve as your drain hose. Attach the hose to your exterior wall with tube straps. Use wood or masonry screws to hold the clamps to the exterior wall. Slip the screw-band hose clamp provided with a male hose-end mender over the opposite end of the hose you attached to the air conditioner. Insert the male hose-end mender into the hose and tighten the clamp to secure it to the hose. This gives you the opportunity to attach a garden hose to the end of the drain hose. Place a 5-gallon bucket near the end of your drain hose. Attach a short garden hose to the drain hose, and place the other end of the garden hose in the bucket. Collect the water created by the air conditioning condensation in the 5-gallon bucket. Depending on the size of your air conditioner and the current weather conditions, it could take two days to a week to fill the bucket. If you have animals, consider cutting a hole in a 5-gallon bucket lid with a utility knife and inserting the hose through the lid. This keeps your pets from drinking the collected condensate.

Pour the water down the nearest drain, or use the water you collected to water your nonfood plants. Attach a soaker hose to the drain hose as another option. Route the soaker hose around plants and shrubs. The soaker hose will release small amounts of water along the entire hose to keep your plants and shrubs watered without the threat of standing water. best central ac units consumer reportsConnect a longer garden hose to the drain hose as a final option. window ac unit garagePlace the opposite end of the hose over an outside floor drain to route the water from the air conditioning directly to the sewer line. air conditioning units for heavy equipmentThings You Will Need Spirit level Old garden hose or washer hose Screw-band hose clamp Screwdriver Tube straps Wood or masonry screws Male hose-end mender 5-gallon bucket Short garden hose 5-gallon bucket lid Utility knife Soaker hose Long garden hose References The Alliance for Water Efficiency: Condensate Water IntroductionInspectAPedia: Condensate Handling - A/C System Condensate Drains, Condensate Piping, Condensate Pumps - Inspection & Defect ReportingLG

Question: We have a window A/C unit in our kitchen window. We live in an apartment and that is the only window it fits in. The problem is the outside of the A/C unit hangs out onto our balcony and drips water constantly. We use a bucket to catch the water and have to empty it 4 times a day. I have nice cloth balcony chairs for our balcony that will be going where the water is dripping. I need a permanent solution that will stop the dripping onto the balcony and maybe divert it elsewhere. Does something exist to fix my problem? I do not want my new balcony furniture to get soaked.How To Divert Water Dripping From Back Of Window AC UnitSolution 1 – Use a water hose that connects to the drip hole. You could use a PVC plastic bushing (if the A/C drip hole is threaded) then attach the water hose and divert the water wherever you wish. Attach the hose horizontally against the top portion of the wall and hold it in place with wire ties. Maybe make a small garden in the corner of your balcony and let the water divert to that area.

Solution 2 – Get some PVC pipe, cut it to the sizes needed and connect it to the A/C condensation hole and build a water diversion route with the PVC tubing, You could then divert the water wherever you wish. You could also paint the PVC to the same color of your apartment or home and it blend in more and not be an eye sore.Solution 3 – You could get a roll of cotton rope that is long enough to reach over the side of the balcony. Find the hole that is leaking the water and stuff one end of the rope inside (or use a knot if it’s exposed). Then allow the cotton rope to “wick” the water away. If this does not work properly, use the other end of the rope and diagonally go from the A/C unit to a corner of the balcony to divert the water.Solution 4 – A small funnel placed right below the dripping hole with tubing would work also. Attach the small funnel under the A/C condensation hole and add small flexible tubing onto the small end of the funnel and divert the water away that way.

Solution 5 – You could also buy a normal gutter, cut it to the size you need and run it under the hole dripping the water and past the balcony. Attach it to the wall using clips or gutter mounts. Drill a hole in the part of the gutter you want the water to come out.Facts and things to know about your window mounted A/C unit:Within a window mounted A/C, the condensate (water) will fill the bottom pan. The water in the bottom pan of the unit is caught by the cooling fan and then moved over the hot condensing coils which is supposed to evaporate the water instead of letting it drain. This is a design function and increases the overall efficiency of the unit by pulling heat off the coils.AC window unit parts diagram-Water that does not evaporate or drain (standing water) can become a place for mold, mosquitoes or bacteria so you will have to put an inhibitor tablet into the unit several times per season to prevent this. -Standing water will corrode the metal, the fan blades, and the condensing coils.