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Glad You Asked for July 21, 2009
Published July 21, 2009
QUESTION: The recent dry weather has made me wonder why one building practice has changed over the years. We live in a home that was built in the late 1950s, and at that time, they drained the water condensed by the air conditioner outside by the slab.
In today’s homes, the air conditioner drain is tied into the sewer system. This seems like a double waste — we don’t use free water to help protect our foundations, and having this water in the sewer system must increase the load for the wastewater treatment facility.
Why was the change made?
ANSWER: The Southern Building Code Congress International code in 1979 required the condensate drains because of the various contaminants to be drained into the sanitary sewage system. While this might seem like a waste of water to some, it is filled with mold spores, fungi and many other allergens, as well as particles that gather on the evaporative coils in the air handler that are removed in part by the condensate draining.
The International code also requires evaporative condensate water to drain to the sanitary sewer system. At some of the older facilities that were grandfathered, you will find a mess of algae and other insects that will thrive on this water, which creates a nuisance and requires the owner to clean up the mess. Most have transferred the condensate drains to the sanitary sewer system.
Matt Houston,
Lake Jackson building official
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