Shared Drainage Line Installations – what you need to know
Shared drainage line installations (poorly installed and/or insufficiently maintained) are one of the most notorious root causes of recurring AC dripping issues. Understanding why shared drainage line installations are often problematic boils down to a simple phenomenon – anywhere within a drainage line where condensate can stagnate will result in the development of algae – and it is this algae development that ultimately leads to drainage line blockages. The further the condensate has to travel horizontally, and the more ACs that converge onto a single shared drainage line, the greater the possibility of recurring blockages.
It’s relatively straightforward to identify whether or not your residence has a shared drainage line installation – several visual indicators are listed below:
- The residence has a hallway that connects the living/dining area to the bedrooms, and there’s a false ceiling above the hallway
- The ACs are predominantly installed on internal walls (i.e.: directly behind the ACs is another room, or bathroom, or hallway)
- The ACs are predominantly installed directly above doorways, or somewhere nearby on a wall that has a doorway along its length
- There are two ACs in the living/dining area, on the same wall, at the same height as one another, and typically appear to be symmetrical
Typical symptoms that often occur with shared drainage line installations:
- After one AC begins dripping, within a matter of hours or days (or a week or two at best) one or more other ACs begin dripping too
- One or more ACs can be running for quite some time, and all appears to have returned to normal – but then the dripping starts again
- An AC starts dripping even though it hasn’t been turned on – for example, the living room AC is on, but the dining room AC starts dripping (or vice versa)
- Not a year goes by without at least one of the ACs dripping, and there’s one AC in particular that appears to be more prone to blockages
It can be challenging to imagine how a shared drainage line system is installed solely via written descriptions, and as a picture can speak a thousand words, the following diagrams provide more detailed insight into a typical 4-room apartment at The Visionary, Tung Chung. The below diagrams were extracted and annotated from 2D & 3D Floor Plans that can be viewed in full simply by clicking anywhere on the diagrams, or by clicking here
You may also find it useful to walk through the apartment with the aid of a 360° Tour – simply click the link to immerse yourself in a Virtual Tour of the apartment.
As can be seen in the above diagrams, the ACs of the Living Room, Dining Room and 1st Bedroom all converge onto a main drainage line that runs the entire length of the false ceiling above the hallway. The remaining 3 bedrooms also converge onto the same drainage line, and all of the condensate from all of the ACs then converges onto a single drainage line which then exits to the main gray-water plumbing – typically via the gray-water piping of one of the bathrooms or connects directly to centralized gray-water plumbing within a pipe well or plumbing chase. The worst-case scenario with single drainage line installations occurs when the single drainage line itself becomes blocked – this renders all ACs unusable until the blockage is cleared, as using any of the ACs will result in dripping from one or more ACs.
If single drainage line installations are often problematic, then why is it so common in modern residential developments?
The answer is simple – aesthetics and cost efficiency.
Aesthetics: Older residential developments typically have a great deal of external plumbing running down the sides of the buildings. These pipes are a combination of gray-water pipes, sewage pipes, freshwater pipes, and flushing water pipes. External plumbing is considered to be quite unsightly, as well as being costly to access when problems arise, as scaffolding will often be required to resolve issues. Thus external plumbing in modern developments is kept to a minimum and typically located inside a pipe well, or has been completely eradicated in favor of centralized plumbing which is more readily accessible via plumbing chases within the walls of the building. In doing so, the building façades are devoid of unsightly plumbing.
Cost efficiency: Centralized plumbing results in considerably less common piping for buildings overall (which is advantageous for building management companies as they are responsible for less plumbing) and thus construction costs are significantly lower for materials as well as for labor. Furthermore, as all of the AC condensate drainage lines are now entirely within the premises of the residence, the onus is on the tenant and/or owner for preventative maintenance, repairs, and cleaning. Furthermore, a substantial reduction in the quantity of gray-water piping needed to pass through external walls of the building minimizes the chances of water ingress via potential weak spots and/or inadequate waterproofing seals surrounding the pipes
Ramifications & Recommendations:
The most typical symptom that is experienced by those residing in a residence with a shared drainage line installation is the recurrence of one or more dripping ACs – this issue can occur frequently several times per year, or only once per year.
The frequency of blockage(s), and the location(s) of the blockage(s) within the drainage line system correlates with a plethora of factors which have an impact on the development and the accumulation of algae within the AC drainage pans and the drainage lines. These include, but are not limited to:
- Properly installed ACs: An improperly installed AC results in more rapid development of algae within the AC drainage pan, subsequently propagating within the short (and narrower) length of drainage line that connects the drainage pan of the AC, and then beyond to the larger diameter PVC pipe of the shared drainage line system.
- Whilst drainage lines that have a slight fall over their entire length (even just a 1-degree fall makes a difference) is obviously ideal for more rapid drainage of condensate, in reality this is seldom practical (and seldom possible) in a residential setting – so the best-case scenario would be perfectly horizontal drainage lines throughout the entirety of their lengths. However, what we commonly find with shared drainage line installations are one or more problematic areas where condensate is pooling. During periods of disuse (even just a few hours) these pools of condensate are laden with bacteria which accelerates the development of algae.
- What we typically find is the case for clients that have been plagued with particularly frequent drainage line blockages are specific locations along the drainage line where a large volume of condensate is constantly trapped. Whilst it’s often possible to visually identify these root causes via access panels that are already installed, it is still possible to isolate the location(s) of the root cause(s) by assessing the symptoms that the client can describe, as well as gathering relevant data by asking the client the right questions – such as their annual cleaning schedule, the typical usage patterns for each AC, how previous blockages have been resolved by other companies prior to AirCare being engaged to inspect, etc.
AirCare Solutions approaches problematic shared drainage line issues in much the same way that a medical specialist will assess a patient’s medical history and the patient’s symptoms in order to diagnose the root cause of chronic health problems. Furthermore, once an accurate diagnosis has been made, our personnel can then provide recommendations for practical and cost-effective solutions.
After we have identified the root causes, our personnel will then provide our clients with clear, concise, and easy to understand explanations – along with irrefutable supporting evidence including photos and/or videos. This supporting information is particularly useful for tenants who are renting – because frequent drainage line blockages that are a direct consequence of installation issues should not be a cost that a tenant should have to bear provided that they are deep cleaning their ACs annually, nor should the tenant bear the costs of the solutions that are recommended.
It is also important to note that there’s a correct and methodical process that should be followed in order to resolve shared drainage line blockages properly – if not, another blockage is highly likely to return in a matter of months, or even within weeks.
Unfortunately, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to resolving problematic shared drainage line issues – the most appropriate solution(s) should be arrived at via a comprehensive and methodical inspection/assessment process in order to determine the best course of action. In many cases, root causes can be resolved on the spot with some minor modifications to the drainage line(s). Other solutions can be as simple as arranging annual cleaning at the right time of year whereas previously the client has been on an incorrect cleaning regime, or the implementation of a simple self-administered preventative maintenance routine, or the installation of one or more condensate pumps in order to resolve drainage line installation issues that are more complex.
AirCare Solutions personnel have identified and resolved thousands of shared drainage line issues that had been plaguing clients for years prior to hearing about us. But don’t just take our word for it – there are several reviews and recommendations on Google and Facebook where our clients have expressed their gratitude.
Lastly, after we’ve solved what had been a mystery up until our diagnosis, our clients often ask the million-dollar question “Why hasn’t any other service provider we’ve utilized in the past ever explained this to us? They always tell us that we just need to clean all of our ACs more often!” There’s really only two possibilities that provide clarity, neither of which are acceptable in our opinion: (1) Their personnel simply haven’t been trained well enough, or, (2) They are not inclined to provide clarity, and not inclined to provide a cost-effective solution – as they see this as an opportunity to take advantage – the more frequently the issue recurs, they hope that you’ll book them again for cleaning.
Below are a few links to videos providing further insights into shared drainage line installations that we’ve come across – these provide further visual clarity on some of the issues that have been described in this article. Spoiler alert – algae bears a close resemblance to the phlegm of someone with a horrendous cold, so please beware if you have a sensitive stomach!
Shared Drainage Line Example #1 – Corinthia By The Sea, Tseung Kwan O
Shared Drainage Line Example #2 – H. Bonaire, Ap Lei Chau
Here’s what’s growing inside each and every AC condensate drainage line over time…spoiler alert this is totally gross:
The amount of algae that develops, and the speed at which it develops, constricts, and eventually completely blocks a drainage line correlates with a multitude of factors, including but not limited to:
- How level the drainage pipe(s) is(are)
- Diameter of the drainage pipes, and consistency of diameter
- Flow rate of the condensate
- Frequency of deep cleaning, and timing (in the year)
- Temperature within the drainage pipes
- Volume of condensate remaining as a result of surface tension
- Volume of condensate remaining as a result of deeper pooling
- Total number of ACs contributing condensate
- Multitude of environmental factors such as air quality, dust, pet hair, use of essential oils and or diffusers, humidity, open kitchens, etc.
- How frequently the filters of the ACs are cleaned
- Whether the ACs are installed properly or poorly
- Height of AC relative to the conduit for the drainage line
AirCare Solutions personnel have earned an outstanding reputation for troubleshooting and problem solving – our expertise with resolving drainage line issues is unmatched, and our clients frequently inform us that the issues they have been suffering from (often for several years) have baffled every other contractor that has inspected their AC systems and/or the client has been advised that extensive remodeling works are required in order to fix the issues.
If you suspect that you are suffering from frequently dripping ACs possibly related to shared drainage line issues, but are not quite sure as your home doesn’t quite fit in with the examples we’ve provided – you may simply record a video of your AC layout (we don’t need to see your home – we primarily need to see the ACs, walls, ceilings, bathrooms and kitchen) and send it to us via WhatsApp here +85297498899
