Window air conditioners are one of the easiest ways that you can get cold air into a room. Provided you have a window to install it in.
But there are things about window air conditioners that are not exactly well known and people don’t realize are a thing till they actually get it home and installed.
For instance, you may have not realized that the air conditioner that you put in your window was going to be a continuous dripping faucet.
Why do window air conditioners drip water?
Window air conditioners actually dehumidify the air as they are cooling it off.
One of the functions of a refrigerated air conditioner like a window AC is to pull the moisture out of the air as a means of making the room cold.
The moisture that is pulled out of the air is condensed, turning it into water that exits through a drain hole in the bottom of the air conditioner.
This is a perfectly normal function of a window air conditioner. The amount of water that a window air conditioner drips is directly related to the relative humidity.
If you were running a window AC when the humidity is high, you will notice that the amount of water draining out of your AC is much higher than usual.
Likewise, if the weather is dry, you may not even notice any water draining out of your air conditioner.
When is it not normal for a window air conditioner to drip?
If the window air conditioner in question is dripping water but it is not dripping out through the drain hole, the drain hole is probably clogged, making the water find a different exit.
If you find your AC is dripping water but it is not coming out of the drain hole, you’ll probably find that the bottom of the AC is filling up with water.
This can be an issue if the air conditioner is not tilted because the water can begin to leak through the bottom into the room side of the air conditioner instead of the outdoor section of the air conditioner.
So keeping the drainage hole cleaned out on the window air conditioner is important and can save you from having any type of damage to your walls if the leak becomes big enough.
Another issue that can result in water dripping from window AC in an area other than the drainage hole is a window AC that is not properly leveled and tilted slightly back to the rear.
To give you a better idea of what I’m talking about, think about it this way.
If I were to pour water into a glass that is sitting on an uneven table. The water would set heavier on the inside of the glass that is lower than the other side because of the uneven table.
It’s the same thing with the window AC, if it is not level horizontally, then the condensed water will want to gather on the side of the air conditioner that is lower than the other side.
Which means that it will not drain evenly and may cause water to drip out of the side instead of the drainage hole.
Summary
Why do window air conditioners drip water?
“Window air conditioners dehumidify the air as they cool the air down.
In the dehumidification process, the humidity in the air is condensed and turned to water.
The water exits the window air conditioner through a drainage hole on the bottom of the AC.”
The water that exits the AC is the continuous dripping that window air conditioners are known for especially in humid weather.
