Derek Cole answers homeowner HVAC questions: water dripping from your ceiling usually means the AC unit is out of level or has a clogged drain line. He recommends checking the level, clearing the drain, and installing a float switch to prevent damage. Regular maintenance catches settlement issues common in the Sandhills.
Questions this video answers
The leak is usually due to the unit being out of level, which prevents proper condensate drainage, or a clogged condensate drain line that backs water into the unit. Solutions include re‑leveling the unit, clearing the drain line, and installing a “ceiling saver” float switch that shuts the system off if water reaches a secondary pan. A professional inspection and a regular maintenance program are recommended.
A fishy or wet‑insulation odor typically indicates moisture in the ductwork, often from water intrusion under the house, attic leaks, or ground‑up water. The wet insulation emits the odor, and the duct system should be inspected and dried.
Not always. A steady humming is normal compressor operation. However, banging, clanging, or rock‑like sounds suggest a loose compressor or internal failure. Higher‑SEER models include sound blankets for quieter operation, and placement away from bedrooms can reduce disturbance. Any abnormal noise should be inspected.
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You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. We're good.
Yeah, we're good.
Hey, Derrick Cole. This is episode 40 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home energy and maintenance questions And we are 40 episodes in. Unbelievable. Hey, we got our friend Ken Walls there doing a cameo on Meerkat.
You're shooting right now? Are you shooting live? Are you shooting live? What's going on, man?
What's going on?
Dude, I am so— I'm fired up, man. I'm fired up after my trip to Miami. OMG, it was unbelievable. So get your energy up, man. Let's go, let's go. Rock and roll that stuff, man. Let's do it.
All right. So yes, thank you, Ken, that, and we are going to roll on with episode 40. So first question, are you ready?
Yeah, I'm ready.
Are you all ready? Oh, okay, let's go.
They're ready. Okay, my AC is leaking water into my bedroom. Why is this happening?
AC leaking water in the bedroom, uh, it's a couple things that could be happening. Uh, the unit could be off of the level It needs to drain properly. If that is not the case, then you have a drainage problem from your drain line being clogged and then the water is backing up into your unit, which is then leaking into your bedroom. So you could have a few issues here, but the main problem is you have water, which is a problem. So the solution is to get us out there or get somebody out there to check it out for you and to either re-level the unit check the drain line because something is not level or clogged, causing it to back up into your system, which would then leak on your ceiling. Now, what we do when we install a new system is put what we call a ceiling saver in the drain pan. So the drain pan, or if the drain line does get clogged and backs up, the water gets into the secondary drain pan The float switch or ceiling saver then goes off and detects that water in there, shuts off the unit, and you give your guys a call. We come out there and check it. Hey, we got a drain problem. That way, before it gets to your ceiling, you don't have that issue of sheetrock damage, water coming in your bedroom. Now, that is the best way to handle that, but I would get it checked out by a professional because there is an issue happening with either the clog or the unit being off level. And the unit being off level is possible because you just need to remember that we are always turning on planet Earth. So if we install a new unit 3 years ago and today we go and check it, it could be off a level because It is changing, it is sinking, it is moving. We are moving on this planet every single day, at least I think so. That's what they told me in science class. Anyway, especially in our area, the Sandhills, if you build a new home, that is liable to sink, settle over time, and things will actually start moving, shifting So that's why it's a good idea to have a maintenance program because twice a year, come out there, evaluate the system, check the level, check the drain. That way you can catch problems before they start leaking in your bedroom. That make sense? How was that answer? We are streaming on Meerkat again. See? Meerkat getting all access.
When I turn on my AC unit, there is a fishy smell in the bedroom and in the kitchen. Do you have any idea as to what might be causing that?
Yes, the kitchen is very— the kitchen and bathroom really are two places where water is very easily, very easily can get into the ductwork. Depending on where that run is coming out of your home at, that is a possibility. Something got some moisture either from under the house, in the house, something drained or water spilled into that system. Something happened to cause this to happen. Anytime you get a wet insulation smell, it's kind of a fishy odor. Very distinct, not pleasant, but usually it's wet insulation. Now, that could happen under the house in the attic, something could overflow into the run, something could be coming out from the ground up, but something is wet, something needs to be checked out so that is not a good problem to have.
Is noise coming from my unit always a sign that there is a problem?
It depends on the noise. Some, some units are noisy and loud and some are quieter. The higher-end product is quieter than the low-end product, so it really depends on the noise you're talking about. If it's just a running noise, then that is normal. If it's a kind of a banging, like rocks happening kind of noise, like rocks going around, that's not a good noise. That's not good at all. That means that something is loose in that compressor, which again is the heart of the system. So if something gets loose in that compressor, you're going to have a failure pretty soon, and that'll sound like rocks or kind of a loud banging, clinging kind of noise in that unit. That's not good. So it really depends on what kind of system you have as to what kind of sound it's going to make. So like I said, the higher-end product, 16, 18 sear those systems are quieter because they come with what they call sound blankets around the compressor to quiet it down a little bit. Now the 13, 14 SEER minimum basic packages, they don't have that. So that's why you pay more for the efficiency and for it is a quieter unit than the basic unit. So go back to it really depends on the noise, you know, is it a humming, constant noise, that's the compressor. Is it a rock banging, the unit's falling apart noise? Not good. Yeah, shimmy shaking off the— I've heard that before, the unit shaking off of the pad. I'm kind of curious as to how far the unit will go because it is connected. So Yeah, so I would get that checked out as well. The issue, if we're involved in new construction, for some reason they really like putting the units outside the bedroom, which is probably not the best idea because when it comes on at night, if you have a basic product, that will wake you up every time it comes on. So when we're involved in new construction, we try to get it away from the bedroom That way you can sleep in comfort and no noise. So again, it just, it depends on the noise you're describing. All right, is that it? That's it. That is episode 40. That's like record timing. How long have we been on?
Almost 8 minutes.
8 minutes? Oh my goodness, the last show was 13 minutes, so 8 minutes is good. Meerkat is here. We have A few comments, we got 28 people have come in and out of the stream, so that is good. So check out episode 40 and 39, 38, 37, 36, 35. They're all good. But no, seriously, a lot of people have been tagging other people on the videos and on the Facebook post, article post on Facebook. So thank you for that. Keep sharing the material, get everybody involved. Again, this is free information to help you on energy savings and energy for your unit, for your home. We're doing it all here. So the long articles, the LinkedIn articles, the videos, all this is to help you. So the more you share, the more you care. All right, we'll see you next time.
