AC leaking water in Casselberry, Florida
Water around an air handler is almost always condensate that cannot get out: a blocked drain line, a rusted or misaligned drain pan, a disconnected drain fitting, or a coil that froze and then thawed faster than the pan could drain. It is the most common Florida service call there is.
What is most likely wrong
| # | Cause | How common | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blocked condensate drain line | Very common | Biological growth in a line that runs wet for nine months. Water backs up into the pan. |
| 2 | Coil froze, then thawed | Very common | A sudden large volume of water that overwhelms the pan. Deal with the freezing, not the water. |
| 3 | Rusted, cracked or misaligned drain pan | Common | Common in air handlers over fifteen years old. |
| 4 | Disconnected or badly sloped drain line | Common | Often traceable to a previous changeout or attic work. |
| 5 | Failed or bypassed float switch | Common | The switch that should have stopped this did not, or somebody jumped it out. |
| 6 | Missing or degraded insulation on the suction line | Less common | Condensation dripping along the copper rather than from the pan. |
| 7 | Air handler not level | Less common | Water runs to the wrong corner of the pan. Usually a bad installation. |
What you can safely check yourself
- Turn the system off if water is entering a ceiling or wall. That stops the source immediately.
- Find the secondary drain pan under the air handler and the secondary drain outlet outside — often above a window. Water dripping there is the system telling you the primary line is blocked.
- Look for a wet-switch or float switch and check whether it has tripped. Never bypass one.
- Clear the visible end of the condensate line of debris. Wet/dry vacuuming the outdoor end clears many blockages.
- Check the suction line insulation is intact along its run.
- Do not pour bleach into a drain line on a system with a metal drain pan.
Refrigerant, capacitors and the inside of an electrical panel are not homeowner jobs.
A run capacitor holds a lethal voltage after the disconnect is pulled. Refrigerant handling requires EPA Section 608 certification. And in Florida the work itself is regulated: an air conditioning contractor licensed under Chapter 489 may replace, disconnect and reconnect the power wiring at the dedicated disconnect, and repair or replace disconnects, breakers and fuses on dedicated HVAC circuits — s. 489.105(3). That scope exists precisely because this work is not general-purpose electrical work.
Verify any Florida licence, including ours, at the DBPR licensee search.
Why this happens in this housing stock
This is the most Florida of all air conditioning faults, and it is a straightforward consequence of the climate. Sustained dewpoints in the seventies through a cooling season that realistically runs March to November mean the evaporator coil is condensing water for most of the year. Casselberry has more than thirty lakes and ponds inside 6.97 square miles of land, so ground-level humidity is a constant rather than a summer event.
Drain line clearing is a researched $80–$250 and should be part of any maintenance visit here, not an emergency call. What a Casselberry plan should include.
The age factor: in a city whose median home dates from 1977, plenty of air handlers sit in garages, hall closets and attics with drain lines run four decades ago. If yours blocks every year, the fall on the line is the problem and repeated clearing is treating the symptom.
Seminole County Property Appraiser CAMA extract (Parcels.csv, dated 2026-09-05). Improved residential parcels — single-family, townhome and condominium — in city tax district C1, City of Casselberry. n = 8,563.
What the fix typically costs
| Job | Researched range | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Drain line clearing | $80–$250 | The routine call. |
| Diagnostic visit | $75–$150 | Usually credited. |
| Evaporator coil | $700–$2,500+ | If the pan is rusted through, the coil above it is usually the same age. |
These are researched market ranges, not our prices and not a quote.
The dollar figures below come from published third-party cost guides — named and linked at the foot of the page — and from the City of Casselberry’s own published permit fee. They are here so you can tell whether a quote you have been handed is in the ordinary range for this work. They are not an offer, and no two houses in Casselberry cost the same to do.
Water coming through the ceiling?
Turn the system off at the thermostat first. That stops it immediately, and it costs nothing.
Phone: (689) 308-3675 · Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Where the facts on this page come from
Every figure above is either a primary-source document or a named third-party cost guide. All of it was checked in September 2026. Fee schedules, rebate amounts and market prices change without notice — if you are about to spend money on one of these numbers, open the source and check it.