What is it? … Home Edition #1

Ever seen this little pipe sticking out from under your soffit and wondered what it was?

This is your secondary AC drain.

It’s the backup drain in case your primary AC drain gets clogged.

If your primary AC drain becomes clogged, the condensation from your AC unit is able to flow outside through the secondary drain.  This prevents the drain pan from overflowing, which could cause water damage inside your house.

So, why do they put the secondary drain
in such an obvious area outside the house?

Because if water is coming out of it, you need to know!

If any water is dripping out of the secondary drain, it provides a warning that there’s a problem with the primary drain.  If the secondary drain had been placed in a hidden location, you might not know there was a problem to fix!