Don't let bugs crawl up your pipe!

A simple modification keeps the water flowing...

Everyone…

Here’s a trick I figured out this spring when I turned on the mini-split air conditioner that I installed in my living room last year. No, it’s not electrically related, but it could save you a lot of water damage.

Saving condensate

I came up with a simple way to capture the condensate from my Ductless Aire mini-split A/C that worked great. It’s a 50-gallon rain barrel up on blocks positioned so that the condensate pipe drips into it rather than on the ground. I positioned it high enough off the ground so that a watering can fits under the bottom faucet. Depending on the temperature and humidity in Maryland this setup gathers 5 or more gallons of pure water every day. We use it for watering plants on the back deck, which works out great!

Trouble in paradise

However, when I turned on the mini-split this spring we were in for a surprise! The condensate water started backing up inside and dripping on our living room floor. Since I was pretty sure that gravity hadn’t stopped working I blew in the end of the tube and found that it was blocked by some sort of insect nest, mud daubers I suspect.

Lint trap to the rescue

I was looking for some way to let the water out of the pipe while keeping bugs from getting in, when my wife suggested using a washing machine lint trap. This is just a stainless steel screen shaped like a sock with a zip tie for installing it on your clothes washer drain pipe. Even though it’s expandable for larger pipes, this lint trap fit perfectly on my 1” condensate drip pipe.

Where to find them?

You can get Mainstays brand Lint Traps at Lowe’s, Walmart and Amazon for less than $1 each. Since they’re made from stainless steel they won’t rust so they should last for years. And best of all, the bugs have stopped crawling up my pipes.

Let’s play safe out there… Mike