Why the AC leaks (it makes water all day — this time it just had nowhere to send it)
When cooling runs, humid air hits the freezing evaporator coil and its moisture condenses into water — a home unit pulls gallons out of the air on a humid day. The water drips into a drain pan under the coil and leaves through a single hose, powered by exactly one thing: gravity. Break that road anywhere and the pan fills — then the underside of your unit starts settling accounts.
Match the evidence
- Steady drip, outside drain dry → Clogged drain line: dust and algae slime sealed it from the inside. The outside drain is the verdict — a healthy one drips every 30 seconds; a dry one means the water has nowhere to go.
- Ice chips from the vents, worst leak after shutdown → Dirty filter, frozen coil: the clogged filter starves the coil of air until it turns to ice; when the unit stops, the whole melt arrives at a tiny pan. Thaw first, then wash the filter.
- Started after a move or a deep clean → Sagging hose: one section lifted, or drooping into a U, holds water back. A drain hose may only ever run downhill.
One honest limit: if the coil keeps icing after a clean filter, that's low refrigerant — a leak find and recharge belongs to a licensed tech; walk away from anyone who tops up gas without hunting the leak first. Water seeping from one fixed end of the unit is a mounting bracket issue — an installer's job. Clear line, sound pan, still leaking: then it's a cracked pan behind the shroud.