A Tucson air conditioner makes water all summer. The coil is colder than the air, humidity condenses, and that water is supposed to leave through a drain. When the water shows up on a closet floor, in the garage, or as a stain on a ceiling, the pan or the line missed. Monsoon weeks make more water than a dry June afternoon, which is why a drain that limped along in May fails in July. This is not the same problem as a supply line under a sink.
Look at where the water is, without taking a panel off. A few drops on the insulation of the large copper line are often just sweat. Humid air hits cold metal. That drip can rust a fitting over a season and still be a small amount. An overflowing pan is different: a puddle at the air handler, water running along a duct, or a wet spot that grows while the system runs. Many air handlers have a float switch that is supposed to shut cooling off when the pan rises. If the system is still running and the ceiling is wet, the switch did not save you. Turn the thermostat to Off.
Attic air handlers, common in newer eastside and southeast houses, put that water above drywall. A closet air handler on the first floor of an older ranch dumps it onto a floor you can see. Say which one you have. Algae and dust in the trap are the usual clog, and the narrower version of this problem is a clogged AC condensate line. A shop vacuum on the wrong end of the line can blow water back into the cabinet. We do not cable that line. A plumbing snake belongs on a bath or kitchen drain, which is drain cleaning, a different pipe in the same house.
Ice that melts all at once can also flood a pan. If the line was frozen this morning and the ceiling is wet this afternoon, read AC freezing up and leave the system off until the ice is gone. Dust packed into a coil after a storm changes how the system drains and how it cools. That pattern is monsoon dust. HomeAdvisor’s AC repair guide, updated June 17, 2026, does not publish a separate national price for condensate water. The AC repair page says that work is quoted after diagnosis. Do not invent a number for a pan or a drain.
The referral desk does not pump a pan or reseal a primary drain. Sabino Creek does not hold a contractor license and does not perform the work. If you send the form, the request may be shared with an independent contractor. Anything they quote, and any warranty, is between you and them.
Write whether the water is a sweat on the copper, a pan you can see, or a ceiling you cannot. Note the ZIP, whether it started after a dust storm, and whether cooling is still running. Choose AC not cooling. The form is a request for a follow-up call or email. It does not schedule the repair.