How to Prevent Algae Growth on a Heat Exchanger

Get tips on spraying down the pan with a product called Wet & Forget to prevent algae from growing and clogging up the tubes.

LESLIE: Jody in Ohio, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

JODY: Actually, I have a big enough house where I have three furnaces. And the condensation that comes off the heat exchanger – sometimes the tube will get plugged without anyone knowing. And then it’ll overflow the pan; then you’ve ruined ceilings and what-have-you in my house and stuff.

TOM: Right.

JODY: And I wanted to know if there’s – I read this article in one of the magazines about woodwork and stuff and helping people with doing things around the house, where they would have (inaudible at 0:06:57) you could put in the pan and you would never have that fungus growing that’ll plug up your tubes.

TOM: OK. So what’s clogging up the tube, in this case, is algae. Is that correct?

JODY: Yes.

TOM: One of the things that you can think about doing is to apply a product called Wet & Forget, which is generally used to keep algae from growing off sidewalks.

JODY: Yes. Uh-huh.

TOM: But when that pan is dry, I would suggest that you try to spray it down with Wet & Forget. And that prevents algae from growing, on contact. So that’s not a bad idea to give that a shot.

JODY: So I’ll try that.

TOM: Alright. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.