CES 2024: Smart Drain-Line Cleaner Gets the Goop Out to Keep Your Air Conditioner Crankin'

by Lauren Leazenby
Product image iFLO

When’s the last time you cleaned your air conditioner’s drain line? “Never” isn’t a great answer, but it’s certainly a common one. (Did you even know your AC had a drain line — let alone that you needed to clean it regularly?) Enter: iFLO, your smart HVAC drain-line-cleaning solution.

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iFLO, purportedly is the world’s first — and only — automated HVAC drain line cleaner. Your HVAC drain lines are an outlet for moisture created by your air conditioner’s coils. Over time, they can become clogged with debris and buildup. This puts your AC unit at risk of shutoffs and leaks, but it also puts your home at risk for mold growth and flooding. TL:DR: You need to clean this thing on a regular basis.

iFLO claims its device does the hard work for you. It’s a smart device you install on your HVAC system’s drain line. As needed, the device dispenses a bio-enzymatic solution that will loosen buildup. “Bio-enzymatic solution” is a fancy way of saying it gets microbes to do our dirty work for us in a natural biological process without the use of conventional cleaning chemicals.

iFLO produc installed on hvac system

The inventor and founder, Joe McDonnell, said he created the iFLO to solve a problem he experienced himself: constantly clogged HVAC drain lines. Such clogs would turn off the air conditioning in the middle of the night in the dead, humid heat of Florida summer. Instead of waiting for a repair tech, McDonnell took matters into his own hands and unclogged his drain line with a wet vac. After a few too many of these late-night unclogging sessions, he needed a once-and-for-all solution.

“In a battle to keep my own AC unit running smoothly, I invented iFLO,” McDonnell said.

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McDonnell said he discovered that there’s a common cause of modern AC drain line clogs: something called Zooglea. For lack of a less-gross explanation, Zooglea is a thick, mucus-like buildup of microorganisms. Biological particles like dust, pet dander, germs and other contaminants join up with water droplets on your AC’s condensate coils, and the result is an icky, sticky mess of Zooglea. This accumulates over time and clogs the condensate drain line, which will (hopefully) just cause your HVAC system to shut down. If it doesn’t shut down, it can cause your AC to overflow and flood.

image of zooglea building up around condensate drain line

According to iFLO, Zooglea buildup is more common in HVAC systems made in the past nine years. Those manufactured prior to 2015 had copper in the condensate coils. Copper has antimicrobial properties, which would slow the development of goopy Zooglea.

The company says iFLO’s bio-enzymatic surfactant cleaning solution can rid your drain lines of Zooglea, which is especially prominent in the southern U.S. The iFLO, which requires a Wi-Fi network connection, connects to your smartphone via an app that uses AI to detect your home’s geographical location. From there, it takes into account temperature and humidity levels to dispense the appropriate amount of cleaner. The app also includes a step-by-step guide to installation — which iFLO says takes 5 minutes — live status updates and a chat support feature.

The iFLO is available now. The starter kit, which includes the device and a bottle of cleaning solution, sells for $149.99. Refill bottles, which last three to six months, cost $29.99. iFLO also has a subscription service; sign up for automatic cleaner refill deliveries for 10% off. The iFLO will be on display at this CES 2024 (formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show).