My swamp cooler dumped 20 gallons on my carpet and I finally get why everyone says to drain them before spring

Came home from work on Monday and heard this weird dripping sound. Walked into the laundry room and the carpet squished like a sponge. The cooler hadn't been used since October and I just left it. I always thought draining it was optional, like a nice to have. Nope. The float valve got stuck and it filled the pan and overflowed for god knows how long. Took me 3 hours with a shop vac and 2 box fans to dry it out. Now I check the drain plug every month even in winter. Anyone else learn this the hard way or am I just the dummy this time?

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terryf628h ago

I hear you on the float valve thing, that's a real pain and I get why you're checking it every month now. But honestly, I don't drain mine in the winter either and I never have. The way I see it, if the water sits in there frozen solid for months, nothing can overflow. The real problem is your float valve, not the water being left in there. A stuck valve is gonna dump water whether it's April or October, so maybe the fix is just replacing that cheap part instead of adding another chore to your list. Not saying you're wrong for doing it your way, just that I've had mine for 12 years with water in it all winter and never seen a drop on the carpet.