Why is it impossible to discharge air conditioners into the drain?

I am telling a typical story that can be found in every second office building and apartment building, which means that you can certainly become a victim of the negligence of "smart" installers.

Have you noticed that some comrades put a pipe from an air conditioner into a drainpipe?

They simply choose a hose of the required length, drill a hole of the required diameter in the pipe and put the tube inside. Something like this office building, which I recently captured for this article:

There are at least five air conditioners in one drain.

Why is it dangerous?

In the summer season and at a stable positive temperature - nothing. The fun begins in winter ...

Some air conditioners work not only for cooling the room in summer, but also for heating in winter. At the same time, condensate comes out of the outdoor unit, as in summer, through the tube.

Falling on the walls of a cold drainpipe, a drop of condensate freezes. Then the next one. And so on until an ice plug forms in the pipe.

For a month or a month and a half, the condensate accumulates in the pipe, and then at the next cold snap breaks the drain.

The owner of an office building with round eyes blames anyone other than tenants for the pipe rupture, and is already considering how much the new pipe and its installation will cost. Of course, he will not guess to put a heating cable in the pipe. And history repeats itself.

Classic.