HVAC Repair Tips for Homeowners

When I say that I needed to hide out from the law, that doesn’t mean I committed a crime.

There was some legal trouble my family was in, and the last thing I wanted to do was to testify against my own mother.

I decided to go “on the lam” as they say, and hide out for a few months until her trial was over. A trusted family friend managed to find me a remote cabin in the foothills where I could stay for a few weeks, or even a few months. It was simple, and small, but there was electricity and a water heater, and an old rabbit-ear television! A few days later I got up into the attic and found some other goodies, including a small portable A/C unit, and a VCR with a box full of videotapes. I can’t say which one made me happier, because the little air conditioner was such a breath of fresh, cold air in the musty old cabin. Located in a narrow valley in the foothills, this cabin got very little direct wind, which means the cabin got little ventilation or air circulation. The A/C unit was barely strong enough to cool me down even when I sit right on top of it, but still it was a nice change! Even better than the air conditioner was the VCR and the old videotapes, most of which were sitcoms and cartoons from the 70s. Turning on the air conditioner, and then watching the old tapes all night long was the most fun I had living in that cabin.
Air conditioning repair

When you live in the deep south, there are a lot of little annoyances that you have to learn to live with. First of all, there is the heat and humidity, which is unrelenting for 9 to 10 months a year. The brief hints of cold weather we get are few and far between. Secondly, there are the bugs. Insects and creepy-crawlies live here in astounding numbers, and almost all of them bite or sting. Last but not least, there are the hurricanes and tropical storms that hit the south several times a year, often with flooding and power outages. With all of these things working against your comfort levels, is it any surprise HVAC systems are considered a requirement for living here? Quite frankly I don’t understand how this area was ever settled and civilized, because back then there was no HVAC technology. Not only was there no air conditioning, but they didn’t have screened in porches or bug spray either – what a nightmare it would have been to live here! I basically keep my HVAC system running 24/7, and very rarely open up any of the windows to let in fresh air. With fresh air comes more bugs, so I keep my house shut up tight to trap all of the cooling inside with me. A couple of times a year I need to open everything up for some natural ventilation, so the house doesn’t smell musty. I always try to do this during a period of cold weather, when I don’t need the AC as much and there aren’t as many bugs out.
air conditioning company

I have managed a handful of rental properties for several years now. I started doing it right after I retired, as a way to make extra money and also to keep myself busy! Retirement can be boring, so it’s good to have hobbies, and when those hobbies make money, so much the better! Nine times out of ten, if not moreso, the guests who rent my apartments and houses are very nice people, and leave the place in the same condition they found it. Sometimes there are bad tenants and renters, however, and recently I had one such tenant, who left the entire cabin, plus the air conditioning system, in terrible condition! Apparently this man believed that air conditioners are powered by magic, and thought they could make the place as cold as he wanted it to be. He must have been on drugs, because what rational person thinks the air conditioner can make it 32 degrees inside? When the A/C unit wouldn’t get cold enough, he tried to tune it up himself, with disastrous results. I assume he was on drugs, but I don’t know for sure because after he ruined the central HVAC system he packed up his stuff and left in the middle of the night. I called an HVAC tech I have used before to get an estimate on the cost to replace the unit, and then charged the credit card the tenant had used for those costs. A new HVAC system was going to cost me two thousand bucks, and the tenant’s card maxed out at six hundred bucks, so I’m screwed.

 

 

duct sealing

I like to frequent local businesses whenever possible, in part because this is a habit that my parents forced me into at a young age.

They hammered into my brain the idea that small businesses in one’s community are always superior to large chains on an ethical and moral level.

Sadly, these values are continually eroded when I have bad experiences with mom and pop style companies that are no better than the most ruthless venture capitalists raking in billions of dollars. You can be middle class and still be a relentless thief with your customers. One time a local pharmacist tried to steal a prescription of mine that was a few days worth of pain medicine following an overnight trip to the hospital with a kidney stone. They confirmed it wasn’t appendicitis and gave me lots of fluid and a special medication that stimulates your urinary system. I had to get the police involved and they confiscated his security camera hard drives, and I was surprised to learn he was dumb enough to record himself in the act. What made me even more amazed was learning that they found incriminating evidence of 15 other incidences of medicine theft. He was stripped of his license and arrested immediately. Now I get all of my medicine at a local grocery store that also has a pharmacy at the front like many chain grocery stores. I was sad when they had to close for a day recently to handle HVAC repairs throughout the whole building. Their heating and cooling systems were already 25 years old at that point and insurance companies will force you to change them or will void your coverage.

 

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