When The Air Conditioning Goes Out In July
Well, I usually post earlier. But my air conditioning has been out all night. It never stops running, but no cool air comes out.
Finally after over three hours I managed to get maintenance out here this morning, but the guy couldn’t fix the outdoor unit. So he brought a window air conditioner, which is in my bedroom window.
It’s still 80 degrees in here, but at least now I have that and a fan going.
This complex was built in the sixties and everything seems to be wearing out.
My daughter and Andrew came over after church. But the air conditioner was being placed in the window by then. Andrew carries his tool bag. So he tried to help.
We finally took Charlie with us and went to McDonalds and brought food back here. Andrew of course loves the Happy Meals.
Since I had three people eating at the table and only two chairs I keep around it, I grabbed a wicker chair from the patio and we had enough seating for everyone.
My next door neighbor Charlie has a window unit in his bedroom. He’s waited to get his air conditioning fixed for over three years. Every time someone would come out to work on it, they’d tell him it was fixed. But it wasn’t.
After what he’s been through, I think I’m going to have my son-in-law or someone put a window air conditioner in for me once they take this one back. I don’t want to go through this again without having another option.
All night, every minute or so, I’d hear the unit outside making a noise. I found out that it was an emergency sound that says the unit is out. Since the unit is on the other side of the wall where my head is when I sleep, it about drove me crazy.
I don’t know how on earth people without air conditioning make it in this kind of heat. I was getting pretty hot by the time someone got here to look at things.
So I guess I can either be in my bedroom and freeze. Or be here in the living room where it’s 80 degrees.
It might get fixed tomorrow. Apparently six other apartments have no air conditioning either. The maintenance guy said he’d been on this since two a.m. Maybe those residents will get window units too.
This was my favorite part : But the air conditioner was being placed in the window by then. Andrew carries his tool bag. So he tried to help.
Brought back a memory of Brent, probably around Andrew’s age at the time, being absolutely THRILLED to help Uncle Steve ( my BIL ) install a gas stove here years ago 🙂 Little boys and their tools and wanting to help and learning / precious …you must have gotten such a kick out of it as I did.
It’s kind of like when life hands you lemons…( needing a new stove or A/C troubles or what-have-you ) there’s some little boy making it into lemonade ! 🙂
It’s time to consider moving. Yes, it’s a pain in the you know what. But for whatever rent you’re paying, you need to be able to have reliable AC. I wouldn’t be able to survive my climate even here in SE WI without it, it’s so HUMID and HOT away from within a few miles of Lake Michigan’s shore – and then it’s only if the wind is blowing out of the NE, E or SE off of the lake to give a cooling effect. Unfortunately, all it’s been giving us lately is SNOW in the winter when the wind shifts around from the relentless S/SW. Heat and humidity and now, drought. Another summer of mini-drought for the next 3 months. YAY – NOT! Move, Brenda. Don’t believe a word the poor overworked and no doubt underpaid handyman tells you, he’s just getting baloney sausage fed to him from management/ownership. Yes, moving is a major pain, but honestly, unless you’re wiling to sleep and essentially live in whatever room you have the AC unit stuck into a window, you’re better off putting your rent toward central AC. That’s what you’re paying for now — and not getting. Now your electric bill is just going to continue to be juiced up and up and up. AC units do not last for 40 plus years. Management is running your complex into the ground.
You and the other residents might consider talking to a reporter on an area tv channel. The kind of pressure they can apply makes many companies comply and do what is right and decent by people. Just the mere suggestion and the veiled threat of negative publicity makes many companies do the tight thing. Just a suggestion for the last resort. People don’t like to see seniors abused and that’s what this is by their lack of action to make repairs.
I feel for you…as you know, our AC went out last month. It was horrible because of course it happened when our temps were in the 90’s. It actually got up to 90 degrees in our house! We were living in the basement. Sleep was out of the question. We only have a temporary fix right now, but at least we have AC. We need to schedule the installation of new central air unit. Hope things get fixed for you ASAP.
Oh boy, I hope it works out for you soon Brenda. For all the years I rented landlords were always a problem. Out of country landlords could be among the worst too. I moved from the city a few years ago and one of the precise reasons I did was because of heat. Packed up my boys and said enough. They’ve over developed everywhere in our Canadian cities and it sucks the quality of life out of everything. Too much cement now, green space disappearing etc., has air quality becoming just horrific.
Sure, you can get more used to it if you have no choice but a lot more of life has to go on each day besides excessive heat. If you have pets to care for they are a big concern in high heat. Working is another big issue. I can’t even keep my head clear when heat is too high let alone sit and sweat my way through a day of caculations. Please take extra caution with Charlie now too because he’s elderly. I use to run my boys down for a lake swim on high heat days when I had no air just to keep their body temperatures down but I don’t think you have that option there.
Ugh – in this heat you and the other tenants really shouldn’t have to wait too long to have that resolved. You’ve got an awful -landlord-. Hope you get a resolution of the A/C issue real soon.
Oh my goodness. Hope you can get cool enough to get a good night’s sleep. We just had to have our HVAC system replaced; the old system just conked out on one of the hottest days of this summer. I was miserable for several days while waiting for the installation. So glad that you have that window unit.
Brenda, Sometimes by getting the media involved, issues might be taken care of. Definitely see if AC is part of your agreement.
Oh, no, Brenda! We are hot (mid 90’s) and humid in Georgia, too. I really feel for you. I am hoping and praying that they will fix or replace the a/c tomorrow. At least you will be able to sleep in the cool until they do something.
Brenda
Check out this link and give it to others that have issues. I am sure there is more info at the Oklahoma Department of Housing.
http://www.okbar.org/public/Brochures/whatAreYourRightsAndDutiesAsATenant.aspx
By any chance does your lease agreement State air conditioning included? Perhaps you might have a legal advantage. I read where the state laws are leaning towards the owners but it might be worth looking into. Good luck!!!!
Have lived in Virginia, New Mexico, and Texas, so I know what heat and humidity mean.
the a/c went our the first month I lived here. kind of embarrassing for them I would think.
maintenance offered a temporary window unit but never brought it. instead an older guy brought another unit and replaced the old one outside. it has worked fine since then. this is a HUGE complex. and who knows who or where the owners are. they have complexes all over the state apparently.
they seem to have very strict rules about everything. I marvel at the way you’re allowed to do all the different things where you are. but I think it’s wonderful. and I’m happy for you!
and I love that little Andrew carries his tool belt and tools with him!
It just aggravates me that it takes forever to get anything done. My poor neighbor next door just wore out with begging them. The owner of the complex now has his own management team here since January, but still it’s taking so long to get things done. I pay my rent before it’s due every single month. I’m a good tenant.
The problem is they don’t care about your paying your rent on time when fixing/replacing the A/C. It all comes down to money.
What are the temps there? I imagine it’s very hot. And humid.
Where I live, in the south of France, nobody has air conditioning. I have come to prefer it that way. When I lived in Africa, with no running water or electricity, much less air conditioning, I got used to the heat, and as soon as temperatures got into the 70s I thought it was unbearably cold. So there definitely is something to getting used to it. Here, it doesn’t get nearly as hot as in the center of the U.S. Today, we flirted with 90 degrees. We have shutters on the outside (important–interior shutters aren’t as effective), and I close them on the east before going to bed. I open all the windows around 6 a.m. to cool the house, then close everything around 10 when the heat starts to climb. The house stays pretty cool. When it was almost 90 outside, it was 80 inside. That might seem hot, but when you are used to the heat, it feels icy. Also, I was making pizzas, so the oven was cranked to the max, otherwise it would have been a couple degrees cooler.
Anyway, the more you can stop the greenhouse effect by limiting how much sun hits your windows, the cooler you’ll be inside.
Good luck!
It’s mid nineties outside. I can’t open the windows: asthma.
Hmmmm, I remember as if it was yesterday how many people die din France during an epic heat wave that killed thousands and thousands of people in the summer of 2003: http://www.france24.com/en/20150701-france-paris-heat-wave-alert-deadly-2003-summer-guidelines Let’s see, some 70,000 people in France alone died from heat related causes.
It’s fine to say one can “adapt” to heat when one is younger and healthy. When one is 67 like me and has heart and lung issues, NOT so easy. Some day it’s just a struggle to breathe when the Heat Index has soared to 105 and the dew point is 75. And no, I’m not living at the equator in the middle of a tropical jungle. So, unless I move to the Arctic at this point, I’m stuck in southeastern Wisconsin where the weather USED TO BE DECENT during the summer until the changes started occurring about 30 years ago. Gee thanks, “non-existence, hoax, fake news but oh, you don’t believe that so the Chinese are doing it global warming.” Meanwhile, people die in my hometown every summer due to heat-related causes, mostly elderly, many suffering from various ailments, all fragile, all seemingly living alone in the world (like me), nailed up inside their homes where the temperature is often well above 90 degrees. I’m not ready to die because I’m too cheap to use my AC or I don’t have it even though it’s part of my rental.
I was just commenting to my daughter about air conditioning being a luxury. In your case, it’s a necessity. It’s 91 here today and that’s in the shade. I’m sorry to hear your air has failed. I’m glad they provided a replacement of sorts, but I hope you and your neighbors collectively demand the central air be restored if it isn’t seen too this week. I can imagine how busy repair and installation techs might be right now. I wonder if the units will work at all when temp lowers. I can image they are taxed beyond their ability by now.
Mine has been running non stop for 24 hours, with no cooling. I’ve got the bedroom unit on 66 degrees, but it’s still 80 in the rest of my 725 square foot apartment.
Sounds like someone needs to file a complaint somewhere about this issue. And keep on badgering till it gets action. I know we had rentals, when my husband was living, and we had to make repairs and replacements or else. Aren’t there laws for this? Especially a/c in this heat. Sorry for your troubles. It just upsets me that people treat good renters like this.
I don’t think there’s a whole lot you can do in Oklahoma. I think the laws here lean toward the owners. Our owner is in TX and the rest of the investors in China. This complex is only 100 units, so you’d think things would get taken care of. It isn’t like it’s a massive complex.
Terrible news about the ac. At least you got the window unit. I don’t know how people manage without it either; I know I could not even without respiratory problems. Might a dehumidifier help too? Not that you need another expense…
It seems Charlie is getting to be the man about town these days, riding in the car. Does he look out the window? That’s what my dogs do, and one barks at other cars at the red lights sometimes. When people see my little ones in the car they smile, especially kids.
Charlie likes to sit in my lap and look out the window. I don’t think he sees much of anything, because he never barks. Just looks.
Hi Brenda,
I lived in Florida for 16 years. Much of that time I lived in a 3rd floor apartment and didn’t use the A/C.
A 96 year old acquaintance (still lived at home and she didn’t use her A/C either) told me something I never forgot. “A person can get used to anything but hangin.'”
I had a big box fan that I put on a table at the end of my bed. Put the top sheet over it and used clothes pins to secure the end and sides of the sheet to the mattress cover. I would take a shower (the water in Florida is never really cold).
Turn the fan on (the sheet blew up like a parachute) and I was kept cool all night long. Everyone at work would complain about their high electric bills and mine never ran over $22.00 a month. Worked like a charm.
Well, of course you can get used to anything. But I sure wouldn’t want one of those things to be air conditioning in this climate. I don’t know how you did it. But I have asthma and open windows are out. You must be pretty tough!
I hope they are able to repair the a/c unit but I bet it needs to be replaced. Many years ago I lived in Arizona and a lovely and elderly neighbor would tell me how she traveled to AZ in a covered wagon and of course back then there was no air conditioning. I’m so spoiled, I can’t even imagine. Good luck with the repairs.
When it’s the air that needs to be replaced, that’s when the owner balks. Doesn’t want to spend the money. That’s why my next door neighbor has had a window unit in his bedroom for over a year and has been asking for a new air conditioner for three years. He’s moving now, and taking his window unit with him. So the next resident will be in a hot mess, literally. We need the air her through October into November.
Oh my! A few years ago my air conditioning went out in the middle of summer. So hot. They brought me two window units (bedroom/living room) as it took over a week for parts to get here. Then the maintenance man had a medical issue and was in the hospital. He finally got back and fixed it and apologized to me. I said, hey I had cool air (it was loud but cool) just glad he was OK! I would had to have left here without the window units. I can’t do the heat. Hope yours is fixed soon!
I like white noise. So a window unit is actually preferable for me. IF I have other air conditioning somewhere else. Or a window unit in the living room also. He wanted to put the unit in the living room, but the shrubs are really tall and right up against the apartment. He’d have had to cut all that down to get to the window.
Oh Brenda. When it rains, it pours. Please be diligent if you are going to rely upon a window AC unit. I just read an article this week that most burglars have a mental list of things they look for when deciding to break into a home. And a window AC is pretty high on that list. Can you place a fan to pull some of the cold bedroom air into the living room?
My next door neighbor already told me to put a fan to pull some of the cold bedroom air. I never would have known that otherwise. So that’s already been done. The unit is in my bedroom, which looks out over the patio. If a burglar wants on the patio, he’d have to crawl over the fence. I keep a padlock on the gate.
Perhaps all 7 of the local apt.residents can find a contractor and work a ‘deal’ with him. Could be he could give you all a discount for buying 7 units and doing the install…maybe, too, YOU could get a bigger discount for organizing this … Of course you could move out to here, Az, who the low at night is about 92,* 93*!!! But it’s a DRY heat…hah! Hot is hot…Good luck! (I remember all the Arkansas humidity. Dreadful!) Popsicles to the rescue!
I think that’s about what it is here at night. I only know one person here, my next door neighbor who is moving next month.
Brenda and Charlie,
Thank goodness you were finally able to get a unit for the bedroom widow. You need to be a squeeky wheel and make sure that it does not take 3 years to fix your unit. That is ridiculous.
Stay cool and hydrated!
I am a squeaky wheel. My first husband used to say I should have been a credit collector. I don’t give up easily.