Air Conditioner Maintenance--for your Safety!

Early this morning in Australia, a man's home caught on fire due to a smoking air conditioner unit. As a witness describes, the air conditioning unit was smoking, and then suddenly lit up "like a Roman candle." The witness ran next door to wake up his neighbor and alert him of the impending flames, and he climbed to the roof (where the unit is located) to attempt to put out the fire.

Firemen who arrived on the scene commented on how homeowners should be on top of their air conditioner maintenance. Keep your ears alert for any change in sounds or any difference in performance--it may mean a part is failing or needs replacement.

While the man from this situation was able to put out the flames, he suffered a bill of $150,000 in fire damage.

The Rising Cost of Refrigerant

As with most necessities, the cost of air conditioning refrigerant went up this past winter. But they didn’t just rise in cost slightly—they rose over 200 percent!

Most homeowners have grown accustomed to the $150-200 sticker price for replacing the refrigerant, but that number range has easily doubled. In the process of limiting the creation of R-22 and attempting to wean it off the air market, an instant need was created—therefore allowing for prices to rise across the board. In fact, experts say that the compound will become more expensive over the next few years--as it continues to get rarer and rarer.

Despite the recent legislation to cut the production of R-22, about 75% of the home air conditioners running today require the material. The fact that the required component will not be available for all will likely prompt the trend of swapping out older air units for newer models.

Keep Your Air Ducts Clean

The ducts in your air conditioning unit are a vital part of a healthy functioning a/c. Potential health risks such as mold, germs, bacteria and fungus can live in the air conditioning ducts and therefore contaminate the air that is being pumped into your living space. Here at the air conditioning maintenance team, we want to make sure your family and your home are safe.

Regardless of the potential dangers that could form in your air ducts, don't be fooled into thinking they need to be cleaned constantly or that all ducts are subject to these dangers equally. As you get your annual air conditioning system check-up, the ducts will be investigated and you'll know from there if they need to be cleaned. According to the EPA, the ducts will get dirty over time, so cleaning them is logical.

Remember to work with a reputable air conditioning company that you TRUST, and who's diagnosis you value. Your friends at Edd Helms are available for your air needs...call us today!

Renters & Air Conditioning

When you are renting a home or apartment, major utility problems such as a water leak or a broken air conditioning system are the responsibility of your landlord. But do you know valuable information such as a timeline your landlord intends to handle these situations? Here in Florida, living without air conditioning is barely living at all--at least it will feel that way once the unit breaks down.

While your lease should outline basic guidelines for landlord responsibility, sometimes these are not always followed. If you have a tough time getting your landlord to provide the monetary funds to complete repairs for your living space, you should contact a tenant attorney who specializes in tenant rights. Even if your landlord is located out of town or out of the country, they have a responsibility to provide a pleasant and healthy living space to you. You can even suggest to your landlord that they contact South Florida air conditioning specialists Edd Helms to get you up & running on the same day.