SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been a record-breaking week of high temperatures across the state, coolers and fans are selling out in stores and the phone’s been ringing off the hook for HVAC companies.
There’s only so much you can do to stay cool when your AC calls it quits.
“It’s hot, even for me,” said Ron Watson. “I like hot, but it’s hot. Even at night it isn’t cooling off to the point where there’s a lot of relief.”
The air conditioning in Watson’s home rental apartment stopped working over Labor Day weekend.
“We went to Lowe’s and Home Depot and they were wiped out. They didn’t have hardly anything there,” said Watson. “We got what we could and just tried to make it bearable until we could get some help.”
“Every house is so different,” said David Webb, installation manager with Blue Best Heating and Air. “You really have diversity and some fun going in to be like, ‘How am I going to do this today?’”
Webb’s repaired and replaced units for 23 years now. It’s been a busy week for his team as they work in the heat to keep customers cool.
“It’s excruciating,” said TaNiesha Hansen, service tech with Blue Best Heating and Air. “We have umbrellas, canopies, water galore.”
The high temperatures are overworking units, but there’s a lot you can do to prevent a breakdown and dramatic increase in your power bill.
“It’s kind of like your circulatory in your body. If you have that small heart attack, that little blockage in an artery, everything collapses,” said Webb.
Make sure you’re monitoring and cleaning your AC unit filters. If areas become too dirty or too blocked, it’s time to call in professionals.
“The outside units – it’s OK to spray them down with water, make sure those fins are completely free of debris and getting the proper air flow,” said Hansen.
For Watson’s apartment, a power surge blew the breaker and fried the indoor unit. But he’s feeling hopeful now that temperatures continue to drop and crews are on the job.
“With cooler weather in the forecast and parts on the way, everything’s looking up,” he said.
