# OMG...My air conditioner is not working! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 23, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107 "2011-07-23T20:36:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/21 "2011-07-24T04:53:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Some of us have different priorities. Apparently, being a pussy myself, I would make sure that my wife and daughter are comfortable and safe, rather than bitching about the females in my life being… pussies… :dubious: On behalf of the females in your life, thank you. I read the OP and just thought, well, now, that just sounds kind of mean. Besides, not everybody can handle the heat. I am one of them. My face gets really red and I get very overheated and uncomfortable. I just can’t take it. What am I gonna do? \ I feel fortunate that I don’t have to rely on someone else to decide if I get to have AC and when. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/22 "2011-07-24T05:14:43Z")
I hate being hot. I’ve worked in 95 deg heat (mulching) for over 8 hrs because I had to but make no mistake I HATE being hot. I will sell off possessions and drive junk cars to stay cool. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/23 "2011-07-24T05:21:14Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > It’s odd you should mention this, as I’m on the verge of bludgeoning my cow-orkers to death over the very same issue. > > The unit that cools our downstairs has been out for 4 days now, and it is apparently the end of the goddamn world because the gallery is about 80 degrees and now the upstairs is getting up almost to 75 because the remaining unit can’t keep up. Mind you, my workspace is a kitchen that used to be a storage closet and thus has no vents–it’s been 80 degrees in there before I ever turn on the stove or oven _for the last two goddamn months_. I’ve been cooking in there, in between waiting tables, checking people out, and washing dishes. I go home so hot that even after 30 minutes in the car with the a/c blasting I’m still hot and sticky. > > This has concerned these people not in the least. When the weather first started getting bad, they suggested that I turn on the stove hood and find a fan somewhere. But when it’s _their_ precious princess asses sitting at a desk, the heat is just horrific and miserable. Sorry for your situation I feel your pain and hope things get better for you soon. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/24 "2011-07-24T05:32:48Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [Dugout (shelter) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugout_(shelter)) > They lived underground. Actually, I’ve seen older homes that had vents in the floor and ceilings that cycled cooler air up from the crawl space. It was natural air conditioning except humidity wasn’t removed. The house is essentially one large heat pump with the attic heating up and pulling air in from below. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/25 "2011-07-24T05:43:13Z")
We’re going through one of the nastiest heat waves on record here in Western PA. The other day a man helping his cousin out doing some roofing [got stuck in hot tar and had to be rescued](http://www.wpxi.com/news/28623548/detail.html). (And this was in the early morning, before it got to the high temps!) We have cooling centers opening, and yes, people DO die in heat waves. Even those who are young. Around here on the news, everyone is being told to stay inside as much as possible. We’ve had animal control going around and taking in dogs that have been left outside without water (several have died, just due to the heat). Also, when it’s hot and humid out, you actually should CLOSE your windows. Close them up, pull the blinds down and the curtains closed, and THEN run the fans. That’ll keep all the heat and humidity out, and keep all the cool air inside. Opening the windows is one of the worst things you can do. And even if you have AC, you can still use fans. (We do) (Quite frankly, the invention of AC is proof that there is a god, as far as I’m concerned. I hate hate hate HATE heat. I must’ve been a polar bear in a previous life.) ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/26 "2011-07-24T06:01:15Z")
I feel the pain of your wife and daughter. My AC went out Thursday with local temps hitting the high nineties and a heat index the day the air conditioning went out hitting 119F. Until the repairman can get here next week, I’m down to a window unit in the bedroom that the apartment management brought up and a box fan. For the remainder of the weekend, you might want to consider going to the pool, shopping (nice air conditioned stores), eating out (no cooking in a hot house and ummm…AC) and going to the movies to escape the heat. missred (another AC pussy 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![NoiseBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NoiseBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoiseBomb)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/27 "2011-07-24T16:58:41Z")
Replacement part: $80 Sunday service call: $168 :eek: I was correct about the capacitor. The tech were here less than 10 minutes. According to the thermostat, it’s down to 85 in here already! Woot! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/28 "2011-07-24T17:21:46Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > According to my grandfather when it got sweltering hot people hung out in their basements because the underground levels of a house are significantly cooler than the above ground levels\ This is something I don’t quite understand about the hot places in the US - here in Canada, damned near all houses have basements, and it is a regular thing to take to the basement when the house gets too hot in summer. We usually have basically a second living room down there, and often a summer bedroom, too. I know a lot of areas don’t seem to build with basements, but wouldn’t having a basement help in summer heat, or is the heat just too great to get any benefit from being in a basement? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/29 "2011-07-24T17:29:23Z")
a good portion of the hottest and most humid areas are either swampy or have a high water table. they could have a basement pool which would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/30 "2011-07-24T17:32:09Z")
We used to take to the basement in hot summers before central A/C. Although it’s cooler, it will aggravate asthma and allergies (one of the reasons why A/C is more common than ever) and I would imagine the damp would be an issue for people with arthritis. Honestly, if Mr. U wouldn’t get the A/C fixed on a weekend or spring for a hotel room, I’d be on the next flight to Portland. Either one. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/31 "2011-07-24T17:39:51Z")
And if you’re going to spring for the hotel room, might as well pay the extra service-call fee for the weekend surcharge. Happiness all around. **NoiseBomb** ’s service call rate was $170, of which probably no more than 1/2 is the weekend surcharge on top of their regular service call rate. If I told Laura that I was going to make her suffer heat exhaustion and listen to the kid gripe for two days to save a mere $85… :eek: I would hear about this for _years_. IMHO, $85 is a small price to pay for future peace. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/32 "2011-07-24T18:57:53Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > This is something I don’t quite understand about the hot places in the US - here in Canada, damned near all houses have basements, and it is a regular thing to take to the basement when the house gets too hot in summer. We usually have basically a second living room down there, and often a summer bedroom, too. I know a lot of areas don’t seem to build with basements, but wouldn’t having a basement help in summer heat, or is the heat just too great to get any benefit from being in a basement? Some places where it gets pretty hot in the summer have very little in the way of topsoil; six inches or less before hitting rock. I live in one of those areas. In some of the elevated areas around here, folks will build into the side of a hill so that they can have a basement, but where I live, you have to bring a truckload of soil in if you want to plant a garden or landscape. The cost of going through the rock to build a basement would be prohibitive. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/33 "2011-07-24T19:24:04Z")
To all those who thought that we here in the Southwest were being silly when we were freaking out because it got really, super cold here last winter (it was in the 20’s during the day!) and now are freaking out over the heat that _they_ are not used to… [Nelson Muntz]_Ha_-ha![/NM] ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/34 "2011-07-24T19:26:40Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > The A/C is out here and I’m not paying weekend rates for repair. It will be fixed on Monday. From hearing my 7 year old talking (and my wife), you would think I was torturing her. > > When I grew up we NEVER had a/c. We put fans in the windows and more importantly, got off of our lazy asses and did work outside. You know, sweat a little bit and the body naturally cools off. You can’t laze around and watch TV. > > Am I crazy or have we as a people become a nation of total pussies? > > Now get off my lawn! Nation of pussies. Too hot? Sit in the shade. Inside is the shade. Still too hot? Turn on a fan and spritz yourself with water. No electricity? No water? Both arms broke? Get arrested. They have water & AC in jail. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/35 "2011-07-24T23:34:46Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > We used to take to the basement in hot summers before central A/C. Although it’s cooler, it will aggravate asthma and allergies (one of the reasons why A/C is more common than ever) and I would imagine the damp would be an issue for people with arthritis. > Honestly, if Mr. U wouldn’t get the A/C fixed on a weekend or spring for a hotel room, I’d be on the next flight to Portland. Either one. I have COPD and a heart condition, as well as a problem regulating my body temp so I need AC to bring the inside humidity and temp down. I can barely make it from house to car without feeling like I am suffocating, drowning and it takes a good 5 to 10 minutes of full blast cool air to stop the sweating and get back to reasonably comfortable. I would be in a hotel [or probably over at my friend Lisa’s place] pretty much within the hour. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/36 "2011-07-24T23:46:38Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > a good portion of the hottest and most humid areas are either swampy or have a high water table. > > they could have a basement pool which would be nice. > [@missred](#): > > Some places where it gets pretty hot in the summer have very little in the way of topsoil; six inches or less before hitting rock.\ Ah, that explains the lack of basements. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/37 "2011-07-25T00:47:16Z")
Schools and offices in many parts of Japan don’t have AC. The schools don’t even have fans because the kids’ papers start blowing around everywhere. There have been some days around 95 with near 100% humidity. If it wasn’t for beer garden parties, summer in Japan would be an unmitigated hell. And don’t get me started on the lack of sun dresses! But I digress. Fuck it’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/38 "2011-07-25T00:55:38Z")
Yay! I just got the call that the AC guy will be tomorrow. I should have fully functioning AC when I get home from work! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107/39 "2011-07-25T02:40:52Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > \ And don’t get me started on the lack of sun dresses! \ Surely you can order some online in your size. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-my-air-conditioner-is-not-working/590107.md?page=1)