Tired of garbage clogging my AC unit

When I moved to these parts I thought that life was going to be a lot easier.

I was getting out of the conflict-laden South, where social issues seemed to be a real problem. I was happy to be moving closer to my family and looking forward to having more social support in my immediate area. Besides that, I was excited to get away from the burning heat and humidity that fills the air every single day. Down in the South, you have to operate your central cooling system all day if you want to have a livable residential home. You really can’t rely on overhead fans, box fans, or other forms of ventilation. Without a cooling system, you are doomed to be sweaty and uncomfortable all day long. The other problem is keeping your air conditioning system safe. Because I lived in a region with extremely tall and robust trees there were constantly branches coming down and breaking my AC unit. When I got up north, I was excited for the open space that could keep my AC system free of falling limbs. However, I didn’t expect that all of this open ground would result in garbage rapidly blowing across the plains and collecting against my AC unit. My cooling system is just as prone to breakdowns in disrepair now as it was before. It’s constantly being clogged up with empty bags, pop cans, and assorted plastic pieces. Now, I can’t even use a metal air conditioning cage to keep it safe… The garbage is so pervasive and the wind is so strong that my cooling system is always at risk.

air filter

You forget to take breaks when you’re this passionate

When my day is done at the HVAC repair shop and I’ve returned my work vehicle to the fleet of heating and cooling work vans, there’s still plenty for me to do

Sometimes my co-workers make fun of me because I act like my job is my life. I understand where they’re coming from, because I don’t think that most people spend their time the way that I do. I don’t know what to tell them, other than I am legitimately very passionate about indoor air quality control. Sometimes my HVAC interest it’s away from me and I actually forget to take care of myself throughout the day. The problem is, there’s always so much to do when you’re a professional heating and cooling technician. If I’m not at the heating and cooling repair shop, scheduling appointments and making sure that all of the equipment I’ve ordered is on the way, I’m out on the job. I spend my day going from one side of the city to the other, battling traffic and trying not to get pulled over as I fly between residential HVAC appointments. There are so many people in this city and they constantly need help with a broken forced air furnace, heat pump, or air conditioning system. I have the knowledge and expertise that they need, and I want to make sure that I can repair every HVAC system possible during the course of my work day. This means, I often forget to take breaks or to return phone calls from my loved ones. When my day is done at the HVAC repair shop and I’ve returned my work vehicle to the fleet of heating and cooling work vans, there’s still plenty for me to do. I’m always reading up on the newest air quality control technologies and figuring out how to help my residential clients further. It’s not unusual for me to realize I haven’t eaten, slept, or showered because I’ve been too HVAC obsessed.

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Necking as kids; ran out of gas

Recently I was sitting around having a Skype call with my friend, as we commonly do these days. We can’t see each other in real life so we like to connect over the internet using the video chatting services. This means, we spend a lot of time just laughing and talking at each other. There’s not much else to do these days, other than sharing our stories and insights with one another. This particular day we were discussing some of our most embarrassing times in life. We came around to the topic of high school romantic anecdotes and all of the times that we weren’t caught in the act by our parents. Everybody shared their story and I sat back and waited for my turn. I knew that I was going to have the best anecdote of the evening. When I was 16 years old I remember going out with my girlfriend for a make-out session. It was the middle of summer so the outdoor air quality was extremely hot and humid. We live in a semi tropical climate so there’s not much relief from the daily heat and mugginess in the air. Therefore, there’s really no choice but to rely on air conditioning systems just to stay cool. This is especially true when you’re going to be on top of someone, potentially sweating. We had gone to her usual makeout spot and realized that there was no way to turn off the car without the heat and humidity ruining our experience. As such, I kept the motor running so we could enjoy the ice cold air passing through the vents. It really was a wonderful experience… Until the car shut off. Apparently, you can run out of gas even if you’re standing still. With the air conditioning system running, it quickly used up all of the fuel reserves. That call to mom and dad was the most embarrassing memory of my teenage years.

 

a/c products

The school really wants to reopen; we’re going to need an HVAC upgrade

I know that everybody is chomping at the bit to get out and start living a normal life again… But I wish that we could all calm down and make better decisions. Everybody got tired of the shelter in place order and staring at their four walls several months ago. I understand where they’re coming from because I haven’t enjoyed my quarantine all that much, either. However, that doesn’t make me feel any differently about the potential risks of running outside and touching each other too soon. You see, the most recent idea in my town has been forcing the school to open this fall. As a dedicated heating and cooling technician, I can’t even begin to tell parents what a bad idea that is. I happen to know about the central heating and cooling system that exists in the school district. I personally service the HVAC equipment on a regular basis. And by regular basis, I mean that they call me once every few years to take a look at the disgusting air ducts and broken-down furnace. The heating and cooling equipment that the school already uses is so old and nasty that I’m surprised more children don’t have respiratory diseases. The thought of cramming kids back into the school with these flimsy air filters and ancient HVAC systems absolutely mortifies me. I’ve personally been trying to whistle blow the school’s terrible indoor air quality for years. Now, I am trying to convince my heating and cooling company not to give the school a passing grade on their HVAC inspection until they have finally upgraded the indoor air quality devices. This could literally be a matter of life or death.

 

commercial hvac for sale

Thought they were kidding when they showed me my office

At the beginning of the pandemic I was one of the unfortunate people who lost their jobs.

I realize that I’m not at all unique with this story of struggle, but I do have some strange twists and turns to my story.

You see, shortly after I was let go from my position, I began searching for a new profession to fill the void. I found an online marketing position was opening at a nearby start up and I immediately submitted my application. I knew I was going to have a lot to learn but I was looking forward to the challenge. Besides, I was desperate for the paycheck. When I arrived at the startup company’s office, I noticed that they had amazing indoor air quality control. I have to say, their central HVAC system was actually one of the reasons that I took the job. I couldn’t afford to keep sitting in my own central cooling system anymore and I looked forward to the option of having an air conditioner during the hottest part of the humid summer day. I accepted their job offer and reported to work on my first day, thinking that it was a great opportunity. When I arrived and walked into their amazing air conditioning I patted myself on the back for making good decisions and saving on my own energy bill. That’s when my new boss walked me directly out of the amazing air conditioning and into a small trailer next to the office building. He told me this is where I would be working. There was a tiny AC window unit hovering directly above the decrepit desk that he motioned to. For a moment, I honestly thought that he was kidding about the subpar working conditions and indoor air temperature control system. And then, he walked out of the trailer and closed the door.

 

air conditioner

You have to forgive yourself, even for HVAC disasters

The older I get, the more I understand how important it is to be able to forgive yourself.

It turns out that a lot of people are their own worst enemy.

It’s really easy to beat yourself up and hold onto grudges from 10 or 20 years ago if you aren’t careful. The messed up part is, nobody else in your life would ever treat you this way. That’s why I make a point of forgiving myself for my mistakes every single day. It’s not always easy but it is always effective. Recently, I had to forgive myself for a major financial mistake that I made which was related to my indoor air quality. For years, I had been fawning over my thermostat every moment of the day. I’ve always enjoyed my indoor air quality and I have had to strike a careful balance between my energy bill and my central HVAC usage. I know that it’s a slippery slope between touching the thermostat and driving your savings account into the ground when the electrical bill shows up. That’s why I have carefully programmed my thermostat to have the ideal temperature setting for an eco-friendly HVAC experience. The only problem is, apparently I completely forgot about my professional HVAC inspection this year. For months I’ve been living with an undiagnosed problem with my cooling system. The air conditioning unit has been limping along unbenounced to me. My unchanged air filters definitely haven’t helped the issue, either. I only realized my HVAC slip up when the energy bill arrived in the mail and I literally couldn’t afford to pay it. Well, I forgive myself. Even if I can’t use the AC for the rest of summer.

heated floors

Neighbor provided us window A/C in emergency

I’m undoubtedly cheerful that we live in a great city where we can rely on our neighbors for help, the other afternoon when we lost power it was a huge help when our buddy allowed us to come over & shower at his arena, however he even let us take food & water from his refrigerator until we could get our own power reinstated, it was actually kind of him & it made us a lot more comfortable in the sweltering hot & humid climate that we have been dealing with all summer, of course, we should have known that our indoor air handling concerns were over with… Even when we had energy at our dwelling again the a/c would not work.

That’s when we realized that when we lost power we also had an energy surge fry our costly central cooling device, and suddenly, it was looking like we were going to have weeks of unmanaged indoor air quality before we could afford to hire a professional heating & cooling professional for a maintenance maintenance or a full air conditioner substitutement. Obviously, we were devastated at the thought of living in this oppressively hot environment without any air conditioner control indoors! Again, this is when our buddy stepped up & saved our butts. Apparently he heard our upset discussions about the cooling system, because he came walking over with an A/C window component in hand 5 minutes later. My friend and I have been limping along with the A/C window component installed in our home office for some indoor air temperature control, however until we can afford a current A/C unit, we will be relying on my neighbor’s kindness.

 

furnace/heater repair

Mom puts off Heating, Ventilation, plus A/C repairs, however complains nonstop

I come from a family that incrementally acts incredibly difficult or is wildly complaining about every single thing! You never know what kind of a morning you’re going to have until you start communicating with my family members.

On Sunday they might tell you that they are strong, capable, plus undeterred by every challenge in life, and by Monday they will really be complaining about their task, their health, plus even the way the wind blows.

It’s a continual back plus forth between rejecting their troubles plus wallowing in them. This is why I was not surprised when my mom started complaining about her central heating plus cooling devices a few weeks ago. I knew that her central air conditioner was at least 15 years outdated because I remembered when the professional Heating, Ventilation, plus A/C dealership came out plus installed it. I also realized that her forced air boiler was well past its prime because the heating system existed when my associate and I moved into our house, however when I suggested that she called her local heating, cooling, plus ventilation dealership to arrange a professional repair appointment or repair repair my mom simply shook her head. She insisted that she could get by with the heating plus cooling devices as they were. She did not need to spend my money any upscale costs for a certified air quality control specialist to inspect her ancient Heating, Ventilation, plus A/C devices. My mom insisted that her indoor air quality control system was not that pressing to her to shell out the cash. That’s what she said one morning, however every conversation we’ve had since has been about her bad air quality.

a/c set up

I got sent to the boss’s house for an Heating as well as A/C repair

Most recently, I was aggravated after being sent out to an A/C repair job which was apparently a test of my air conditioner knowledge.

Sporadically it’s easily difficult when people want to challenge you in life. I feel like there are a lot of humans who want to test others to make sure that they live up to particular expectations. This is easily the case when you are starting to date somebody new, when you are applying for a job, as well as when you are dealing with difficult relatives. For me, I have been most majorly impacted by my employers consistent desire to test my practical skills in our specialized field. You see, I work as a heating, cooling, as well as ventilation professional for a large indoor air quality control supplier who tends to hire their Heating as well as A/C workers directly out of the heating as well as cooling certification school. Because they always want to hire the youngest teenagers in the heating as well as cooling industry, they are also always trying to test us for practical skills in repairing as well as servicing are handling devices. They want to make sure that my pal and I really know what we’re doing with forced air heaters as well as air conditioner systems before my pal and I are on the job as well as giving them a bad name for faulty Heating as well as A/C repairs. I understand their problems, although I am quite tired of their sneaky tests in practical air quality control management. Most recently, I was aggravated after being sent out to an A/C repair job which was apparently a test of my air conditioner knowledge. The owner of the shop sent me to his own house to inspect his cooling system after reportedly experiencing hot as well as chilly patches all day. After hours of toiling at the A/C unit… I found out it was all a test. There was nothing wrong with the cooling system.

 

a/c worker

Other people check the stove; I check the Heating, Ventilation and A/C

When people talk about having OCD, I completely understand where they’re coming from.

I also happen to be fairly neurotic and obsessive about keeping myself safe.

I am glad to say, I don’t know the same pervasive handicap that a lot of other OCD individuals do. However, it does not stop me from being affected by my mental health affliction on a official basis. Namely, every time I leave the house. You see, I became quite obsessed with my indoor air quality control system about 10 years ago. I had been through an unlucky air conditioner failure in the middle of Summer that nearly was the end of me. It was so tepid and humid outside during that Summer that it was literally a danger to be in my apartment without a central cooling system running. When I noticed that my central cooling system has stopped operating, I immediately tried my best to repair the A/C system on my own. Unluckyly, I caused more disfigurement to the massive A/C unit than I helped myself. When I called out a professional heating and cooling specialist for help, it took over three days before they could fit my appointment into their busy repair schedule. I nearly died that Summer due to dehydration and overheating. Ever since that Heating, Ventilation and A/C disaster, I have been completely obsessed with checking on my central heating and cooling system. I never want to live another afternoon without indoor air quality control, so I incessantly check on my A/C system and forced air furnace. Everyday when I have to leave the condo to go to labor it takes me various hours to perform my Heating, Ventilation and A/C diagnostic rituals. I know other people worry about the oven, however I’m more terrified of my A/C system.

 

heat pump