In the spring of 2006, my husband and I had the opportunity to learn a very valuable lesson in home ownership regarding changing the filter on our central heating and cooling system. The summer heat had started early and our air conditioner just wasn’t putting out any cold air. The problem: a hideously clogged and filthy filter.
Well, yesterday the same thing started happening. I was getting ready to go to bed when I noticed that it just wasn’t very cool downstairs. It occurred to me that I couldn’t remember the last time I changed the filter, so I took a late-night trip to the grocery store and bought the closest size I could find. It was two inches too tall, so I trimmed it down with scissors. It turned out that the old filter was indeed caked with dust and lint, so I replaced it with the clean, new filter and waited for things to sort themselves out.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help. The air conditioner is running, but it’s putting out air that can charitably be described as "not hot."
I’m now awake ridiculously early with a stiff neck from tossing in turning in my uncomfortably warm bedroom all night. Did I mention that the bedroom ceiling fan also shot craps recently? I should have taken a sleeping bag and slept in the studio.
Before I call for service, I need to go and make sure there’s nothing about the outside unit that couldn’t be fixed with a good spray from the hose. Sometimes it seems to draw in every filament of plant fiber on the block. If it looks normal, I suppose I’ll have no choice but to request a repair call.
Man, I hope this isn’t our fault for not replacing the filter…
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