Give those air-conditioning units a break; Don’t run them nonstop, service manager says

The oppressive heat and humidity in the Miami Valley this week has many people running their air-conditioning units seemingly nonstop.

>> Heat continues Friday, with possible isolated storm, Storm Center 7 says

And that’s a bad thing, one area heating and air-conditioning service company manager tells News Center 7.

“My air went out. It had been acting up for like two days, but then it finally went out for one whole day,” Miamisburg resident Steve Orf said.

Orf’s wife is disabled and cannot tolerate the heat that has been battering the region of late. The mugginess continued Thursday night as the heat index for the day made Dayton area temperatures in the 80s feel like 93 degrees, Storm Center 7 Chief Meteorologist Austin Chaney said.

Orf said he and his wife came up with a fix.

“We’ve got ceiling fans, got extra fans. We kept the house closed up with drapes to try to minimize any heat build up,” he said. To make the house even more comfortable, Orf rushed to purchase a new A/C unit that he was able to have installed Thursday.

Orf rushed the purchase out of worry that he and his wife might not be able to get any repairers to come out because of the unrelenting temperatures. He plans to lower the thermostat in his home, lower than the 71 degrees they normally maintain.

Chris Cantrell, service manager with Logan Services, said, “everybody will have theirs on and runnin’ almost all night” and that’s something people should try their best not to do.

Cantrell, who installed Orf’s unit, said, “Anytime that they just run nonstop and don’t shut off. You’re usually going to have issues with them.”

Give the A/C units a break when you can, he said.

Cantrell also suggested regular tune ups, filter changes and spraying off that outdoor A/C unit to prevent buildup of dirt and debris such as grass clippings.