Thursday, July 12, 2012

So Freaking Hot

We moved into this house in March. When we moved in, we knew the air conditioner didn't work. But it was March, so we had time.

Or so we thought.

It got to be the end of May and I called to remind the rental company that the air needed to be fixed. They said they would contact the home owners and get it done.

Three weeks later a repair man came out to give the estimate.

Then nothing.

So I called the rental company again. They said the owners didn't want to pay for it.

Oh hell no.

I wouldn't have rented a house with no air conditioner. Not here. Not in this summer.

So I remind them of this. I remind them I pay rent. On time. For 4 months in the house and 4 years with the last house. (Same rental company.) They remind the owner.

Finally, on July 2 they consent to have the swamp cooler fixed. (This house has both an a/c and a whole house swamp cooler... Neither of them worked.) They say they will send someone out right away to fix that and then see if they could get a lower estimate to fix the a/c later.

So someone came to fix the swamp cooler. Turns out, it was not fixable. It would be cheaper to fix the a/c.

Then nothing again.

So I call and I call and I call.

Finally, this passed Tuesday they consent to fixing the a/c. And they come and repair and it was amazing.

For a few hours....

Late that afternoon the thermostat went out. It has a digital display and it was blank. I laughed.

Figures.

I call, they send the repair guy back yesterday and he says there is a short in the house fan. (It blows the heater too.) That blew a fuse and then the thermostat. He can fix it and he has the part. He says he will return in the evening to do it.

I never see him.

Now I am hot. Last night, after dark, we open as many windows as we can. (We are missing screens on a lot of our windows. A whole other story...) We have 8 fans going. 6 ceiling fans and two table top fans. And it is still 92 degrees inside the house.

We have taken a million cool showers. Drank gallons of cold water. It doesn't matter. We are still hot. We aren't eating because no one feels like cooking. It's just too hot.

I haven't slept in two days. It's just too hot. I have enough trouble sleeping with the baby and having to pee every five minutes. And my feet and ankles swelled up. So did my fingers. This is ridiculous.

I worry about the guinea pigs. They are not meant to live in the heat. And heaven forbid this had happened after we had the baby. Hot babies are no fun.

So I stayed home from work, wasted one of my sick days, to try and get this done. I called the repairman fist thing this morning. He never came back last night because the owners wouldn't approve the repair. He thought the rental agency had told us.

Serious.

I call the rental agency and was told the same thing. They approved the $800 to fix the air conditioner, but had not approved the $110 to fix the electric short.

So I asked them if I could just pay for it myself. Then take it off the rent. She said as long as I had a receipt.

Let's just do it.

So now I am waiting for the repair man to come back. He should be here soon. He is having a busy day. His office said they had 18 calls so far today. An air conditioner repairman is a wanted man in July in the desert. But they assured me they would be here today. David is picking up the cash on his way home from school.

Then finally..... FINALLY... We will be cool and comfortable.