Think COOL thoughts!

Keep COOL on these HOT summer days! If it is not winter-like in your house, give us a call.

Before you do, though, there are a handful of things worth checking — some of which explain a house that will not cool without any equipment being broken at all.

Start with the filter

It is the most common cause of poor cooling and the easiest to fix. A clogged filter restricts airflow, which reduces cooling capacity and can eventually freeze the evaporator coil.

If you find ice on the refrigerant line or the indoor coil, turn the system to off and the fan to on. Let it thaw completely — which can take several hours — and replace the filter before restarting. Running a system with a frozen coil risks liquid refrigerant reaching the compressor, which is the most expensive component in the system.

Give the outdoor unit room to breathe

The condenser rejects your home's heat to the outside air. It cannot do that if it is smothered.

Keep roughly two feet clear on all sides. Trim shrubs back, pull weeds growing into the fins, and move anything stored against it. If the fins are matted with cottonwood or grass clippings, rinse gently with a garden hose from the inside out — never a pressure washer.

Reduce the load on the system

Your air conditioner removes heat. Anything that adds less heat to begin with means less work:

• Close blinds and curtains on the sunny side during the afternoon. Solar gain through glass is significant.
• Run ceiling fans in rooms you occupy. Fans cool people, not rooms — so turn them off when you leave, but while you are there they let you stay comfortable a couple of degrees warmer.
• Cook and run the dryer in the evening when possible, and use exhaust fans while cooking or showering.
• Use bathroom fans to move humidity out. Damp air feels much warmer than dry air at the same temperature.

Set the thermostat sensibly

Turning the setpoint down to 65 does not cool the house faster. The system produces the same output either way; the only difference is that it runs longer and shuts off later. Set it where you actually want it.

Also leave the fan on AUTO rather than ON. With the fan running continuously, moisture that condensed on the coil evaporates back into the airstream between cooling cycles, which makes the house feel humid.

Do not close vents in unused rooms

It seems logical, but closing registers raises static pressure across the system. That reduces total airflow, can freeze the coil, and stresses the blower. Leave them open.

When it really is the equipment

Call us if the system runs constantly without reaching setpoint, if the air from the registers is not noticeably cooler than room air, if the house is cold but clammy, if you hear grinding or squealing, if a breaker trips repeatedly, or if you see water around the air handler.

A house that is cold and humid usually means an oversized system that cools quickly and shuts off before removing moisture — a design problem rather than a broken part, and one worth understanding before you replace anything.

We are a phone call away

Buffington Brothers has been keeping Poplar Bluff cool since 1951. Our technicians are NATE and EPA certified, and we offer emergency service when a summer failure cannot wait.

Call (573) 785-6768 — and if you have not had the system serviced this year, that is the visit that prevents the emergency one.