a/c issues in SA (house, tile, floor)

[mojokitty]

Ok, maybe I'm just naive, but I can not get our downstairs to cool off. I know it's in the 100's and all, but this is strange to me. I mean, I'll set the A/C at 77 and it won't get below 80 or 81! Is this normal for it being this hot outside? The weird thing is, the upstairs is cooler than the downstairs! Any ideas? Anything else that we can do? We already closed every blind in the house so it's really dark in here, we have trees that shade our house, we have all of the ceiling fans going, we keep the laundry door shut that is off of the garage. Does anyone have a good, reliable, honest A/C repair person? Thanks!

[nicholasa101]

I have kept my ac on 74 for the last several days and it still does not seem to cool off in here- we have tile on the entire first floor of the house and I keep the blinds closed, laundry door shut-- it just doesnt seem to cool off---oh but wait--- I did just turn 40 yrs old--so that may have something to do with it.

[Paka]

Originally Posted by mojokitty

Ok, maybe I'm just naive, but I can not get our downstairs to cool off. I know it's in the 100's and all, but this is strange to me. I mean, I'll set the A/C at 77 and it won't get below 80 or 81! Is this normal for it being this hot outside? The weird thing is, the upstairs is cooler than the downstairs! Any ideas? Anything else that we can do? We already closed every blind in the house so it's really dark in here, we have trees that shade our house, we have all of the ceiling fans going, we keep the laundry door shut that is off of the garage. Does anyone have a good, reliable, honest A/C repair person? Thanks!

Do you have two thermostats??? If you have them "battling" each other because they are on a damper system that might be the problem. Ours is on a damper and needs to be set a few degrees different than the other floor. Also, we have our set on a temp (we like 73) and have it on circulate vs auto or on setting...it helps keep the entire house cool.

From what I am told, "dampers" are often the issue if the A/C is working to keep one part cool enough.

[mojokitty]

Originally Posted by Paka

Do you have two thermostats??? If you have them "battling" each other because they are on a damper system that might be the problem. Ours is on a damper and needs to be set a few degrees different than the other floor. Also, we have our set on a temp (we like 73) and have it on circulate vs auto or on setting...it helps keep the entire house cool.

From what I am told, "dampers" are often the issue if the A/C is working to keep one part cool enough.

We do have two thermostats and two a/c units. I'm not sure what or even if we have a damper system. I checked for a circulate setting but we only have on or auto. I'm thinking we need to change the filters, but I'm such a wimp I need hubby to do that for me. I keep begging him to climb up in that attic to check them out! I think tonight I'll tell him to either check the filters or tomorrow I'm calling a handy man AND the AC guy to do it! haha That will get him up there quick since he will hate for me to spend money just for that. Last year we had some AC issues with the upstairs unit and now it's working better than the downstairs unit!

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by nicholasa101

I have kept my ac on 74 for the last several days and it still does not seem to cool off in here- we have tile on the entire first floor of the house and I keep the blinds closed, laundry door shut-- it just doesnt seem to cool off---oh but wait--- I did just turn 40 yrs old--so that may have something to do with it.

Easy, kiddo; those of us that are looking at 40 from the other direction don't take kindly to a crack like that!

Back to the topic, the first thing I would ask anyone having a/c problems is when was the last time you had your a/c unit(s) serviced? It could be as simple as just being low of freon, or it could be something more complex/expensive.

But if you haven't had your unit(s) professionally serviced in the past couple of years, I would try that first.

Cheers! M2

[sapphire]

You shouldn't have to go up in the attic to change out your filters....and trust me, it's easy. I am neurotic about my filter. I change it once a month on the 15th and I am going on *knocks wood* 3 years of NO servicing, no problems whatsoever, and I'm in a 30 year old house with 2 stories and only one unit.

Open the closet where the unit is, there will be a little slot-like area that contains the filter. Pull out the old one, and put the new one in. If that's the problem, you should notice an improvement right away.

[mojokitty]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Easy, kiddo; those of us that are looking at 40 from the other direction don't take kindly to a crack like that!

Back to the topic, the first thing I would ask anyone having a/c problems is when was the last time you had your a/c unit(s) serviced? It could be as simple as just being low of freon, or it could be something more complex/expensive.

But if you haven't had your unit(s) professionally serviced in the past couple of years, I would try that first.

Cheers! M2

We just had someone out last year and they had to charge the freon for the upstairs unit I believe. They said whomever set our units up didn't charge it correctly and it wasn't getting up to the top floor very well. (don't quote me on this, I hope it sounds professional enough for people who know what they are talking about! ) Anyways, they said everything else looks OK. Now, could it be that we need to change our filters?

[mojokitty]

Originally Posted by sapphire

You shouldn't have to go up in the attic to change out your filters....and trust me, it's easy. I am neurotic about my filter. I change it once a month on the 15th and I am going on *knocks wood* 3 years of NO servicing, no problems whatsoever, and I'm in a 30 year old house with 2 stories and only one unit.

Open the closet where the unit is, there will be a little slot-like area that contains the filter. Pull out the old one, and put the new one in. If that's the problem, you should notice an improvement right away.

Our unit with the filters are actually in our attic. Ew. We used to have them in a closet upstairs in our old house in Ohio. I miss that, because I could check those. I'm too scardy cat for the attic here in Tx!

[sapphire]

That sucks. They need to be changed every month!

[rd2007]

so you've never changed the filter(s) because they're in the attic? I think I know what your problem is.. why would anyone put them there anyhow? I don't even want to guess how hot it is in my attic right now.
I would also have the system tuned up. After they do that the air is really cold and I wish it could stay like that all the time.