Tumbled Words

Or not. I finally reached an air conditioning and duct cleaning company that was more than willing to listen to my questions — and answer them patiently. And the news was not what I was hoping for.

Replacing the crummy washable filter weeks after we moved in with a hepa filter was the wrong thing to do! Because the system is an open system and the building is so old, that only served to draw more outside air through the dust old building’s cracks, crevices, and floor cavities, etc. He told me which rating of filters to go to, all the way down to an 8. In effect, this means I cannot filter the air before it comes into the room, only after by running our stand alone hepa filters more often. Right now the one is just choked with dust on the carbon pre-filter, Leon cleaned and changed the other one a while ago, but didn’t have enough new filters for the other one. So we aren’t going to run that one until we can get the filters.

When I told him the man today put in a smaller return air filter case in the false ceiling — oops, that was the exact opposite of what needed to be done. That in effect created more of a vacuum in this condo unit than before. So that will need to be changed.

The man here today was told correctly, he cannot box it in OR run ducting to the filter in the ceiling - different kind of system.

NEITHER can we put allergy duct filters where the cold air dumps into the room — system can’t handle the pressure change.

We were also told that every time someone opens their sliding doors to the fresh WIND out here on the beaches, that will also cause more bad air to mix with ours upstairs. The irony is, there are no sliders except on the end units, but they have JUST been given permission to add them on all first floor units if they so desire! Timing is everything, isn’t it.

We have moved the bed EVERYwhere in this apartment - the corners, the middle of the room, the side walls - and checked the bedroom, we can’t find anywhere that the air doesn’t/won’t blow in your face at night. So, correct me if I am wrong, but this means every night the air directly from the vents will be pouring in our systems before it gets to the hepa filters to clean it. The place we get the least air in our faces - is the dining alcove, a full size bed will fit with just one inch hanging into the walkway. Of course, we have a queen, so it is a bit tight walking by! For now, we will buy a third hepa filter so that one can run over night and two in the daytime hours. I don’t believe they are made to run 24/7.

So. If you rent or buy a condo in an old building, especially the top floor, have someone who knows something about air conditioners see if your system is closed or not. We never knew they even made open systems. We do now.

Oh, and if you are putting tile floor in a condo on other than the first floor. There is something you can put down to help keep the noise below at a better level. Our landlord didn’t and though the man below has said nothing to us, in conversation with a visitor, we found out he reamed a man out the other day that he assumed was Leon — for all the noise. (They didn’t know we were who the old man was talking about until they said the apartment number and we said that is us!)

And we go barefoot, move furniture around on rubber wheels OR felt pads — but we do both drop things, yes, the phone for the third time by me today. Then there is the remote, and the bulletin board propped against the wall… I feel for him. Guess next week if Leon has a spare hour or two we need to finally ask him up for tea and see what noises are bothering him the most.

Tags: air conditioning don'ts

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