Rant On AC Service

Totally got scammed by a HVAC company yesterday but I learned a valuable lesson for next time. If they are doing a general season inspection / cleaning on your unit(s), make them take a pic before and after or send them away. Also a reading on the coolant levels.

I went up in the attic and inspected this guy's work after he left and didn't inspect or clean anything. The coils were very dirty. I ended up buying a small shopvac and cleaning it myself. A couple weeks before I had an outlet installed in the attic so it worked great. No long extension cord needed. The drain was also dirty. Cleaned that also with the shopvac.

One thing I did not know about shopvacs is they can be used as a vac or a blower. Finally learned that after reading the directions for once. Another thing I did, I had an old roll of aluminum tape and sealed up any air leaks on the unit, even if tiny. I checked the vents inside and it made a difference. Probably blowing out about 5-8% stronger.

Summary: Could have saved myself a lot of grief if I got pics or inspected the work before he left. Won't learn that again.

There are some good people who service air conditioners, but most are not very thorough. Find one that is good, one of your neighbors may know one that does a good job. But remember, unless you looked at it, you would not know. Your neighbors might believe a person is good because they came over and were pleasant to deal with, but may never have checked their work.

There are a lot of scammers out there in all fields, I am a builder and would not hire half the builders around here to build me a dog house.

Left a scathing review on Yelp and also sent them a nice email.

I told them he did basically nothing and that I would train him for the price they charged me. I would also throw in a swift kick in the ass no charge.

a reply to: Stupidsecrets

That's why I do all of my own work myself. Good help is hard to find and I trust my own work.

My sister and brother in law are having problems and I was there when he was discussing what they needed to do. I just kept my mouth shut but learned real fast that the supposed technician was an amateur.

a reply to: Stupidsecrets

I would love to know the name of the HVAC company.