Oh, we're busy all year long, but it is during the long hot summers that we are checking for issues that could damage their homes.
This year was no exception. Here are some of the issues we encountered:
--Broken AC systems - it is not unusual for the capacitors to break. When a capacitor stops working; the AC system stops putting out cold air. It will continue to blow but the temperature inside the home will continue to rise.
What is a capacitor? The purpose of a capacitor is to store energy and can help regulate the flow of electricity. In layman's terms (and highly abbreviated), a start capacitor controls the voltage which allows an air conditioner motor to handle a high current flow in order to give the motor the torque required to start it turning.
When the capacitor fails, the motor cannot start and cannot create the cold air needed. The blower motor stays engaged and the system blows hot air. Then the temperature rises and voila! We know if the thermostat is set at 85 degrees but the temperature in the room is 90 degrees or higher that it is likely a capacitor failure.
We also had several clogged condensate lines (which are a leading cause of home flooding). Even though we recommend twice per year HVAC service due to the amount of sand and dust in our air; the condensate lines can still clog between services especially if we happen to have a particularly humid stretch of days.
--Plumbing problems are always an issue during the summer. In particular we had several cartridges that failed. The cartridge in a faucet or shower gets clogged with hard water deposits and then the units will start leaking. Any water leak is a bad leak.
We saw toilet wax seals fail. Typically we see this condition in homes that are left without an AC running or left running too high. The optimum temperature for homes in the summer is 85 degrees or less but some people insist on leaving the AC at 95 degrees or turn it off altogether.
This excess heat in the home is bad for furniture and artwork but can also melt the wax seals in toilets and cause them to leak. They might not leak right away but over time they will.
Other plumbing issues this summer included running toilets -- the rubber parts (flappers) fail without warning. These are inside the tank and need replacing or else you risk an unexpected increase in your water bill -- and by the way, please avoid putting bleach tablets in the tank. The bleach eats away at the flapper which may cause it to fail prematurely.
--Exploding cans and bottles. Even at 85 degrees, a home gets really warm. Every year we have issues with exploding laundry soap containers and soda cans.
And while often we see these issues in pantries and cabinets, believe it or not, cans and bottles left in small bar fridges are the most at risk. Those small refrigerators will freeze up and the contents will explode or become embedded in ice.
On more than one occasion we've had to defrost those little refrigerators. It is ok to use them during the summer, but they do need to be checked each week.
--Appliance failures. We can't even count how many refrigerators, freezers, wine coolers and other appliances go out each summer. Many of the homes in our desert are aging and those big built-in refrigerators are at or nearing the end of their serviceable lives.
Sometimes the issue is a loss of Freon. Freon is a gas and is used as a cooling agent in these appliances. These losses are typically due to leaks, often tiny leaks but without Freon, appliances cannot stay cold. If you have a freezer full of food or a drink fridge with expensive wine and the cold stops, it can be costly. Another reason to have appliances checked every week.
--Pool and Landscape issues. Ah, my favorite (that was sarcasm) issue. We hate it when pools or landscaping have issues because they can be extremely costly for the client and often the client gets upset over conditions we cannot control.
When it comes to pools, what we saw most this summer were failed auto fill units. When an auto fill fails, the water runs constantly, causing the client water bill to be ridiculously high. And a failed auto fill is not inherently obvious. You literally have to remove the cover and listen to see if it is running.
Another issue with pools is the lights. We can't always identify the light bulbs failing because we do not turn on the lights during the summer but often the pool maintenance techs will let us know. A shorted out housing can lead to shock. And while pools are supposed to be grounded in order to avoid an electric shock, it can still happen. Water and electricity are not a great combination.
Landscaping is the bane of our existence (she says only half joking). From July through September nearly all landscaping suffers. It can be earlier than July and later than September too depending on the weather.
No matter what you do, if you have too many days in a row over 110 degrees, plants and grasses will die. Put them next to block walls or in direct afternoon sun where the heat is intensified and you risk even more loss.
Plastic irrigation valves only last a few years in the sun and heat so we had several leaking valves (another huge impact to water costs and unimaginable waste). We replaced many valves over the summer.
--Critters - lots and lots of critters. If you are bug or creepy crawly phobic, please skip this section. Palm Springs had a charcoal bug invasion and there was little to nothing that could be done about it except to clean them up every week.
Cricket season runs primarily June through August and brings with it black widows so they are a challenge every year. For the clients where we offer pest control, they seemed to have fewer issues this year
but crickets are always a big issue. The best thing is to clear out the exterior utility closets and garage every week and to make sure you don't have a lot of cardboard or newspapers around. Why crickets like paper products, I don't know, but cleaning up these areas helps keep crickets at bay.
We won't mention the snakes, lizards and scorpions this summer. Ok, we will. Mostly we had lizards inside houses but we do still run across the occasional snake or scorpion. Mostly in Robin's assigned homes. Seems they are attracted to her! Ha!
--Lastly, but not least, are the battery failures. Smoke detector batteries, CO detector batteries, car batteries, golf cart batteries and alarm batteries. So many batteries.
Not sure you know, but the dry climate here sucks the life right out of batteries so they will not last nearly as long as they will in other climates. It is not unusual for some to die after 6-9 months but usually we can get 1-2 years out of most batteries.
We also saw an awful lot of broken smoke detector and CO detector units themselves. We always replace those with combination units with 10 year battery life; however only time will tell if that 10 year claim is substantiated.
Overall we had a great summer. Many clients had zero issues. Others had multiple. We never know from summer to summer which homes might have problems but we check them all carefully and thoroughly.
If you're reading this and you have not yet engaged us to do your absentee home checks we implore you to consider it. The cost of having us is nothing compared to the cost of a flood or broken pool, AC system or refrigerator.
And we bring you peace of mind that your investment is protected. We offer a flexible program that only charge you when you use us so even our local homeowners can have an account for when they are away on vacation or called out of town unexpectedly.
