Summer is definitely here in the Kansas City area. Heat and humidity are on the rise. We're not going to feel any relief until autumn gets here, no matter how many snow cones or gallons of iced tea we consume. For the next few months, the steady hum of the air conditioner will be our constant companion. At least, we hope we'll always be hearing that hum, because the only thing worse than a hot summer day in KC is a hot summer day when you're waiting for an air conditioner repair job because your A/C unit abruptly quit working!
The extremes of heat that we see during the summer here in Olathe are uncomfortable for us to endure, to be sure, and they can do a lot of damage to your pocketbook in the form of higher energy bills, but did you know that they can also cause a lot of problems for your home? Let's take a look at a few of the most common and most serious issues caused by extreme summer heat!
Your air conditioner runs constantly. It doesn't matter how high you crank the thermostat or how much you try to just lie around in the shade with a fan blowing on you. Your air conditioner is going to run a lot more during a hot Olathe summer than it will the rest of the year. This puts wear and tear on your A/C, which can lead to breakdowns and unexpected air conditioner repair jobs. Worse, it could lead to a system failure, which can strand you without air conditioning on a sweltering summer day. Fortunately, we've listed a few warning signs to watch out for. If your HVAC system is being serviced bi-annually as it should be, an Olathe heating and cooling pro may be able to spot trouble coming before it becomes too serious.
Heat drives up your energy bills. We already mentioned this, but it bears repeating: All that air conditioning isn't free, and your energy bills are bound to go up as the temperature rises. There are things you can do to keep the outlay at a minimum – and things you definitely shouldn't do – but maybe the best thing to do is to invest in a reliable "smart" thermostat such as the Nest system, which can help keep you cool while also keeping your bills from hitting the stratosphere. And get on board with a preventive maintenance agreement like the ones we offer at Davenport.
Heat can crack your foundation. No kidding. Heat dries things out, and your foundation is designed to use the soil around it as a support structure. As that soil dries up, it shrinks and cracks, which can cause it to pull away from the foundation. Without the support of the soil, your foundation may crack too. What to do? The simplest solution is to water your foundation as you would a flowerbed to keep the soil moist.
Heat makes your roof weaker. After all, the sun is beating down on your roof all day long, right? It gets really hot up there. All that heat can become trapped in your attic, especially if your attic doesn't have adequate insulation and airflow. This can lead to everything from deteriorating shingles to dried out caulk around the flashing on your roof. The boards of your roof can even warp, which may cause cracked shingles and other problems. Your best bet is to ensure that your roof and attic are sufficiently ventilated. To do that, contact a local roofer and have them take a look. They'll be able to let you know if your roof is in good shape and what to do about it if you're not.
Your hardwood floors can warp. Extreme shifts in temperature and humidity cause wood to expand and contract. If the shifts are extreme enough, this can cause damage to just about anything made of wood. If you have hardwood floors, they could become uneven or even pull away from the subfloor altogether. If your flooring is exposed to too much heat and humidity, the wood can even crack. This is one more reason to keep your indoor temperature and humidity well-regulated, even when you're not at home.
Heat drives pesky bugs indoors. You wouldn't know it by the number of mosquitos and other pests that we usually have outdoors on an Olathe summer day, but bugs don't want to be out in the heat any more than we do. While insects and other pests thrive in the summer, they prefer to find places near food and moisture that are sheltered from the worst of the heat. Unfortunately, this means they may want to come inside. And while some bugs are just annoying, others can damage your home, your Olathe heating and cooling system, and even your family's health. Luckily, we've got an article that tells you how to keep 'em out of your house. If you still have questions, contact a local pest control expert!
Your pipes may leak. We typically associate problems with our pipes with extreme cold. After all, freezing pipes can burst and cause all sorts of problems. But extreme heat can damage your plumbing, too. Summer heat can cause the pipes in your home to expand, just as extreme cold can, but your plumbing is also at risk during the summer due to a much higher volume of water usage. Whether we're taking long, cool drinks, running sprinklers, or filling swimming pools, nothing cools us off like water, but running all that water through your pipes puts an additional strain on them. Have an Olathe plumber take a look to make sure everything is ship shape.
The summer heat can even damage your appliances. Believe it or not, your appliances have to run more when the summer heat hits. This goes double for the refrigerator, which has to expend a lot more energy to keep everything cool inside. All that extra work wears out the parts quite a bit faster, but that's not all. Here in Olathe, summer weather means summer storms, and those often bring power outages, which can also do a number on your appliances. The best thing to do is to ensure that the condenser coil is clean on any appliances that have one. A dirty condenser will make your fridge work even harder, and that's not a good thing. Be sure to pull your refrigerator away from the wall and clean all the way around, too.
There are a lot of things you can do to protect your home and stay cool during a hot Olathe summer. We touched on a few of them above, but the best thing you can do is to enroll in our VIP preventive maintenance agreement here at Davenport Service Company. It can help keep everything running smoothly (and coolly) and hopefully stave off the need for air conditioner repair down the road. To learn more or enroll today, just give us a call at 913-441-2222!
