The nice young man from the HVAC company got here around 10 AM, which was enough time for me to dust and spray a little air freshener (I vacuumed everything yesterday). He immediately got to work, and a half hour later we had a laundry list of things that needed to be fixed (which I already knew from the checkup visit back in March).

First and foremost, there was a leak in the downstairs unit’s condenser coil and it had lost coolant. Apparently coolant costs $675/three pounds and we needed 2.5 pounds. You do the math. In addition to that he was going to do a leak check and use leak sealant to (hopefully) seal any leaks, then blow out the drainage from the drip pans.

Which are apparently plumbed into our sewage system—the PVC pipes that lead outside are only emergency overflows. I had no idea. He wound up blowing out about two gallons of gunk and our master bath sink drain (which is where the downstairs unit’s drip pain drains into—I am so damn glad that I cleaned the master bath yesterday) is now clean as a whistle and will drain perfectly. We’d had problems with that line since we moved in and I’d snaked it out multiple times, but apparently there was a lot of buildup in the line leading from the drip pan. Bless his heart, that couldn’t have been pleasant.

And yes, he did indeed find a leak in the coil and applied sealant, then added the replacement coolant. I gritted my teeth and proffered a credit card for the total. Downstairs is now at a civilized temperature and the inside humidity (it was 60% this morning) is dropping like a rock, which is a goodness.

In related news I have to sell a buttload of jewelry and book covers, and will take any editing jobs going. But hey, at least we’re comfortable.