Dryers that don’t dry, vacuum cleaners that don’t clean, and air conditioners that don’t cool may all be plagued by the same problem: a clogged or dirty filter. To keep many top-performing appliances in tip-top shape, you have to clean or replace a filter. In fact, that’s the first thing to check when something seems awry. When Consumer Reports tests vacuums, air conditioners, dishwashers, and other appliances, filter replacement is one of the things we consider as part of our ease-of-use score. [More]
air conditioners
Will DIY Air Conditioners Really Keep You Cool This Summer?
By 5.25.16
Don’t feel like plunking down upwards of a few hundred bucks for a window unit air conditioner? No, of course you don’t; that was a silly question. At the same time, you probably don’t want to spend the next few months baking in the summer heat. You could McGyver one using ice and some stuff that’s sitting in your garage gathering dust, but will it make your life any more tolerable? [More]
5 Things You’ll Find On Sale During August
By 7.30.15
Our deal-hunting colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports don’t just keep track of which products perform the best in their tests, but they also track prices on items to figure out what’s the best time to buy. What do they say are the best things to buy during the month of August? It’s a great time to pick up an air conditioner, a backpack, a dehumidifier, or a snow blower. Wait, a snow blower? [More]
Quick Fixes For When Your Air Conditioner Isn’t Working Like It Used To
By 8.8.14
We’re almost through the entire summer: has your air conditioner worked hard for you through the whole season? If it is no longer performing like it used to, here are some quick fix-it-yourself ideas from our optimal-temperature colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports. It’s possible that you don’t need to junk your A/C: just check a few things that you can probably handle yourself. [Consumer Reports] [More]
Portable Air Conditioners: Not So Portable, Don’t Cool The Air
By 6.12.14
The concept of a portable air conditioner implies that the device is portable, and that you can cool a room with it. They would be a wonderful tool if this were were true, but tests by our breezy and cool colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports show that they compare unfavorably to window-mounted air conditioners in pretty much every way, and you might be better off with no air conditioner at all. [More]
How Many BTUs Of A/C Do I Need For My Home?
By 6.5.14
We don’t need to go outside, look at a thermometer, or even to peek outside the skylights of the Consumerist Bunker: we can tell when temperatures are beginning to climb in much of the United States, because search engine traffic begins to pour in to old posts about how to figure out how many BTUs you need when shopping for a room air conditioner. Fear not, overheated Consumerists: we’re always here to help. [More]
How To Find The Very Best Air Conditioner For Your Home
By 7.3.13
We can tell when a heat wave strikes this great nation, because classic Consumerist posts on calculating what size air conditioner you need suddenly surge in popularity. There are handy charts that give you a rough guide, but surely those calculations aren’t the same for someone in Miami and someone in Boston. Enter Econofy. [More]
Should You Feel Guilty After Receiving Amazing Customer Service?
By 12.28.12
We’ve long been advocates of using Twitter for customer service when the regular channels of customer service don’t work. There’s something about the combination of pithy microblog updates and public posting that some companies have done very well, and that others have been unable to manage. Others are giving up on the platform entirely.If you can get help via Twitter, that turns you into a VIP, and that made Lindsay Robertson of The Awl uncomfortable after she used Twitter to complain to Home Depot about her backordered air conditioner. [More]
Dirty Air Conditioner Filters Could Be Blowing Your Money Away
By 7.16.12 — Updated: 5.2.17
Has anyone else noticed that it’s been pretty hot this summer? As such, your air conditioner is probably getting quite the workout. But it’s important to make sure you’re getting the most out of it as you can so it can do its very best to cool you down instead of just running up your electric bill. That goes for your dehumidifier as well. One easy way to optimize those appliances? Cleaning out your dirty filters. [More]
Did Sears AC Installers Break Window, Or Ignore Cracked Pane?
By 6.1.12
Rona, ladylike, didn’t tell us her age, but she is a senior citizen. As for many Americans, Sears has always just been where she went when there was an appliance to buy. She and her husband ordered up two air conditioners from Sears.com last month, and Sears contracted some local installers in New Jersey to put them in the windows. After the second installation appointment, she discovered that the window was cracked. One of two things had happened: either the installers noticed that the window was cracked and put an air conditioner in anyway, or they’re the ones who did it, then hoped that no one would notice. [More]
NYC To Retailers: Close The Door, Did You Grow Up In A Barn?
By 7.6.10
In New York City, if you have a store with more than 4,000 square feet of retail space, or if you own a chain of at least five stores in the city, you’re required by law to keep your cool air inside where it belongs. That means none of this leaving the door open so your cool air will “lure in overheated customers,” reports WNYC. A city councilwoman says she hopes to conduct surveys this week to catch any retailers skirting the law. An employee at French Connection in SoHo said that her store is concerned about the energy crisis, so they only open one door instead of two these days. [More]
Sears: We Can't Replace Your Mom's Air Conditioner, So Cancel Your Vacation
By 5.29.10
Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and what does summer mean here at The Consumerist? Air conditioner horror stories, of course! Janet, a senior citizen with health problems living in Memphis, Tenn., tells Conumerist that Sears is dragging out the repair of her air conditioning unit in a way that’s unacceptable considering the current weather conditions. When Janet’s daughter explained to a Sears that she couldn’t leave her alone in a roasting house during her planned, non-refundable vacation, she says the rep helpfully suggested that she cancel the vacation. Not helping, Sears. Not helping. [More]
Sears Finally Delivers Air Conditioner, Follows With Barrage Of Phone Calls
By 8.7.09
Remember Eric, Fleur, and their epic air conditioner ordeal? When we last spoke to them, they were AC-less, hot, cranky, and reaching out to the Internets for help. Now they have their air conditioners, but only after a stunning show of disorganized solicitousness on the part of Sears.
Sears Won't Deliver Air Conditioner Until Customer Pays Fee Sears Forgot To Charge
By 7.24.09
Eric wrote to us this week with a tale of such epic dysfunction while trying to purchase air conditioners from Sears that there’s not much we can add to it. Inside: Imaginary deliveries, super-secret New York City surcharges, and the hazards of daring to order anything over the phone.
How To Protect Your AC
By 6.10.08
There’s nothing like a bunch of schmutz to make your air conditioner run less efficiently, and cost you more in electricity, repairs, and requiring a new one faster. Here’s a few reminder tips from Consumer Reports about proper care and maintenance of your AC to keep it “cool runnings.”
7 Thoughts From The Weekend
By 6.9.08
1. No matter how much the little sign made by the owner gushes, there’s a reason why a liter of “Duggan’s Dew” blended scotch whiskey is only $15.95.
By 6.6.08
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If you’re going to buy an air conditioner unit this summer, remember to pick the right size. [Energy Star]
