It’s the worst-case scenario: you’re sitting at home in the middle of summer watching TV with the family and then suddenly and without warning bam, your air conditioner stops running. You try turning it on and off several times, adjusting the settings, maybe even say a little prayer, but to no avail. Your air conditioner has broken down when you need it most.

Finding yourself with a broken air conditioner in the middle of summer isn’t just an inconvenience and uncomfortable, it can be dangerous. Young children, older folks, and house pets can be particularly susceptible to heat-related health problems such as heat exhaustion, and the hotter your house gets the more real the danger gets. 

If you have a broken air conditioner you can’t afford to sit idly by. You need to act fast in order to protect your home and family from the dangers of extreme summer heat. If you ever find yourself in this situation, don’t panic and follow this simple game plan to help get your air conditioner fixed and your house cool and back to normal as soon as possible.

Call for emergency service right away

Without question, the first thing you need to do as soon as you identify an emergency situation with your air conditioner is to call for service. Heating and cooling companies are often at their busiest during the summer, so the sooner you can call the better your chances are of getting a technician to your home as soon as possible. The last thing you want is to have to sit and stew in the heat for longer than you have to. 

Find a heating and cooling company like Hoosier Indoor Air who offers 24/7 emergency service. We know dealing with a home emergency that threatens your family’s comfort and safety is a stressful situation. That’s why Hoosier Indoor Air keeps HVAC technicians on standby, ready to rapidly respond to broken air conditioner emergencies. Getting a technician to your home quickly may even mean it can be fixed that same day, or at the very least you’ll know sooner rather than later what you are up against.

Stop creating heat

Once your air conditioner stops working your home’s internal temperature will start rising, and there really is not much you can do to stop that because of how hot it is outside. What you can do, however, is take steps to slow the rate at which your home gets hotter so you can enjoy the remaining cool air as long as possible. You may be surprised to realize just how much heat gets produced by normal home activities. 

Avoid the kinds of activities and actions that produce the most heat and humidity into your home such as taking warm showers, running the dishwasher, and running the laundry machine. Your lights also produce quite a bit of heat, so if you can get by on natural lighting consider turning off your lights for a while. Avoid cooking if you can as well since your stove and oven can produce so much heat. It’s the perfect occasion to order out for a pizza for dinner!

Keep yourself cool

While you are dealing with a broken air conditioner, you need to do whatever you can to keep you and your family cool to avoid heat-related health problems. Fortunately, there are quite a few simple cooling techniques you can easily do at home. Here are some simple tips for keeping cool without AC.

First off, break out any box fans you have stored away. You can maximize the cold air blown around by fans by filling a bowl with ice water and putting it in front of your fans as well. Never underestimate the cooling powers of a cold compress, ice pack, or cold rag on the back of your neck too. Most importantly, make sure you stay hydrated and cool by drinking lots of cold water.

And while you are keeping yourself cool, don’t forget about your plants. Plants like some heat, but too much heat will make them wilt away. Be sure you keep your plants well-watered (but not overwatered) and kept in a shady and coolest place possible to help them from overheating and dying.

Get out of the house

If worst comes to worst and your thermostat is nearing triple digits and relief is not yet imminent, staying inside your hot house isn’t doing you any good. Find a way to get yourself out of the house, especially if you have pets or younger children. If you are able to splash around in your backyard pool or with your sprinkler system, that is a great way to get kids out of the house and cool off for a while.

You may also consider taking a field trip to somewhere cooler while you are waiting on repairs or your technician to arrive. Take the kids for some cold ice cream and enjoy it in your car with the air conditioning running. Or, if repairs may take a little longer to get done, go stay in a hotel or take the kids for a sleepover at grandma and grandpa’s house. 

Dealing with a broken air conditioner in the middle of summer is a stressful situation for any homeowner and getting relief as soon as possible is important. That is why Hoosier Indoor Air offers 24/7 emergency air conditioning repair services for all our customers in the Indianapolis area. If your air conditioner breaks, don’t delay and call Hoosier Indoor Air at 317-888-9111 for emergency broken air conditioner service right away!