PORTLAND, Ore. — This week Sam Murzea, of MP Heating & Air Conditioning, is spending most of his waking hours going house to house in the Portland metro area.
"This has been the busiest start to a summer season I think any of us in the HVAC industry or most construction or trades have experienced," Murzea said.
Just how busy is busy?
Murzea says he is getting upwards of 200 calls for service a day. He says it feels like everybody needs something before the heat wave hits.
"Right now we're booking out one to two weeks," he said.
By then, the extreme heat wave starting this weekend will have passed. In the meantime, Murzea says you can do plenty on your own.
"Making sure your outdoor unit, the coils are clean," he said. "Make sure drains aren't clogged. Make sure the system doesn't have anything impeding airflow."
Murzea says there is even more to do inside.
"Make sure your vents are open," he said. "Make sure none of the return intake openings are blocked and the system has somewhere to send the air it's producing."
Murzea says these kinds of precautions are critical and even then, the inside of your house may not feel like the inside of an igloo. Murzea says air conditioning units designed for our climate are made to operate in temperatures of 85 to 95 degrees.
"In those 100-degree-plus temperatures, you'll notice your system will likely not get to that 72, 68 number you're used to having, so you'll have to be more patient and understand they don't work that way."
Murzea asks that people also understand that he and his cohorts are doing their very best at a very busy time.
"It's very tough," he said. "It's very stressful and demanding but for us. It's our livelihood and it's our call to action to be there and step up and take care of our clients in their times of need."
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