What open 24 hours actually means
It means the phone gets answered at two in the morning by someone who can dispatch a technician, not a voicemail box checked at eight. Perla runs the office and the customer service team, and the people who answer are trained to ask the right few questions and get a truck moving.
It also means we tell you the truth about timing. On a 100 degree Houston Saturday, the whole city calls at once. If the honest answer is a four hour window, you get the four hour window instead of a comforting guess.
This is a real emergency
Call immediately if the system is dead and the indoor temperature is climbing, especially with an infant, an older adult, someone with a heart or respiratory condition, or pets in the house. Indoor heat in a Houston summer becomes a health problem faster than people expect.
Call immediately for a burning smell, smoke, a scorched odor near the air handler, sparking, or a breaker that trips again as soon as you reset it. Turn the system off at the breaker and leave it off. Repeated resets are how a small electrical fault becomes a fire. Water coming through a ceiling below the air handler is also urgent, because the damage clock is running on drywall and insulation.
This can honestly wait until morning
One room that is warmer than the rest, while the rest of the house is fine, is a comfort problem and not an emergency. It is usually airflow or duct related and it will still be there at nine.
A system that cools but is noisier than usual, or a thermostat that looks odd but is holding temperature, can also wait. So can a maintenance concern you noticed at midnight. Booking those during normal hours is easier on your wallet and gets you a longer, less rushed visit.
Staying safe while you wait
Close blinds on the sun side of the house. Move everyone to the lowest floor, since heat stacks upward. Run ceiling fans in occupied rooms only, because a fan cools people and not rooms. Drink water before you feel thirsty, and skip the oven and the dryer.
If the outdoor unit is iced over, shut cooling off and set the fan to ON so the coil can thaw. If a ceiling is dripping, cut power to the air handler at the breaker and put a container underneath. If power is out across the neighborhood after a storm, your air conditioner is probably fine.
Two minutes of checks before you call
- Breaker panelLook for a tripped breaker at the air handler or condenser, and reset it once only.
- ThermostatConfirm it is set to COOL, the setpoint is below room temperature, and the batteries are good.
- FilterA filter packed solid can freeze a coil and stop cooling entirely.
- Overflow panStanding water under the air handler usually means a clogged drain tripped the safety switch.
- Outdoor unitNote whether the fan is spinning, humming or silent, since that tells the technician a lot in advance.