Plumbing Tips

We are in the first week of September. Late summer temperatures in Salt Lake City are in the mid-90s. Autumn is two weeks away. That means air conditioning systems will be running overtime for the next few days to keep the atmosphere inside your home and office cozy. A lot can go wrong during this period.

This May Happen to Your Air Conditioner

Your system’s refrigerant can leak, its compressor may blow up, or its condenser can lose its capacity to function at high efficiency; leading to uncomfortable levels of heat in your home and increased energy use. Should you find yourself in such an unpleasant situation, calling Manwill’s Plumbing Service will be your best bet to get rid of heated air.

But this scenario is more likely. In case your air conditioning unit doesn’t break down under pressure—which is a more likely scenario—calling a plumber to inspect and clean your A.C. is still worth your time because it can save you a good amount of money.

How exactly do AC jobs in September save you money?

Let’s try to understand a few concepts before we present our argument.

Prices Are Dictated by Supply and Demand

Try visiting a restaurant in Salt Lake City during the rush of lunch or dinner hour. Revisit, but this time during evenings or mornings when there are comparatively few people eating out. You will notice a marked difference in price and service. It is due to a basic principle of markets: supply and demand dictate pricing. Plumbing is not an exception.

Plumbers Are Busiest Between May and July

I always knew from my gut and personal experience how busy the months between May and July are for air conditioning repair jobs. After all, I am a fourth generation plumber and my great grandfather started Manwill in 1920. But you don’t have to take my word for it.

You can go to Google Trends and check the data for the search term “plumber.” It’s an excellent free research tool from Google that tells you how people are using its search engine. I decided to make a use of it while researching for this blog and looked for the last five years’ data for Utah.

Here is what I got:

You will see that three peaks that coincide with May, June, and July. It’s obvious. It is during summer that Utah’s seek plumbers, at least those who use Google.

Unsurprisingly, it is exactly during these months that plumbers become rare species. Either you don’t find them easily or you have to invite them at a high hourly rate.

So if your air conditioning unit needs to be cleaned or inspected, summer is certainly not the season for budget conscious homeowners.

But That Doesn’t Mean Winter Gives You Great Deals

Having read my argument, you may be tempted to put off all repairs until winter. Not a smart idea.

As you will see in the chart, January is another busy month for the plumber, but for an entirely different reason. Plumbers are often busy fixing furnaces so have little time to clean or maintain your air conditioner.

Thankfully there is a silver lining in the chart. It’s the ninth month. Our good old September when the least number of people look for plumbers.

To Save Money, Get Your AC Cleaned in September

Want a deal? Consider September for air conditioning repair and maintenance jobs.

That’s when plumbers are least busy (at least according to Google Trends), the weather is pleasant, and you may get a deal on plumbing services.

Takeaway

Air conditioning units can malfunction any time of the year. If it’s an emergency, you will need to get a professional on a job as quickly as possible. But if it isn’t an emergency—such as yearly maintenance jobs or cleaning—you can save quite a bit of money by scheduling such tasks in September.

Don’t put off your air conditioning unit repair jobs until next year. Get it fixed right now and avoid 2018’s pre-summer AC repair rush. If you are in Salt Lake City, call us at (801) 262-4671. We will come to you and clean and maintain your air conditioning.