As someone who has to run through a mental list of keys, wallet, phone and jacket every time I leave the house, I am no stranger to forgetting things before it is too late. Aircons are one of those few luxuries that I thought required little thought or attention until I heard a dreaded groaning noise or it refused to turn on, remote blinking an annoying red to indicate a signal that meant that, yes, the remote was working, but the A/C wasn’t.
It doesn’t help that I know nothing about how the heating system works. I know there is probably some kind of important wiring, bolts and blades that will sit and collect the dust that covers my apartment. Aside from that, my repair knowledge extends as far as knowing to try to replace my air conditioning remote’s batteries with my TV remote’s whenever the machine refused to turn on. This trick saved me when I first moved out of home at twenty and I had a combined heating and cooling system. Malvern was a suburb where I could only rely on my own intuition and that of my friends at university, so it was a miracle that I managed to solve that problem.
As I’ve grown up though, and mental lists have turned into phone reminders and to-do lists, I’ve discovered that aircons aren’t just a throwaway thought anymore. With my disposable income, I now have the option to take care of my cooling before it gives out during a heat wave. I started by making a list of the most affordable air conditioning services close to Hampton. I actually had a conversation with my technicians during my first service and learned that regular maintenance and dusting could do wonders to keep my wallet full and my home below sauna levels.
It was a hallmark of my evolution as an adult. It also means there’s one less thing that I am worrying about, which is always helpful because my brain refuses to work when it’s too hot or cold. I make sure to schedule maintenance quickly and catch repairs early on. And, in return, the aircon is able to become a passing thought urged on by annual phone reminders.
It is something I now recommend to you all. And, if you’re wondering how all my other mental lists are going, I still always forget my wallet. But that’s an obstacle I think will take a few more years to figure out.