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Heat Wave Brings Early Christmas For Air Conditioner Repairmen

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Business is on fire at air conditioning repair companies.

WBBM's Steve Miller reports air conditioning repair technicians are some of the busiest people right now.

"We are booked for this week and all of next week," said Mary Meyers, of Fabian & Son Heating and Air Conditioning on the Northwest Side. "Any new customers, I've been told to make them wait until August. We're only handling existing customers right now."

Air Conditioning Repair Business Booming

Eric Johnson, who owns Illinois Climate Controls in Romeoville, said some people are desperate to get cool air.

"They're frantic; almost like the building-is-on-fire type of deal," he said.

Johnson said he tries to troubleshoot over the phone.

"Have you checked the batteries in your thermostat, especially if it's digital? Have you checked your furnace filter? A lot of times our calls are based on dirty filters," he said.

Johnson said, in this heat, even he's having trouble with his own air conditioning overheating.

Johnson said, last summer - which was really busy - the most common problem was refrigerant issues. This summer, it's dirty coils or filters, which he said might be due to high pollen levels this spring.

"The calls just keep coming in - 2, 4, 5 calls every 15 minutes," he said. "We prepare for it. This is our Christmastime."

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