Q. Should there be a small amount of water coming from the base of the unit inside the house? I can't figure out if it's the air conditioning unit or a leaking water heater?

A. No there should not...most likely the drain is stopped up and will need cleaning...this very easy and you can do it yourself ....just remove front cover of unit drain line should be visible along with two copper a/c lines...remove drain line ..flush with water hose ...run some bleach down it and reassemble....this should solve your problem...

Q. I have an outside central air conditioning unit, it is approx. 80 degrees outside and extremely humid, also very hot inside the house with fans running. The air is set to 70*, yet the air coming out of the vents feels to be room temperature and is NOT cooling the house down. Approx. two months ago, the landlord had a technician come out, and he said we had a slow freon leak, and although he filled it with freon, I was told he did not fix the leak. What is causing the air conditioner to do this? I cannot go in 100* weather without air conditioning. Any help would be appreciated :) and thanks in advance!

A. It almost sounds like the tech overcharged the unit. Either way he is supposed to fix the leak. He was not supposed to add refrigerant to a system known to be leaking. Make sure the fan is working on the outside unit. If it is not the system has no way to remove the heat from your house. Ask your landlord to call a different tech out to look at it. This guy was a fool.

Q. Please excuse my ignorance, but is there a portable air conditioning unit (blows out COOL AIR in a HOT ROOM) without being attached/fixed to the wall, as in carry it with you just plug it in to a wall socket and have it blow out cool air. I know this may seem like a dumb question, but a simple answer would be much appreciated. Thank you!

A. There are two units that are kind of like that, but not quite. one is called a swamp cooler. they evaporate water to absorb thermal energy in a room, but make the room more humid, and only really work in dry climates. however, they are relatively cheap to buy and use little energy. the other is a regular AC unit, but, this is not a window unit. they make one that is a free standing floor unit that can be pushed around and plugged in anywhere. however, the only downside is that there is a 3 or 4 Inch diameter hose that comes out of the back of the unit that must be run outside, through a window or a cat door or something. the unit is similar to window units in that it must move the heat from the room to the outside, but it does not have to hang out the window. they are about as expensive as regular window units. and are much more portable. you just have to point the hose outside. just remember, the heat has to go somewhere. it is very hard to just make it disappear (like an endothermic reaction, a reaction that takes heat)

Q. If you know someone that has and operates their own company, not a big company where you have to wait on hold when you call them i'm adding some rooms in my house and need some bids for the a/c thanks

A. Honest Air i dont have the number but you can find it online good luck

Q. It is 90 degrees in our house and only gets hotter they said they won't come until tomorrow afternoon. I work from home, I have a very ill dog, and these are not suitable living conditions.

A. Generally not. Obtain a court order first, you can not just decide to withhold rent. The dog will not be a legitimate reason in court, a signed lease and your AC being out for more then a couple of weeks will though. That is if the AC is covered in the lease. The next day is certainly not a problem for any reasonable person.

Q. My wife and I purchased this used house about a month ago. Before the purchase the home inspector alerted me to a leak had been repaired hours before his inspection. The repair was at the elbow of a drainpipe coming from the bottom of the air handler, going through the crawl space, and exiting into an adjoining wall. After moving into the home, I began to smell a damp smell coming through the air duct when the air conditioner was in operation. In addition, all three of us have quite sensitive noses and began to show signs that something was amiss,. I began to inspect, looked into the crawl space and found no evidence of a current leak but there was a lot of dust, dead cockroaches, and a similar damp smell. I also took the panels off the air handler and noticed mold all over a motor, which I suspect, is the blower and one side of the evaporation coils. Since this is a 3-ton system (the a/c is a fifteen year old Ruud and the air handler is an old Tempstar) in a roughly 2,100 sq/ft home in Mississippi, I was seriously considering replacing this system in a couple months. The system is cooling but does not cycle as often as I think it should. I have been all over YAHOO! asking questions so I know many of you are tired of reading my posts. I had planned to order a system from an online company called Alpine and getting a contractor to install it. Now I am assuming that my air conditioning ducts may need cleaning too and it may be more prudent to pay retail with a local company that not only installs systems but also cleans air ducts. In an effort to improve the air quality a bit, I was thinking about getting a mask, shop vacuum, gloves, bleach and water solution, sponge, and evaporator coil cleaner and cleaning the coils, blower, and crawlspace until we are ready to replace the system. Am I correct in my assumptions can anyone give me prudent advice?

A. You will receive the best answer from a HVAC (heat ventilation and air conditioning) contractor.

Q. I just moved into a new home that had never had the ducts cleaned. The house is a ranch with gas forced air heat on one zone with about 9 vents. I found this company on a coupon for $45 which included unlimited vents and a couple access holes. When the company began their work they found mold and the price skyrocketed from $45 to $1400. Does this sound like a screw job or is that price accurate for mold removal and duct cleaning?

A. Mold removal/remediation is entirely different from air duct cleaning. However, it is not uncommon to find mold in your air ducts. That is why we recommend the Electro Breeze Duct Mount UV kit at http://www.allergy-relief-air-purifier.com/air-conditioning-filters.html. This unit will eliminate mold and bacteria from your indoor air and keep your air conditioning coils clean from mold. You must consider that to remove the mold from your air ducts, the air duct cleaning company is entering into a potentially dangerous situation for their employees. This requires expensive equipment and a person with the skills to do the remediation properly. Now that they have knocked the mold loose, you will need the high efficiency filtration and ultra-violet light of the Electro Breeze DMUV kit to kill and capture the mold spores in your indoor air. I hope this helps.

Q. Thinking about having one installed. Thoughts on cost to install, operating costs vs using the air conditioning? What about leaks around the installation site...hear that from a lot of people that have had them. Thanks for the help!

A. If you need an attic fan and have a vent at one end of a peaked roof, you can have a fan installed there. I did something else too. One fan in the attic blows air down into the house. Another at the other end of the house blows air into the attic. On a cool day, but with a warm attic because of sun load, I circulate air from the attic through the house. Thermostats in the attic and in the house circulate air only when the house is 70 degrees or less AND the attic is at 75 degrees or more. Also I can switch off the one that blows air into the house. On hot days, after sundown, I can blow air out of the house, sucking it in from the cooler air outside.