Saved on plumbing and AC service call bills

[Larry P.]

Recently I picked up a "Power Plunger" (Item#99644) for $5.95 on sale and a 25' drain cleaner (Item#66262) on sale for $11.99 at Harbor Freight.  These two items were recommended to me by another investor as good to have on hand items.  About two weeks later I had a tenant contact me and tell me that the shower was stopped up at a house.  I started to call a plumber and just send them out but thought I'd go try the Power Plunger first after what I had been told about it and the reviews I read.  I was glad that I went and tried it.  One pump and the clog was cleared and all has been fine ever since.  Took literally less than ten seconds total.  I'm sure that I saved a $100+ plumbing bill with this tool.   I have't tried the '25 foot drain cleaner yet.  This Power Plunger tool should be on a landlord's must have list to try before paying for a plumber.

Then a couple days later I had a tenant call and say that the electric had gone on and off several times in the neighborhood and now the AC was running but not cooling.  This was on a Saturday afternoon so I called the answering service for my AC company and waited for a callback.  In the meantime I looked on Google and found the following reset instructions.  I relayed these instructions to the tenants and 30 minutes later the AC was cooling again and all has been fine since.  This time I saved an AC service call.  Thought I'd share these tips with everyone.

Five Simple Steps to Resetting Your Air Conditioner

1. Turn the system off at the thermostat. This will stop the thermostat from calling for cooling until you have reset both the external and internal breakers.
2. Find the breaker box in your home and flip the breaker for the a/c to the “off” position.
3. Flip the breaker for the a/c back on.
4. Now, wait 30 minutes. During this time, the internal breaker in your air conditioner will reset. During the 30 minutes, keep the thermostat in the “off” position. The internal breaker cannot reset if the thermostat is calling for cooling.
5. After 30 minutes, turn the thermostat back to “cool,” and the air conditioner should turn back on.