SIOUX CITY, IA -
From your lawn to your air conditioner, this heat wave is taking a toll on Siouxland, and keeping a lot of folks busy.
And as it turns out, keeping all of us cool is actually quite the hot job.
The month of July has been busy for Luis Delatorre, an HVAC technician for C.W. Suter Services.
The heat's working him overtime.
"Last night I actually got done at 10:30," said Delatorre. "And I was taking several calls, after hours calls."
A lot of air conditioners have just as hard of a time beating the heat as we do, and with units breaking left and right, keeping folks cool isn't easy.
"Its been kind of hard, we gradually try to keep up, but with this temperature that has changed on us, it's just, it's hard to get to houses and fix the A/C units," said Delatorre.
Your air conditioner isn't the only thing getting burned, your lawn's probably seen better, cooler, and wetter days, too.
"People start to see some brown on the lawn and they double up on the watering thinking that's going to fix it," said Jim Miller, Owner of Scotts Lawn Service in Sioux City. "Actually it causes more problems."
Miller says the low parts in your lawn collect that extra moisture, which turns to food for grass-killing fungus.
To help out, you can wait until early morning to water your lawn, sometime after 5:00 AM.
"Let your yard tell you if there's a problem," said Miller. "Call a professional for assistance."
The heat has those professionals working overtime.
After tearing one air conditioner apart and testing it, Luis says the news isn't good.
"The customer will probably be facing a repair of the unit, which is quite costly," said Delatorre.
That all adds up to just one part of the high cost to keep cool.
Luis also says it's a good idea to have it serviced by a professional once a year.
That way, the next time the mercury rises, hopefully it doesn't break down.
