MILWAUKEE — Southeast Wisconsin is heating up this week. TMJ4 wants to make sure you are prepared for the extreme temps we’re about to see.
Anton Keller otherwise known as “Ziggy” owns Zig's Heating & Cooling, which is based out of Milwaukee. The hot summer months typically mean his phone rings a lot.
“All day. Yep, it’s probably hot and that’s when things fail, when it’s really hot. They get overworked,” Keller explained.
He has some tips for you before you turn your central down to combat the high temps expected for this week.
“Clean the AC with a garden hose and put it on jet spray and clean it underneath with a hose because there’s a lot of cottonwood stuck on it from cutting the grass gets stuck on the sides. And people don’t see that. Then it overheats. And then the capacitor is this... it goes bad.”
With an excessive heat watch starting Wednesday morning into Thursday evening, Ziggy suggests changing the AC filter as well. If your AC is in good shape, Brendan Conway with We Energies suggest you start it up now.
“Now’s not too humid, but as the humidity starts to rise, even at nighttime, you maybe want to shut the windows and have the air conditioning, it starts to take out the humidity a little bit,” Conway suggested.
He also suggests these tips:
· Keep the sun out. Close shades, blinds, and drapes. The sun is really going to heat up your house very quickly.
· Avoid heat-producing activities such as using the oven, cooking on the stove, or using the dryer.
· Fans are your friends!
“Check on your neighbors, check on your family and friends, maybe invite someone over who doesn’t have air conditioning, those types of things, or go to the mall, go to the movie theatre, go to the library, there are things you can do to stay cool um that won’t cost you any money,” Conway said.
The Milwaukee Health Department has various cooling sites ready for the extreme temps if you need a spot to cool down.
Here is the list for Kenosha County.
And if you have AC, Conway thinks it should run smoothly.
“Our equipment is going to be full out, but it’s designed for this right. We design for the most extreme weather, the most extreme heat, the most extreme cold.”
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