Mississippi in grips of heat wave

Mississippi in grips of heat wave

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Mississippi in grips of heat wave

Mississippi is in the grips of a heat wave. Temperatures are in the mid-to-upper 90s, with real-feel temperatures up to 115 degrees in some areas.

People are trying to stay cool, which puts a strain on some air conditioning systems. For those in the business of keeping cool, they cannot seem to slow down because of so much demand.

Kaitlyn Hendrix and her children were outside Wednesday trying to stay cool.

"Last night, in the middle of the night, Eliza woke me up," Hendrix said. "She was hot. I checked the AC and it was not keeping up."

Chris Robinson, with Environment Masters, said the reasons for breakdowns vary.

"Primarily, the coils are wrapped around the condenser. They begin to get dirty (and that) puts a lot more heat load on the compressor. It creates a lot of strain and causes a lot of systems to go out," Robinson said.

Air conditioning repair crews throughout the metro say it is tough keeping up with demand.

"We are crazy busy right now. Just everything is going out," said Reggie Russell, with Russell Refrigeration.

Russel said even insects have caused some breakdowns. He advises homeowners to look out for ant beds.

"It can actually get into this unit and cause a premature failure of the compressor," Russell said. "Just from ants."

Air conditioning crews said it really makes sense to have home units inspected to limit the chance of them breaking down. Also changing indoor air filters every 30 days makes a difference, they said.

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