Sunday, September 7, 2008

Why the mess?

The kitchen filled with laundry room stuff....

The laundry room filled with chaos and a huge gaping hole...

(No Misty, I know you didn't do it...)

Why is this a good sign? The gaping hole is where one of the evil AC units used to live. It is gone now. Dead. Hopefully it has been tossed in the Nile, or buried with warning markers out in the desert somewhere. A new one has been installed - as the old one should have been - OUTSIDE the building, hanging off the wall, where it can breathe, have air circulating, and perhaps survive.

I am not sure who had the bright idea to install these units in tiny, barely vented cubbies. (You can't see it here, but there was a false wall over the gaping hole - the AC was confined in a space barely bigger than the machine - the grill covering the opening is actually a replacement and more open than the original. It got HOT!) One unt was inside our laundry room - like that is ever cool?? - and the other vented into an enclosed entry hallway (between apartments), where 4 other AC units were also venting, right outside our poorly insulated front door, so all the hot air poured back in the house... creating something of a vicious, and usually very dirty, cycle. That particular installation plan probably came from someone more concerned with the building's appearance, not any real functionality. Obviously someone who didn't have to LIVE in this building. These units have been a PAIN for all involved. Us and facilities. Finally, the technicians were able to hang them (and everyone else's) AC units OUTSIDE the building - like everybody else in Cairo does - and guess what? They work.

It will probably last until the next upgrade and then somebody else will probably think ... gee.. I bet the building would look nice if we could get rid of all this unsightly functionality. Sigh...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh but think of the 'great opportunity' you now have to clean up after all of the dust bunnies! (Mine hide behind the dryer and keep multiplying...)

Simple Answer said...

That was an American thinking of installing on the inside so the 'building looks pretty'. Arabs don't mind all kinds of things on their buildings - water tanks, satellites, antenna...

Hope you're now keeping your cool! :)

Connie said...

You can believe I attacked with pine sol! Those dust ELEPHANTS did not stand a chance - ok, maybe some might have left some eggs behind, I don't doubt it - but they'll be happier now that it is finally COOL! Yay!