I am so thankful I have a handy husband.
When we rented our apartment the landlord told us not to call him about HVAC.
He said that the machine had just gotten service and there was nothing to be done. Well my husband opened up the system and found the air filter clogged with dirt, dust and cat hair. Obviously a HVAC dealership hadn’t been there. The first thing they do is replace the air filter. My husband cleaned the entire inner workings of the system. He lubricated the fan belt and he is actually certified to have coolant. So he dumped some in the system. The AC device worked like a charm! We never had any complaints. During our time at the apartment my husband had to do a lot of maintenance. He got the dryer working when it quit twice. He fixed an outdoor light with a wiring issue. He repaired the stove, dishwasher and ice maker. His greatest feat is still the air conditioner though. That machine was definitely old and tired. It wanted to die so bad or at least get yearly AC service. Since the landlord was so cheap, we just had to make do. My husband worked on the air conditioner all the time to keep it up and running well. We were able to have quality AC all three summers that we lived there. Now we own our own home and have a good air conditioner. I still think about that apartment AC unit from time to time though.