Is my new window AC a hazard or am I just being a worrywort?

September 9, 2014 4:37 PM

I just got a window AC for my stuffy studio that never gets any airflow. I live in a very old brick building and the wooden window frame is TORE UP...likely from previous window AC units. I could only get one of the three screws to tie into the lower sash that attaches to the top of the unit (it's the center screw, if that matters). How likely is it that it might dislodge itself and fall six storeys down? Is this something I should natter at my landlord about?

The AC *seems* well-seated in the window; it feels very solid when I gently test it. The last tenant had a window AC (as do most units in the building) and it didn't kill anyone.

It's just that I have NO experience with these things as I have never lived somewhere it got hot enough to justify an AC, so I'm nervous as hell the thing is going to fall out of my 6th storey window and cause damage, or worse hurt someone (although that's fairly unlikely as the window is right in the corner of a back alley people don't seem to venture into).

Am I overthinking it or is it a real hazard I need to do something about?

posted by smirkette to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

I suggest you have your super or landlord look at it if only to make you sleep better not worrying about it.
posted by 724A at 4:50 PM on September 9, 2014

Best answer: Generally, you can absolutely secure the AC from falling out the window by making sure that the sash can't work loose & slide up. I usually cut a piece of wood (something like a dowel or a broom handle) & wedge it in between the lower sash & the top of the window. Even safer would be a screw through the lower sash & into the upper, but you may not want to mar the sash in a rental apartment.

This assumes that the AC has flanges or lips that sit on the inside of the window, this has been the case with every window unit I've owned. Of course it's still theoretically possible for it to fall in to the apartment, but that is both highly unlikely and not nearly as dangerous.
posted by mr vino at 4:53 PM on September 9, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: It always helps to either secure the sash to the frame with a bracket or jam a piece of wood between the sash and the frame so that the window doesn't open accidentally.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 4:53 PM on September 9, 2014

Best answer: With mine, those screws aren't actually what prevent it from falling. Is that different for you? The way mine is set up, is so that it's actually that the top flange is on the inside of the window sash, so that the whole two-inch-wide strip of steel resting against the sash is what stops it. If it's that way, unless the sash were further raised, the unit's not going out the window, screws or no screws. The screws mostly stop the sash from being opened, and the unit being moved side-to-side. If you can't use the screws for that purpose, you could simply wedge in a piece of wood, as shown in step two here. That'll stop the window being opened, and one screw in good should be enough to stop any side-to-side movement.
posted by tyllwin at 4:54 PM on September 9, 2014

Get the landlord to fix it. The exterior ledge may not necessarily be sturdy enough to support it, and, to be honest, they need to fix that anyway. (When I last replaced my big AC unit, they ended up having to rebuild the window and the frame and repair the concrete exterior ledge, as my window was about in the same condition as yours. A bunch of water had gotten into the frame and rotted it out, and rot is never good, especially in old buildings. I could have probably gotten away with not doing it - larger AC units tend to come with frames that put the pressure on the actual wall and this was a pretty big AC - but I sure as heck didn't want to be stuck with a bunch of bills when I eventually move out because the window was all torn up.)
posted by mrg at 8:24 PM on September 9, 2014

Involve your landlord. In fact if you check your lease there may be something in there about requiring landlords to install a/c units specifically because they are concerned about this kind of liability.
posted by srboisvert at 8:50 PM on September 9, 2014

If your landlord isn't helpful, you can use one of these.
posted by sarajane at 4:36 AM on September 10, 2014