What happens when you don't service your evaporative cooler for the fall/winter months? Chaos, Mayhem and some major expenses. Here is the Tale of a Non Winterized Evaporative Cooler.
If you live in New Mexico or in the Southwest for that matter you are likely familiar with 
evaporative or (swamp coolers) some love em some hate them. Refrigerated A/C has gradually become the choice for air conditioning. But a likely majority are still swamp coolers. The system works when cool tap water is delivered into a reservoir pan then pumped through delivery pipes called a spider to ultimately soak the cooler pads ( assorted products serve this purpose) a large blower and motor then push the now cooled air through the homes duct system. This setup has been a favored type of cooling because of our dry climate, with this system you are actually adding a good bit of humidity to the interior of the home and subsequently a continued influx of fresh air unlike a refrigerated AC system. Most often this cooler is mounted on the roof and a small waterline is attached to the water heater, hose bib or other source either runing through the attic space or via the outside wall up to the cooler. Ok, so now you have a basic understanding of evaporative coolers or swamp coolers.
Now to the story!
Several years ago I had taken a very nice listing in NW Albuquerque. A beautiful two story brick home, nicely appointed and clean as a whistle. When the home was first listed is was occupied by the owners who were relocating to California. Shortly after they packed up and moved on. The home was only on market for a few weeks when we received two competing offers, negotiations commenced and ultimately terms agreed upon. That very night in early December the temperatures had dropped into the teens. About 10pm, I get a call from the neighbor of this home. They wanted to know if I was the listing agent..YES. The man explains that the alarm is blaring non stop and when he investigated found water running underneath the threshold of the front door! Say that again, I said! He repeated and I said I would be there ASAP.
I arrive at the home on this very cold night, it was quite dark and indeed the alarm was sounding and the entire front porch was standing in water. I took a deep breath and
opened the door to hear what sounded like a waterfall. I found a light switch but it wasn't working, I had a flashlight and turned it on. What I saw horrified me, it looked like Niagara Falls. Most of the sheet rock from the first floor ceiling was hanging down or on the floor, water was running down through the rafters, the carpet was heavily flooded with water and debris. I began to frantically look for the main water shutoff of the home, I looked in all the typical places but could not find it. I started up the stairs which too were saturated with water only to find more chaos and mayhem. A portion of the ceiling there had caved in as well from the weight of the rushing water which was coming directly from above. At that point I pretty much knew what had happened but I still could not find the main shut off. I stepped out to my truck, opened my tool bag and then located the water main. With my Channel Locks and very wet and cold hands was able to get the main turned off. The siren of the alarm finally ceased and I was able to compose my thoughts just a bit. This was a disaster no doubt and the home in complete havoc.
So what happened was that the water line that feed this cooler was an oversized 1/2 inch diameter and was routed through the attic (not a good idea) the cooler was never disconnected for the winter months. Shutting down a cooler is IMPERATIVE no later than October. In their haste to get moved the seller overlooked this critical step and the result was the story above. The next day we immediately went to work calling the insurance companies, water evacuation teams and yes the buyers agent for the negotiated contract. The buyers dropped by the next day and immediately terminated. We knew the insurance company was going to rehab the entire home to include a thorough drying process to elevate any mold issues, new sheet rock, insulation, carpet, paint etc. I called the other interested buyer who was also a Realtor and described the situation to her. She came back out to the home, analyzed the damage and decided to resubmit her offer. Ultimately the home was completely repaired and we closed on time.
The moral of the story is to make sure your Evaporative Cooler is serviced for the winter, this is NOT something you can put off for a later day. It also proves that even a disastrous situation in Real Estate can have a positive outcome.
Albuquerque Homes and Lifestyle Blog
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John McCormack Owner/Managing Broker, e-PRO
505-980-4576 / John@AlbuquerqueHomes.com
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That is a real "swamp (cooler) monster" of a tale, John.
John love it, here in the greater Los Angeles area there are only a few "Swamp Coolers" left, it is a by gone areas resurrections!:))
You know what they say - it's always in the small details; btw thank you for the reblog.
Oh my! Thanks for the lesson today John. I sooo wish that I could be there to help!
Hi John, evaporative coolers are wonderful things and out here in the Valley of the Sun we still use them. The tremendous savings over refrigeration makes them very popular. Several new home builders offer "Piggyback" units...Evap and Refrig in one. Maintenance is the key even if temps don't drop below freezing, annual maintenance insures trouble free, low cost cooling. Hope you had a great weekend, neighbor. BTW, love the cooler schematic.
Yikes, that's a mess Q Man, wouldn't want to have to deal with that...........ever.
Wow! What a mess. We have to winterize our non heated homes in the winter. Burst pipes create a mess.
Good morning John, those late night disasters can be traumatic, I am glad to hear that it all worked out fine with a rehabilitated home and closed on time.
Very good advice for home owners. During the winter season, we see a lot of frozen systems in vacant homes that have not been properly winterized.
In my area it is very common for builders to put hot water heaters in the attic and I have seen many scenes like this one when there are issues with the water heater. Glad your story had a happy ending!
John, sounds lie a horror story! Good thing it happened before the buyer closed and got this event as a house warming present! Enjoy your day!
Good morning John. Hmmm, some good information to share with someone like myself that don't know anything about these types of coolers. First lesson of the day.
Good morning John. Oh my G-d, what a scary story. Your sellers were lucy to have you and you made magic. Enjoy the day.
Good morning John,
Thank God for insurance and hopefully paid. It is always the little things that become a major problem.
Make yourself a great day.
Good morning John,
I had heard of swamp coolers but did not know how they worked, none in my area...so, thank you for the education.
Your sellers were so fortunate to have you, ready and able to stop any further damage and then deal with the aftermath.
Great story!
Yes John, We have seen the damage from bursted pipes here during cold winter months. Not familiar with your systems, but seems that the same disaster can happen if not winterized!
John, definitely want to take care of these homeowner duties, or as you have shown, disaster could strike quickly!
John, this is fantastic advice. When I think of freezing I do not think of NM as my first choice. This story though should serve as a warning to area home owners to winterize their units. Have a great Monday
I think the key to all of this was your maintaining calm and realizing that everything can be repaired. Great job!!
Hey John, Great information for people, and what a picture. The weather is turning cold and people need to react to the weather before it is to late.
What a shame that forgetting one small step could create all that havoc, John. You handled it well.
Hi John - your picture alone should spur people to get their servicing completed! Regards Dave
Hi John -- this is a story that definitely can be summed up in one word "YIKES!".
John- Talk about learning a lesson the hard way. Those poor sellers. Sounds like you were the calm in the storm and as always got everything taken care of. This is a great reminder for anyone who has a swamp cooler!
John, What a mess but your words of caution may save that same thing from happening to someone else.
Oh my goodness, what a horror story-mold, mayhem and who knows what else? Great story and words of warning-you must stay on top of everything, especially servicing all kinds of appliances.
John,
My parents spent the last years of their lives living in New Mexico and they had swamp cooler but I guess I never thought about certainly this issue. Good explanation of the system and that is some story. I am happy it all worked out in the end and nothing worst than being drenched with water on a cold night!! I will suggest..
John, What a mess! Wow I never knew the story of the evaporative cooler. Great information.
John, that is horrible! Once my husband didn't close off the sprinkler system and pipes broke and we had a flood in our basement. Thank goodness it wasnt a finished basement. Now I remind him so I wont have to do the clean up again!
John -- thanks for the education about swamp coolers. It is also reminder for me to make sure I get my in-laws' sprinkler system winterized.
You can always learn something new on ActiveRain each and every day. Thanks for sharing this interesting read on evaporative coolers. Just think one small step and on the sellers part and we probably would not have been treated to this post-
John: Good to hear this story had a happy ending...winterize or run the risk of huge problems.
John, you kep your calm and even though the first buyers terminated you got it sold on time...suggested.
John,
Wow, I had no idea about about the evaporative cooler. This is good information. Wishing you all the best. A
Good evening John.
A home owner must know all the details about running the house in a correct way.
Hi John - Good heads up in that story. Even though our climate is right for them, we don't see them as much anymore - I doubt I've sold a home with one in a couple of years now.
John - It's that time of year, where proper winterizing is critical to avoiding the disaster that your seller experienced. Great timing and advise for anyone who has a swamp cooler!
John
This is a real nasty problem. I too have see Niagara Falls in a home. Big issue.
I really enjoyed the technical part of how the swamp coolers work. I knew HOW they worked, but seeing the diagram made me really undertand it!
My husband will soon be crawling up on our roof to take care of this issue. Then we will also have the chimney cleaned.
That is the kind of nightmare scenario we all dread in this business. Glad you got a quick turnaround on another buyer.
Hi John - I can identify. I used to buy commercial property and develop office buildings, and on one three story building, one of the third floor tenants had the automatic fire sprinkers go off on Saturday night. I got a call from the fire department, who called to let me know that when they arrived from the alarm, there was a waterfall rushing down the stairs. They wanted to know if I wanted them to break in to the suite where the flood was coming from or if I would bring a master key. When I arrived I found a simliar scene to what you found. And the poor tenants below them were also destroyed. Not fun - and I had to call all the tenants at that end of the building to let them know.
What a story and not a great experience for any realtor. Here in Colorado cold country, preparing for the cold is imperative. I can never stress enough the importance of know where the water shut off is for all home owners.
John, that would definitely be one of those sick feelings in the pit of your stomach moments. Water can make such a mess of things. I'm glad that one worked out.
Great post...I saw your post thanks to Kathy, and I agree it is worthy of her feature....have a wonderful day!
We have the same problem up here when banks turn off the utilities in homes but don't bother to turn off the water and replace it with a type of anti-freeze. Those banks are smarter now, but during the first couple of years of the foreclosure crisis, they just seemed confused that the pipes had frozen, then burst and that when the weather warmed, there was water everywhere.