u/sh0ch

My mother has been in the ICU/IMU for almost 2 months now.

It has been me (37) taking 14-6 hour afternoon/night shifts, with my father occasionally covering for me when I need it, and my step-father taking the day shifts and checking on their dogs.

Parking alone is costing me $600/mo. I barely get any sleep.

No one in my entire family, including my sibling and sister in law, have helped at all.

After about a month two of my cousins came for a very short visit.

Some of my family now live abroad, and while that's normally a decent excuse, there was about a 3 week period where we had no idea if she would make it.

Wouldn't want to interrupt anyone's dream retirement!

I just DO NOT UNDERSTAND how family could do this to my mother, stepfather, father, and me. Just absolutely abandoning us with zero support.

I have had friends who I previously lost touch with who have stepped up way more than my extended family to try and help.

This stay has made me completely lose faith in any medical professionals. All of the doctors at the hospital (one of the best in Texas) have made mistake after mistake, prolonging issues. They don't tell us anything. I have to CONSTANTLY be on top of anyone to have them do anything. They let her kidneys get so bad she needed dialysis, while I was telling them every day her urine output is very low and her urine is very dark.

I'm just so, so, so physically and emotionally exhausted.

Spent all day researching skilled nursing facilities that aren't awful (there are none) and finally found the least terrible one. Denied. Second least terrible one.... Fingers crossed.

And we're still looking at many, many, many more months of recovery....

I posted an insanely absurd estimate I got from a local company (that turned out to be owned by private equity, as someone suggested) of $40,000.

I've received a quote for the exact same thing from another company for around $25,000.

4 ton, 18 SEER American Standard variable speed complete system w/ optional zoning

• Complete removal of old system
• Variable condenser, evaporator, gas furnace, and thermostat

Option 1 $23,788 - w/ ductwork replacement in attic only

• High recommended due to condition of existing ductwork

Option 2 $25,155 w/ ductwork replacement in attic only + 1st/2nd floor zoning

4 ton, 14.2 SEER2 American Standard complete system w/ optional zoning

• Complete removal of old system
• Condenser, evaporator, gas furnace, and thermostat

Option 1 $11,006 - No ductwork replacement

• Not recommended due to condition of existing ductwork

Option 2 $15,806 - Ductwork replacement in attic only

Option 3 $21,845 -Ductwork replacement in attic only + 1st/2nd floor zoning

I am heavily leaning towards the variable unit with option 2. This seems very fair to me.

This company topped us off on freon for ~$560. Told us it will probably last us through summer, so I'm thinking we will get this done right after summer. I know prices may change a bit by then.

Thank you!

I posted the other day asking for some advice for a new system and everyone has been super helpful.

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Looking into getting a new system shortly and I'm considering a whole home air purifier.

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My dog got sprayed by a skunk last night and, remembering how long this odor lasts in the house even after wiring out, it got me thinking about this.

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I have two dogs and, as a result, a very dusty house.

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I've got several air purifiers throughout my house, but I don't feel like they do much outside or small pockets.

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Would anyone who has any experience with these have any recommendations or advice?

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My hope is that it could be installed horizontally in the large return space in my wall with an access panel for easier maintenance, but that's not a deal breaker.

Edit: OK, yes, horrible pricing. Company was bought out by private equity 4 years ago. Thank you all. My brain is currently overheating to have even considered the possibility this might be remotely fair.

Does this seem like a fair price for the materials/scope of work?

Home is ~2,200 sqft. Current ductwork from the late 80s, Furnace 2013, AC 2009.

Complete replacement on American Standard 18 Seer Communicated System, 4 ton, 2 speed.

Furnace, evaporator coil, 2 speed condenser unit. Supply plenum collar and drain pan safety float switch, 454b

Outside will included vibration pad whip and disconnect,armor flex insulation.

20 yrs heat exchanger, 10 yrs parts 3 yrs labor

Replacement on all accessible ducts tear out and dispose correctly, replacement with new r.8 value ducts , re configured all

air flow velocity, and finished with moisture resistant sealant. - 5 yrs parts and 1 yr labor.

Add a 2 zone system add 2 electrical dampers ,2 thermostats, temperature sensors , zone control board,- 5 yrs parts warranty 1 yr labor

Complete Duct System Medium $5,341.00
I-Harmoney 2 Zone System $5,527.00
4 ton, 17 SEER, 2 Stage Amer. Std. Gas System $25,347.00

Total: $36,215.00

Without zoning (which I no longer want after seeing the pricing lol): $30,688

Also, for a variable system, worth about $3,000 more?

I am in Houston and our A/C is out. A local company says our condenser has a leak and parts are not available (outside of warranty repairs) for our 17 year old system.

I don't really believe that, but I'm not too interested in putting thousands of dollars into an almost two decade old system anyway.

Our furnace is a little newer, but I've come to the realization if we just replace one piece at a time, we're always going to be locked into the same setup.

I was not home at the time they came by, but my father who lives with me said they mentioned a dual stage system. Complete replacement, including duct work, for $15,000 - $25,000 (still waiting on written estimates).

Is it worth pushing for a variable system over 2 stage?

Would it be worth having zones (one unit) for upstairs versus downstairs with automatic dampers?

Our home has always cooled very unevenly and I would really, really, really, for once, like a more functional HVAC system.

If there is any other advice or tips available that I have not touched on, I welcome them!

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I think I just saved myself $25,000.... Downstairs air filter was too restrictive of a MERV level and more restrictive than the one upstairs.

Decided to try the AC because I was getting desperate. I noticed the kitchen vent was 65 degrees with nice airflow and the den vent was 85 degrees with no airflow.

I thought what the heck, let me check the filter. Swapped it out with a matching merv level.

Air flow in the den now, vent already dropped 2.5 degrees. Whole house has dropped 2 degrees in the last like 15 minutes.

tl;dr: I am an idiot and (seemingly) almost got scammed.

I'm not in America. When I ask Claude about country-specific things like food labeling standards or trade deals or environmental issues, it gives answers as if I'm in America even though it knows my location. If I correct the context, it answers for my area, but still explains American stuff and details how my area differs from America even though that's completely irrelevant. It might as well be telling me about how things work in Bolivia or Indonesia and how my country compares to that.

Yes, its training data is American. Yes, it's an American company. But this problem goes further than that: it outright refuses to effectively adjust its context, and context adjustments are not sticky.

So the worst part is that even if my prompt specifies what context I want it to use, I have to refresh that for every single prompt in the conversation. It doesn't hold: it'll answer for my area in one prompt, and then if I ask a follow-up question it starts talking about America again and doesn't answer my question.

It's a waste of my credits and the obvious failure to do anything at all about it really says a lot about what the folks at Anthropic think of their country and what's outside its borders.

Our AC is barely cooling. I have a family emergency and I'm not really able to look at it at all right now.

The company we have used for decades repeatedly botched repairs at my mother's home, so I no longer have a company I trust.

I have an appointment with one company in about a week but, again, I'm in Houston, so I'm not sure if we can handle another week. I have an emergency window unit that is keeping it (barely) tolerable for the time being, but I really want to get someone out here asap.

Thanks.

My mother has been in the ICU for almost 2 months. Due to intubation and now a tracheostomy, I haven't felt comfortable working on her hair while she is unconscious.

She is finally awake again and her hair is SEVERELY matted in the back.

What can I put in her hair that is safe to leave in to help me work on the matted hair? It HAS to be leave in, unfortunately, as she cannot easily wash her hair completely and I'm not sure when that will be an option. I will do my best to remove any product with wet towels, but that is the closest her hair is going to be able to get to a shower for quite a while.

Thanks!

I've been reading up on why my home is so god damn hot all the time. I know there are some bad (half ass patched) leaks in the ductwork in the attic, so running the fan on ON just heats the house up and keeps the AC running nonstop.

I'm in Houston, so life is hell.

Seeing so many comments in this sub for me to actually look at the MERV rating of our filters. They're just the same filters we've been buying a ton of boxes of for over a decade on Amazon, NordicPure, and they are 1 inch MERV 12, which I now know is absolutely insane.

I'm looking for something that is MERV 8 and isn't insanely overpriced. I have 2 dogs who make sure my backyard has 0 grass, so my home is very dusty. I don't want to go too low on the MERV rating.

tl;dr Does anyone have any advice for MERV 8 filters or is any MERV 8 filter good enough?

Thanks!