Singapore Expats

Aircon or fan for maids ?

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Mary Hatch Bailey
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Post by Mary Hatch Bailey » Fri, 22 Apr 2011 8:10 pm

ecureilx wrote:Mary Hatch Bailey: tell her that you will charge for the motor (you mean the compressor I guess) ??? No, it will not even make a difference.
Well, that's exactly what we did and it worked like a charm!

I agree with carteki, gross generalization on the part of ksl. Not at all constructive. :-|

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Post by ksl » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 3:15 am

ev-disinfection wrote:
ksl wrote:
Aircon may easy give you sinus problems, stuffy nose and all kinds of cold symptoms, due to the lack of knowledge about cleaning them and servicing them in accordance with user instructions, but even then most do not use them until the average white man who is acclimatised would be well cooked.
An article on the Cons of Air-Con.
It is not only the cost of running an AC, but it might affect your health as well.

http://www.greensingapore.com/Singlenew ... %20air-con


They are probably not connected to the Chinese culture, so I don't expect anything else from their replies :lol: :roll: Imagine if the majority was on the same income has Mary, then maybe more would use the aircon more often but i doubt it, becuase they are aware of cold and the activity of qi.

The statistics by the way in household expenditure utilities would shed some light on aircon usage. In which there is 74% ownership Though the majority population is Chinese at 75% and 45% of these are registered at Traditional Chinese Medicine Halls and the practise is nothing cold at all only room temperature, cold is bad and cause inactivity inside the body the qi doesn't flow how it should do.

Though i did ask several grps of kids 6 years ago in fast food outlets why they didn't study at home, and the only replies i had, was their is aircon here, and if they went home their parents wouldn't allow them to use aircon, because it's too expensive for them was one reason the other was that their parents say that aircon is unhealthy.. Now that isn't to say they will not use it if it gets unbearably hot and humid.

SMS seems to have the impression I have said that Chinese do not buy aircons :roll: SE gives the right reasons for not using aircons, when fans can be used...Expats on the other hand with high income probably have the aircon on all the time when they get home, though only if they can afford it. In fact there is a couple of expat families living close by in Landed properties.

I've never seen their doors or windows open, so that probably tells you the type of expat that has the aircon on whole day and night, so good for them they can afford it. Personally I turn it on myself if it's too warm to sleep for 1 hr on the timer, though i also get stuffed nose or the occasional sore throat, and it's cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis. So i prefer not to use it.

Our Indonesian maid was well aware of the health problems of aircon, and she's from a small kampong, and at times even turned the fans off becuase she was too cold.

http://www.articlemotron.com/Article/Wh ... inks/32458

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Post by Mad Scientist » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 6:49 am

Here is some food for thought

To save the hassle of either getting the fan or air con turn on. why not go naked in your own house ?

It will be much more fun, don't you think ?

:twisted: :P :lol: :lol:
The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.Yahoo !!!

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Post by Mary Hatch Bailey » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 7:05 am

tina1980 wrote:
Mary Hatch Bailey wrote: You might tell her if the motor burns out, you'll charge her for it. How old is she? Just curious...
She is 32 . We have had her only for a few months now -apart from a few teething issues she is ok ... A wee bit forgetful -other than that no major hassles and she has settled in quite well !
Ah ~ too young for what I was thinking of. I think you'll find moving forward tina that it's best to treat everyone as an individual and not representative of their whole race /profession/gender/economic demographic. It can be hard to do, especially here. I don't mean to suggest that you did otherwise and you're right to ask questions when you need information.

I think you can probably see by some of the answers here that this topic went a bit off the rails, and that it's all to common to generalize to no constructive end. Expats do this, maids do that ~ it's all conjecture and hearsay. I'm sure if you speak to her she'll stop abusing it? If not, perhaps setting it on a timer is the answer.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 9:47 am

MHB, I agree 100%! Just like expats. We are hardly representatives of our respective countries. It take a special person to be an ambassador. I doubt many of us have all those capabilities. I've not had aircon since I've been here but ksl will say I've acclimatised. How? I come from the northeast just like your do, albeit not quite as far north be still subzero a substantial part of the winter. So, are your or am I representative? Nah. We are individuals and ANYBODY who expatriates themselves from their cocoon of familiarity to expatriate themselves are definitely not representative of their country. :wink:
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Post by Mary Hatch Bailey » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 10:10 am

^^Agree, and I would say that goes for all expats as well, even those that come here as domestic helpers and manual labor.

We run the air/com when we sleep or for a bit to bring the temp down during the day if we are in a particular room. We rarely get sick. No sinus infections/bronchitis/etc... My work space here at the house is often up to 31 degrees by the mid afternoon, so its either air/con or sweat all over the keyboard. Most of our glass is original, lovely to look at but no UV protection at all. Our house is very, very damp (with most interior walls due to 'rising damp') and without air conditioning we would have lost even more of our valuables :( I grew up without air/con and of course it can get even hotter in the northeast and just as humid. The maids we have brought back to the US have complained about the heat.

As stated, its good for tina1980 to ask, but unfortunately some answers are less than productive and in the end it's a personal choice.

:roll:

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Post by ev-disinfection » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 11:02 am

Hi MHB, would like to know at what temperature do you keep you AC at?

As for me, I sleep with the AC on all night, and i only know of 2 of my local friends, that do not use AC.
I know of some Asians (gals) that cannot stand the cold from AC, and they do not have AC in their "home country" homes.

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Post by Mary Hatch Bailey » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:02 pm

ev-disinfection wrote:Hi MHB, would like to know at what temperature do you keep you AC at?

As for me, I sleep with the AC on all night, and i only know of 2 of my local friends, that do not use AC.
I know of some Asians (gals) that cannot stand the cold from AC, and they do not have AC in their "home country" homes.
Seems like an odd question, I guess it depends on the day and the room and the unit. There are 15 throughout the house of different sizes. I never set mine cooler than the lowest fan setting and 22 or 23. I can't stand to have cold air blowing on me either, but our choices are stifling hot and mosquito bites with mouldy furniture and clothes or cooler air/con some of the day. :roll: Again, I don't see it as an 'Asian' thing at all.

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Post by ev-disinfection » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:30 pm

Mary Hatch Bailey wrote:
ev-disinfection wrote:Hi MHB, would like to know at what temperature do you keep you AC at?

As for me, I sleep with the AC on all night, and i only know of 2 of my local friends, that do not use AC.
I know of some Asians (gals) that cannot stand the cold from AC, and they do not have AC in their "home country" homes.
Seems like an odd question, I guess it depends on the day and the room and the unit. There are 15 throughout the house of different sizes. I never set mine cooler than the lowest fan setting and 22 or 23. I can't stand to have cold air blowing on me either, but our choices are stifling hot and mosquito bites with mouldy furniture and clothes or cooler air/con some of the day. :roll: Again, I don't see it as an 'Asian' thing at all.
Hmmm... seems to me like your AC's could be infected already, and that you are not sensitive enough to become sick. Have a look at the AC unit opening where the cool air comes out from.... if it looks dusty or moldy, You should get your AC guy to do is to bring the unit down for a chemical cleaning, this will help your new furniture / clothes from getting infected as well.

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Post by Mary Hatch Bailey » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:48 pm

ev-disinfection wrote:
Mary Hatch Bailey wrote:
ev-disinfection wrote:Hi MHB, would like to know at what temperature do you keep you AC at?

As for me, I sleep with the AC on all night, and i only know of 2 of my local friends, that do not use AC.
I know of some Asians (gals) that cannot stand the cold from AC, and they do not have AC in their "home country" homes.
Seems like an odd question, I guess it depends on the day and the room and the unit. There are 15 throughout the house of different sizes. I never set mine cooler than the lowest fan setting and 22 or 23. I can't stand to have cold air blowing on me either, but our choices are stifling hot and mosquito bites with mouldy furniture and clothes or cooler air/con some of the day. :roll: Again, I don't see it as an 'Asian' thing at all.
Hmmm... seems to me like your AC's could be infected already, and that you are not sensitive enough to become sick. Have a look at the AC unit opening where the cool air comes out from.... if it looks dusty or moldy, You should get your AC guy to do is to bring the unit down for a chemical cleaning, this will help your new furniture / clothes from getting infected as well.
No, if it's all the same to you I think I'll pass. Our mold issues don't have anything to do with our air/cons and frankly I think it's a bit ridiculous to assume otherwise without having all the facts.

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Post by ev-disinfection » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 1:09 pm

Mary Hatch Bailey wrote:
ev-disinfection wrote:
Mary Hatch Bailey wrote: Seems like an odd question, I guess it depends on the day and the room and the unit. There are 15 throughout the house of different sizes. I never set mine cooler than the lowest fan setting and 22 or 23. I can't stand to have cold air blowing on me either, but our choices are stifling hot and mosquito bites with mouldy furniture and clothes or cooler air/con some of the day. :roll: Again, I don't see it as an 'Asian' thing at all.
Hmmm... seems to me like your AC's could be infected already, and that you are not sensitive enough to become sick. Have a look at the AC unit opening where the cool air comes out from.... if it looks dusty or moldy, You should get your AC guy to do is to bring the unit down for a chemical cleaning, this will help your new furniture / clothes from getting infected as well.
No, if it's all the same to you I think I'll pass. Our mold issues don't have anything to do with our air/cons and frankly I think it's a bit ridiculous to assume otherwise without having all the facts.
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Sure, it is the same to me as i am not a AC guy.
My assumptions comes from the fact that your furniture and clothes get moldy-- There are 2 general reasons why they are so, 1, would be the furniture are already infected when you bought them, and 2, which is the most common reason is that if your stuff are infected with molds, your AC would be infected too.
Just my 2 cents.

Photo taken from a customer last week, of the moldy back boards of a VhIve wardrobe (less than 6 months old), and when i tested for molds in her AC, infected (also less than 6 months old). And to top it off, her son (11 Yrs old) was just diagnosed with having Asthma.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 1:13 pm

Believe me, Singapore is not worse than where I lived for 8 years before coming here. That was Morgan City, LA, right on the Atchafalaya Swamp where the humidity hovers around 100% most of the year.

Oh, EV, it get's to be 42 C degrees in Baltimore, MD where I'm from in the summers and -15 C or lower in the winters. :o
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by ksl » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 2:27 pm

I never set mine cooler than the lowest fan setting and 22 or 23. I can't stand to have cold air blowing on me either, but our choices are stifling hot and mosquito bites with mouldy furniture and clothes or cooler air/con some of the day.
It sounds like ignorance isn't bliss after all, and that you are living in a very unhealthy environment which can easily cuase permanant respiration lung damage.


SMS you should know better that temperature and humidity are two different things are you saying that the humidity is the same as Singapore of course http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AHum ... al_climate.

I mean Dubai is also often over 40c but very dry heat compared to a damp subtropical climate.
Last edited by ksl on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 3:18 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Post by Mary Hatch Bailey » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 2:41 pm

ev-disinfection wrote:
Mary Hatch Bailey wrote:
ev-disinfection wrote: Hmmm... seems to me like your AC's could be infected already, and that you are not sensitive enough to become sick. Have a look at the AC unit opening where the cool air comes out from.... if it looks dusty or moldy, You should get your AC guy to do is to bring the unit down for a chemical cleaning, this will help your new furniture / clothes from getting infected as well.
No, if it's all the same to you I think I'll pass. Our mold issues don't have anything to do with our air/cons and frankly I think it's a bit ridiculous to assume otherwise without having all the facts.
Image

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Sure, it is the same to me as i am not a AC guy.
My assumptions comes from the fact that your furniture and clothes get moldy-- There are 2 general reasons why they are so, 1, would be the furniture are already infected when you bought them, and 2, which is the most common reason is that if your stuff are infected with molds, your AC would be infected too.
Just my 2 cents.

Photo taken from a customer last week, of the moldy back boards of a VhIve wardrobe (less than 6 months old), and when i tested for molds in her AC, infected (also less than 6 months old). And to top it off, her son (11 Yrs old) was just diagnosed with having Asthma.
Well, let me just say that I'm glad the photo didn't load properly and I couldn't see it because I don't know if your customer would appreciate you broadcasting their ills on a public forum.

Yes, I believe mold is everywhere here in Singapore to some degree and my woes are based on the age of our home, it's placement on the lot, the amount of trees, the amount of sunlight, etc... but not on our use of air/cons, since using the air/cons reduces the amount of mold.

You're in the business, I get it. But I don't think you have enough information to really assess the situation.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 23 Apr 2011 3:35 pm

Are we being a bit presumptuous? He's not shown anything that could be recognized by anybody and he's not mentioned locations or names so I fail to see the purpose of your comment. :-|

The fact that I'm giving heaps of information on Immigration, hiring, recruitment etc, doesn't mean I'm hiring does it? Even if it's my business.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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