Build in AC systems are rare in this part of the world, except from night clubs, where they are often turned up so high, that they will give you a cold, but I can imagine how frustrating they must be on a balcony. Move all plants as far away from it as you can.
More common here are AC "towers", that you just wheel into the room and plug in (price is about the same as that of a computer). Of course this is an investment, but perhaps they would be cheaper in the long run? -Should you choose to buy one of these, make sure to ask how much electricity it uses.

VG

VG, Thanks for your advice, buying a stand up ac unit is way out of my budget, I did move all my house plants back inside, the perennials seem to enjoy that heat.
Christine

Really? I would have thought that it would be nearly impossible, with the heat, those things can generate, apart perhaps from some xerascaping plants, like sedums or lavender. Well then, go figure! :-D

That sounds like a normal day here, for a couple months anyway, around 100 degrees. Most plants don't mind a bit but there are definitely some that could get overwhelmed. What plants do you have? I'd be happy to compare notes for the same ones that I have.

Does the a/c drip condensation that you could catch for watering the plants? That could be one bonus of it, trying to think of something positive. Unfortunately, blowing hot exhaust air is just what A/C's do, old or new. Surprised you're having to run it that much up there yet, but it's probably hard to catch a breeze in an apartment. If it's kicking on and off, it might not bother the plants as much as you think. Are you able to include a pic? Maybe some reassurances, one way or the other, would help you feel more confident.

Sorry you're having this discord in your life. I've not lived with a balcony before, but know the frustration when they build the patio right next to the heat pump. It blows hot air all over the place and is really noisy.

purple I'm almost embarrassed to show you this ac that my landlord thinks is ok, notice the nice rust in the back, isnt she pretty. I've already brought all my houseplant in, I'm not taking any chances, my begonias started to get crispy around the edges and my money tree started to droop. I just wanted you to see how old this sucker is, I cant even get the darn thing clean and I cant afford a new one.
Thanks for your thoughts
Christine

Forgot the front photo LOL

About getting it clean: A little over a year ago, I began getting very bad allergic reactions to most of the modern cleaners I was using.
Saddened that I could no longer use the cleaners, that I knew and had gotten used to, I began looking into the stuff that my grandmother and great grandmother would have used. Sceptic at first, I really thought that these would not work nearly as well, as the stuff that has muscle men and white tornadoes on their bottles, but I came to find, that they actually worked just as well and most often, they work even better!
We have a very versatile product here called "Brown soap" or "Green soap"that was used a lot a century ago, and is coming a more into use again. Once I was talking with some people on an asthma forum, and wanted to find out what it was called in English, only to find, that it only exist in Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands. Then a friend who had moved to the States told me, that you have a product called Dr Brenner's Sal Suds that has some of the same ingredients, and uses, but smells nicer :-) They buy it at a health store, but you can also get it on the internet. Try rubbing some of that on, undiluted, and let it work a little while before washing it off. For removing the rust on that grill on the back, try crumbling a piece of aluminium foil, and rub it as hard as you can with all the power you have got. On some things it works (like on chrome) and on some it's not all that effective.

This post was edited by vgtar on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 6:12

vgtar, I will look into Dr Sal Suds, we have plenty of health food stores around here. I too have asthma which I told my slum lord and that didnt seem to matter to him. The rust you see is on the back of the ac unit and I cant get to it. I will remember the foil trick for rust on other things as well. The weather has changed for the better this week, cool 70's and no humidity, last week in the 90's nearly melted me. Thank you again for taking the time to help me. Have a great day
Christine