Mulgrave's homes
Farms until after the war
Victorian Places says farming carried on in Mulgrave well into the postwar years, with housing growing around the public transport stops. One of its photos shows a new estate in Kambara Drive in 1972.
Waverley Park
Mirvac has been redeveloping the former Waverley Park ground for housing since 2002, and the car park alone became about 1400 dwellings, according to Victorian Places.
Family houses and townhouses
At the 2021 Census, 83.0% of Mulgrave homes were separate houses and 16.4% semi-detached or townhouses. 52.3% had three bedrooms and 40.6% had four or more. 22.3% were rented.
What each kind of home tends to need
A house from the postwar estates. If the gas heater is the original, it has done a lot of winters. A gasfitter should service it at least every two years, Energy Safe Victoria says. If a split is well past 15 years, Solar Victoria says it's likely using more than three times the energy of a modern reverse cycle unit, which makes a repair harder to justify.
A newer Waverley Park home. Homes built since 2002 have younger systems, so it's mostly about servicing and keeping warranties intact. Mitsubishi Electric recommends a professional service once a year. In a townhouse, mind where the outdoor unit sits: EPA Victoria says heating shouldn't be audible in a neighbour's habitable room after 10pm on weeknights.
For servicing, start with air conditioning service in Melbourne. For a fault, see Melbourne air conditioning repairs.
Quick checks before you book a repair
Check the remote and mode
Make sure it's on heat or cool, not fan or dry, and the batteries work.
Check the breaker
If the unit won't run at all, see whether the breaker has tripped. If it keeps tripping, stop and call someone.
Clean the filters
Switch off at the isolator first, then clean them as the manual says.
Clear the outdoor unit
Move anything blocking the air around it. Don't open it up.
Give it time
After a restart, Mitsubishi Electric says a unit may not run for about 3 minutes, and on heat it can pause to defrost.
What we'd do
What we'd do in Mulgrave
Do the quick checks first. If the unit's still not right, get it looked at by someone who repairs your type of system every week. On an old split, ask for a repair-or-replace opinion before paying for parts. On a newer ducted system, keep up the yearly service so the warranty stays intact.
Sending a Mulgrave job
Describe the problem and give us your postcode. Licence-checked installers near Mulgrave who do that kind of work can see it, and only the one who takes it gets your contact details. If it isn't taken by someone near Mulgrave within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Victoria may see it.
