Building Maintenance Programs: Reducing Concerns, Avoiding Regrets

In commercial property management, there’s a balance to be found between business outcomes and a commitment to serving tenants at a high level of quality. No matter what this balance looks like for you, or how your company goes to market, your integrity as a property owner or manager needs to be beyond criticism.

Concerns, Complaints & Public Criticism

• • The Rental Protection Agency annual survey shows “safety and health hazards” as the number five complaint by residential tenants
  • Property ware puts “maintenance problems” at the top of their list
  • The CCMI Institute prioritizes air quality among the top commercial tenant maintenance concerns
  • According to numerous publications and association briefs, managing energy costs by improving HVAC efficiency is an ongoing priority of U.S. property owners and management companies
  • EPA research estimates that poor indoor air quality costs the U.S. tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue and medical costs each year

What’s more, you need to be able to make investment decisions with clarity and consistency. All recognizing that life is going by as building systems are being pushed hour-by-hour over long periods of time. While this is not a surprise, many property managers struggle to keep track of every detail for each unit. Even with new software and scheduling tools available.

Specialized services connected directly with fireplaces and HVAC systems can easily be put in the “optional” or “time available” categories. These services include chimney sweeping and air duct cleaning. Dryer vent cleaning falls into the same category. That’s because they rarely raise alarms in the way that fire detection and suppression systems alert you to a pressing need for service.

Fresh Sweeps leads the effort to simplify maintenance of vital systems. Not only to reduce the time and inconvenience attached to emergency call-outs. A Building Maintenance Program can cut the total cost of commercial property operation by helping to keep systems from becoming inefficient.

What’s more, the documented danger of fireplaces, heating appliances, chimneys and dryer vents can be reduced if not entirely eliminated. While the periodic need for animal removal may occur, a Building Maintenance Program gets ahead of this threat to safety and health by making wildlife incursion far more difficult.

Inspections are at the center of the Fresh Sweeps approach. Once the condition of HVAC, chimney and dryer vent components is assessed, the local team consults with you on the merits of a baseline cleaning or maintenance call to restore full function. All to improve indoor air quality, reduce energy costs and minimize fire damage.

Then a schedule is built that corresponds to how frequently or heavily each system is used. For example, colder and warmer climates use HVAC blowers, ductwork, filters, intakes and vents more consistently than temperate areas. Likewise, colder areas tend toward more fireplace and heating appliance use to further strain chimney systems from interior brickwork all the way up to roof-top chimney caps.

Property Reminders: Chimney sweeping, air duct cleaning, dryer vent cleaning and animal removal

• • The National Fire Protection Association says all chimneys, vents and fireplaces should be inspected annually
  • Dryer vents can become partially clogged, adding fire danger and reducing drying efficiency in as little of 60 days of daily use (Fresh Sweeps estimate)
  • Animals in a chimney system create noise, disease-spreading feces and urine and damage to the system itself, with a first-year colony of bats averaging 40 and an average squirrel litter of 5-6 young

The health, safety and security of residential and commercial tenants can’t be assumed or overlooked. Fresh Sweeps schedules calls to fit periods of time that minimize disruption to your clients. And service calls to suit the property management team’s quarterly or annual calendar.

Fresh Sweeps Building Maintenance Program Benefits

• • Improved residential and commercial tenant satisfaction
  • Reduced health and fire risks in each building
  • Optimized energy costs attached to HVAC and dryer operation
  • Increased predictability in chimney sweeping, air duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning expenses
  • Streamlined inspection and maintenance scheduling

GET AHEAD OF PROBLEMS by calling Fresh Sweeps now about a Building Maintenance Program that includes chimney sweeping, air duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning based upon regular and thorough inspections. CLICK HERE NOW