Spring Clean in Commercial Properties – Preventative Maintenance Checklist

Spring 2022 has officially arrived, and with it, the yearly spring cleaning ritual. We normally think of our homes: getting into those corners and sprucing up the place ready for the warmer months. But industrial level spring cleaning is just as important to keep your facility in ship-shape now, and all year round.

But where to start? We have compiled a checklist by categories, so you can delegate the tasks or take them on yourself in an organized way. 

Outside

The first thing your customers or tenants see when they pull up to your facility is the outside, but apart from it looking inviting, it needs to be functional too. Check the following for the outside maintenance:

• Driveways and parking lots – are they free from debris and trash? Take special notice of the areas around drainage systems that could become backed up.
• Window seals – water damage from broken window seals is a common complaint, and the sooner you notice them to get them fixed, the better.
• Gutters – check for leaves and other debris to prevent water backup issues
• Cement and woodwork – particularly prone to damage over the winter months, consider dry-ice blasting to give your facility a facelift. Another advantage is that the cleaner a building is, the easier it is to detect cracks and other maintenance issues.

Inside

It is a good idea to carry out spring maintenance checks on the different areas of the interior of your facility. Aside from regular cleaning, there are some jobs which a lot of us would rather postpone – but in doing so, we open ourselves up to potential problems further down the line. A day’s work on maintenance works out much more cost-effective than heavy repairs.

We’ve divided this section into various categories from a restoration point of view to make it easier for you to group the different types of jobs together.

-General Cleanup and Maintenance

• Fire hazards – Now is as good a time as any to clear up the clutter that is lining storage rooms and other areas in your facility. Think cardboard boxes lined up against walls, empty canisters of any kind, and blocked entrances and exits. Disposing of extra items around the building can also help you avoid fire safety violations. Also, be sure to check any electrical fixtures for general repairs.
• Mold and humidity check – Pull out the furniture to clean underneath and behind it. By doing this, you may be able to also detect any mold or moisture patches that could have sprung up over the damp winter months. While cleaning windows, check for any leaks that could also have appeared recently. Finally, a thorough clean and maintenance of HVAC units is in order as well as washing machines and more general plumbing – they are common culprits for decreased air quality and potential mold problems in commercial buildings.

Spick-and-Span

It’s the perfect time of year for a professional cleanup. To keep your commercial property in perfect working order, ensure the safety of your clients, workers, and tenants, and avoid seemingly small issues from turning into costly repairs, go beyond a surface clean with a cloth and a vacuum cleaner.

Dry-ice blasting is the perfect way to keep even the most intricate of surfaces shiny and new, and there are some simple maintenance checks you can carry out in your spring cleanup to avoid mold, fire, and water damage issues. And if you find you have one of these problems, Superdry Restoration can help!

Common leaks detected on commercial properties and commercial buildings can be little more than an annoyance if you catch them on time. Here’s what to look out for during your regular in-house maintenance checks:

• Water PH

You’re wondering why the water ph of perfectly non-leaky taps and tubes is relevant here, aren’t you? The thing with water that is too acidic or too alkaline is that it can cause corrosion on some types of pipes. You can use domestic testing kits to check the ph of the water, although we recommend adding it to your plumber’s to-do list, as professional testing is more accurate.

2. Bathrooms

A little more obvious this time, right? Toilets and faucets with heavy and often aggressive use, such as those in nightclubs or sports stadiums can cost a small fortune if they’re not regularly maintained. Any places with heavy traffic in bathrooms are at risk for water leaks, and when you’re a busy manager they can easily slip your mind. Make a point to turn on non-automatic faucets and turn them off again to check for issues.

3. Erosion

How old is your commercial property? If it’s older than a few years and has been exposed to the weather over the course of a few years, you may find water is creeping its way into your building between roof tiles, joints, windows, and door frames. Check those areas you may normally frequent less, such as storage rooms, attics, and basements. These are easily ignored, giving the water a lengthy margin with which to start causing structural and mold problems.

4. Poor Construction

While building codes are turning this eventuality into a thing of the past, oversights in construction can lead to water filtering through any small gap and causing trouble in your commercial property. When you call for the damage to be remediated, the restoration company should also be able to identify the source of the problem.

5. Sewage Backup

Finish your sandwich before reading on. There are around 500,000 sewage backups and blockages every year in the US. Not only is sewage backup a common water issue in commercial properties, but it’s also pretty undesirable for obvious reasons. Get on out of there and call a restoration company that deals with sewage backup. Not only to protect your Jimmy Choos but also because this type of water damage can be extremely hazardous to your and your occupants’ health. Get on the phone to Superdry Restoration and finish that sandwich.

Need help with a water remediation issue? Superdry Restoration Inc is on call 24/7, call 855-242-7024.