As winter approaches, property managers should set their sights on winter-proofing their rental properties to avoid tenant maintenance and repair calls while helping improve energy efficiency.
In this blog, we will explain why professional cleaning services in Etobicoke play a crucial role in the winter-proofing process between tenants.
What is winter-proofing?
Winter-proofing addresses vulnerable areas of a home that increase the risk of air leaks that interfere with home comfort and energy efficiency. It also covers various maintenance steps that avoid other issues such as burst pipes, leaks, proper alarm function, and more.
By winter-proofing rental units, property managers reduce the risk of not only costly damage, but also frequent tenant complaints. Additionally, winter is the time of year when pests seek shelter, so winterization of units includes sealing possible points of entry to keep pests away.
Checking Door and Window Seals to Improve Energy Efficiency
When tenants leave, you have the opportunity to check window seals to ensure the unit is secure against air and water leaks. Cleaning allows you to note issues like faulty windows, broken seals, missing caulking, and noticeable water and air leaks so you can add these repairs to your to-do list before the new tenants arrive.
According to The Eco Guide, this normal wear and tear can reduce energy efficiency in your units, costing you a surprising amount of money over time. For example, they note that sound seals using caulking or weather-stripping can save 5%–10% on your energy bill.
However, leaks also present risks for costly water damage. Acting fast will improve unit comfort, reduce tenant complaints, and avoid the need to replace materials damaged by slow leaks.
Testing Fire Alarms and Carbon Dioxide Detectors to Keep Tenants Safe
During the cleaning process, you can check fire alarms and carbon dioxide detectors to make sure they’re functional. This is a perfect time to replace the batteries as well.
Since the winter months put demand on your heating system, you want to make sure any potential carbon dioxide leaks are detected to adhere to local bylaws while keeping your tenants safe.
Cleaning Surfaces to Improve Weatherproofing Performance
When installing weatherproofing, you need clean surfaces to ensure the adhesives create a firm seal around the doors and windows. The simple act of dusting window sills and cleaning around doors helps reduce dust and grit that can interfere with proper adhesion.
When surfaces have even small traces of debris, the adhesives stick to the debris instead of the surface. This means the seals are more likely to fail with daily use of doors and windows. As a result, the apartment is not warm, and the risk of leaks increases, leading to costly damage and tenant complaints.
Detecting Pests Seeking Winter Shelter
Winter is the time of year pests look for shelter as temperatures drop. During the cleaning process when everything is being cleared out, you have an unobstructed view of common spaces where pests hide, as well as areas such as cupboards and drawers where clues such as dead bugs, feces, and roach eggs are easier to detect.
Arrangements can be made to bring in exterminators to eliminate the issue while the apartment is empty, allowing the new tenants to move into a safe environment. This is also the perfect time to seal any possible entry points to prevent future infestations.
Plumbing Inspections to Avoid Leaks and Mould
The cleaning process makes it easier to inspect the pipes under the kitchen sink, in laundry rooms, and under bathroom vanities to look for signs of leaks. Leaks can lead to mould that ruins the air quality of your units, which can make tenants sick.
They also damage materials in apartments that become waterlogged and require replacement, not only in the empty unit, but potentially in adjoining units due to the invasive nature of water infiltration.
Protecting Pipes Against Freezing
Depending on the age and condition of the unit, exposed pipes on exterior walls are at risk of freezing and bursting. During the cleaning process, you can check high-risk pipes and wrap them with insulation to prevent trapped water from freezing.
As water freezes, it expands, putting pressure on older pipes, and leading to serious leaks when someone turns on the water. This is a major cost that can also impact your insurance premiums if you put a claim through to help cover the expense of material replacements.
You can also be at risk of claim denial if the insurance company finds the pipes burst due to failure to take reasonable preventative maintenance steps. Also, don’t forget to turn off exterior taps to prevent freezing pipes and bursts!
Ensuring Fireplaces Are Safe
Cleaning out the fireplace will ensure safe operation to avoid fires as well as poor indoor air quality in the unit. A bonus of having operational wood-burning fireplaces in rental units is that they provide free supplemental heating. The tenant covers the cost of the wood, so it’s worth investing in proper fireplace maintenance and cleaning.
Cleaning All Surfaces to Limit the Spread of Germs
Professional cleaning services in Etobicoke offer treatments to remove germs that tend to spread during the winter. Disinfectants kill 99.999% of pathogens left behind by former tenants. In the flu season, there’s a much higher chance they’ve left behind pathogens on surfaces that can make the new tenants sick.
Using a service like GermBlasters safely targets bacteria that lead to illnesses such as the common cold, the flu, and other superbugs like COVID-19 without putting your new tenants at risk. It also attacks harmful substances such as mould, mildew, allergens, and odours, creating a perfectly safe environment for happy, healthy tenants.
Improving General Rental Safety
Adding cleaning to your winter-proofing process between tenants also improves the general safety of your rental units. Some areas and issues you can identify during the process include the following:
- Burned-out lightbulbs that should be replaced with energy-efficient bulbs
- Proper appliance function
- Improved air quality by eliminating issues such as mould, caked-on food, grease, pest feces/urine, dust, allergens, bacteria, etc.
- Proper heating function to keep tenants comfortable
- Reduced risk for slow leaks that can lead to mould growth
Contact Professional Cleaning Services in Etobicoke
As you can see, deep cleaning as part of your winter-proofing process between tenants helps improve energy efficiency while reducing the risk of leaks, burst pipes, and pest infestation.
For more information about our cleaning services in Etobicoke, or our GermBlasters sanitizing treatments, reach out to Maid4Condos here. You can also call us at 647-822-0601 or contact us online.
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