Although the Northeast is coming out of another winter blast with snow, ice, and rain, down South we are already seeing temperatures above 80 degrees. For New Orleans, March is a time for music festivals, crawfish boils (if you can find the mudbugs this season) and hopefully a playoff push for the Pelicans.
For property management, March is also the time that owners start their air conditioning after giving those units a few months off. March is also the time when we receive calls about water dripping from the ceiling of your neighbor below on a dry weather day. Water is the single most frustrating and damaging source of condominium unit ownership.
Air Condition – Preventative Maintenance
We are just a couple of months away from the heat indexes exceeding one hundred degrees. Now is the time to get your air conditioning unit serviced.
We encourage all condominium owners to contract with a local air conditioning company to perform preventative maintenance on their unit twice a year – once in March and once in September. The service should include cleaning condenser coils, cleaning drain lines, inspecting refrigerant lines, and checking freon levels. In addition, have the technician confirm your float switch (commonly known as a kill switch) is working or have it replaced (or installed if not present). A diagnostic of your unit could allow you to make decisions now on repairs and schedule downtime before we get to sweltering temperatures.
Beyond having your unit working properly, this preventative maintenance can help both you and your neighboring units. Water leaks from clogged A/C drain lines are one of the most prevalent sources of damage we face throughout the warmest months of the year. Simple maintenance on your part; changing A/C filters monthly, scheduling A/C preventative maintenance, and flushing your A/C drain line can avoid costly damages.
Water Heater – Preventative Maintenance
Do you know how old your water heater is? Industry recommendation is to change out a water heater every ten years and hire a licensed plumber to inspect on an annual basis. Flushing the tank, evaluating the relief valve, added insulation are just a few annual maintenance items for this appliance that is rarely thought of until too late. Bad enough to come home to water damaged floors, but what if you live above another condominium unit? An ounce of prevention can avoid costly damages.
Please find more water damage prevention tips on your Condo Café site, in the document section “Helpful Information from Certain Management.”
Thank you, Certain Management.
