Category: Building Maintenance

At MaintenX, safety is our #1 priority every day. We take the time to give our technicians the best training possible and ensure that the equipment they use and the protocols they follow are up to the highest industry standard. It is this commitment to employee and subcontractor safety that puts us at the top of the list for facility maintenance service nationwide. 

 

However, it’s often not enough for our contractors and technicians to be trained in proper maintenance safety procedures. We encourage all facility managers to train their employees for proper equipment usage and repair. Even simple maintenance tasks like cleaning out A/C vents or snaking a clogged drain can cause issues down the line for your facility’s health. 

 

Benefits of Maintenance Training for all Staff

Your staff may not be responsible for maintenance on a regular basis, but an understanding of the different systems and the maintenance needs of each can help maintain a productive facility. For example, if your staff knows what types of sounds and odors could indicate an HVAC issue, they will be more likely to report it. Below are some of the benefits of training your staff in basic maintenance and safety for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical system:

 

• Increased reporting of potential issues
• Ability to do minor cleaning and repairs, thus saving on maintenance service
• Greater autonomy of staff within the facility (they don’t have to rely on a plumber to unclog a drain or an HVAC technician to replace an air filter).
• Prevention of injury due to electrical issues

 

What Your Staff Should Know 

Depending on the skills and demands of your staff, different training is required for different positions. However, all staff within a facility should know these things about HVAC, plumbing, and electrical maintenance:

 

• How to change vent filters near their desk
• How to detect signs of mold or mildew within the facility
• What chemicals are safe to use for a clogged drain vs. when to call a plumber
• What common electrical symptoms could be signs of a serious electrical system fault
• What sounds, odors, or visual cues could identify problems within any of these systems
• When to report a more serious issue to the maintenance team

 

Maintenance training doesn’t have to be complicated for it to be effective. By simply training your staff to detect problems, you can increase the likelihood of catching problems early before they become emergencies. 

 

Contact MaintenX today or visit our resource center to learn more about HVAC, plumbing, and electrical maintenance care and prevention. 

At MaintenX, our main goal for clients is simple: we want to help you create a safer and more efficient commercial space. We do that through both preventative and emergency maintenance services and by providing exceptional customer service every time. When our clients trust us, we can get the job done faster and more efficiently, learning our clients’ unique needs along the way. However, there is more to preventative facility care than simply getting the job done. 

 

Maintenance goals and strategies are often layered. Your goal to get your maintenance team on a set HVAC repair schedule is about more than improving the efficiency of the system. It’s about improving the building’s energy efficiency, reducing long-term costs, and educating your staff. As a facility manager it’s important to see the whole picture, so you can put the pieces together and create real change through preventative care. 

 

Below are some of the most common goals we set for our clients, each with their own set of higher resolution goals that can be effectively carried out by a maintenance team. As you can see, the everyday tasks you may think of as unnecessary are actually the most important actions you take to improve your facility’s performance: 

 

If your goal is to reduce stress on facility equipment, you need to:

 

• Create a schedule for preventative maintenance that improves facility equipment without overservicing
• Prepare for optimal times to replace equipment (when repair costs exceed equipment value)
• Train employees on proper equipment handling and basic repair skills 

 

If your goal is to optimize facility productivity, you must first: 

 

• Improve maintenance management processes such as maintenance dispatch and creating simple service request processes for employees
• Facilitate work-order flow by investing in the proper technology
• Improve facility maintenance checklists and preventative care schedules over time

 

If you want to optimize energy efficiency by the end of the year, your maintenance team needs to:

 

• Implement clean energy sources when possible
• Upgrade to energy-efficient equipment over time
• Reduce usage of high-consuming appliances and equipment

 

You cannot reach lofty goals such as net-zero energy use without ground-floor action from your maintenance team. By working with MaintenX and communicating your goals, however, we can make it happen. To learn more about the benefits of preventative maintenance strategies, contact your local MaintenX team today. 

Trash cleaning, floor mopping, bathroom sanitization… the work of the janitorial staff is the hard labor that makes a commercial facility safe and healthy for others to use. This often thankless labor is obviously necessary, but it is not always seen as an integral part of a facility’s customer service or employee satisfaction. However, we at MaintenX understand the importance of janitorial work for our clients. 

 

Many of us don’t see janitorial staff or notice the hard work they do. However, after years of working alongside the janitorial staff of our clients, MaintenX has learned that they are key to the success of any commercial building. Our repair services help prepare you for the worst, but janitorial service is what curates a functional workspace on a daily basis.

 

Janitorial service helps to maintain employee health 

In the wake of COVID-19, janitorial services have increased to help stop the spread of disease. This has not only led to the minimization of COVID-19 cases but cases of cold and flu as well. Our janitors help us to reduce the spread of illness which cuts down on sick days. With the help of your MaintenX HVAC technicians who help keep your indoor air quality clean, the janitors are there to help every day to keep your employees healthy. 

 

A clean environment increases productivity

A clean environment at the start of the day is about more than just appearances. Tidy office spaces help employees to be more productive, especially those more orderly who are bothered by mess. When the office space looks neat and tidy, your employees can focus on the tasks at hand. It also helps to create a calming work environment for high-focus projects and assignments. 

 

Establishes company expectations

Most of us have likely worked at a company where the expectations were lax. It’s acceptable to call in unexpectedly, or leave a messy desk at the end of the day, or to not finish work on expected deadlines. These companies often had subpar cleanliness standards as well. In contrast, at a company where excellence is expected, the work is reflected in the appearance of the facility. When employees give their best, so does the management in keeping an office space that is clean and organized. If you want to raise the expectations of your company as a whole, start with janitorial maintenance. It makes a bigger difference than you think. 

 

Janitorial maintenance is a major contributor to company success. To learn more about regular maintenance and preventative care, contact your local MaintenX team today!

Water intrusion is one of the most common problems we see at MaintenX. A leak in the roof or burst pipe can quickly lead to a partial or complete shutdown of your facility. If the ceiling is compromised or mold starts to grow, you can’t safely have employees or clients inside the building. This leads to loss of productivity that is detrimental to your business. 

 

If you are experiencing water intrusion, it’s important to follow these four steps to minimize damage and ensure you’re back in business ASAP. The sooner you begin repairs with MaintenX, the less constantly it will be for your facility. But, here’s what you need to do first:

 

Notify your insurance.

Your insurance company needs to know immediately the cause of the issue and how invasive the water problem is. Take pictures and provide a complete history of the problem. This will increase your chances of insurance covering some or all of the cost of repairs. 

 

Call MaintenX about drywall repair. 

You will most likely need to replace any drywall affected by the water intrusion, which can be costly if the leak is major. WHile you’ll need to repair the leak first, it’s wise to contact MaintenX about drywall replacement as soon as possible to get the repairs on schedule. 

 

Notify your MaintenX plumber.

If the water intrusion was caused by a plumbing leak, you need to call your MaintenX plumber immediately in order to stop the leak. Even a small one can lead to major water intrusion. The sooner your plumber arrives, the sooner you can stop further water damage and get to work on repairing the drywall. 

 

Dry out the room.

Run fans, A/C, or leave windows open (if it is cool and not humid outside) in order to increase circulation. This will minimize the likelihood of mold and mildew growth. Once mold or mildew starts to grow you’ll have to cut out more of the drywall. Even a plug-in fan can work to help dry out the area and reduce additional damages. 

 

Once you’ve followed these four steps, you can rest assured that your water intrusion problem will be a quick fix. To learn more about plumbing and roofing leak maintenance, contact your local MaintenX team today!

COVID-19 has brought chaos to all American industries for almost two years now. This pandemic, which has taken millions of lives, is slowly but surely coming to an end. However, we still have a long way to go in the fight to stop the spread. By taking a proactive approach at your facility, you can help maintain the health and safety of both employees and staff. 

 

At MaintenX, we want to do our part in helping you to protect your facility from COVID-19 breakouts. Below are three ways in which our maintenance services can help you to keep a cleaner and healthier facility:

 

HVAC cleaning and maintenance for better ventilation.

Your HVAC system is responsible for ensuring clean indoor air quality throughout your entire indoor facility. Without proper cleaning and maintenance, your HVAC system can circulate germs and bacteria, leading to what we in the maintenance industry call “sick building syndrome.” This same principle can apply to COVID-19. If your HVAC is running inefficiently, you may be unknowingly circulating COVID-19 throughout your entire building. During this time it’s important to be vigilant in your HVAC cleaning service to prevent this. 

 

Plumbing maintenance to preserve sanitization services.

Your plumbing system may not be making a fuss, but it still needs regular TLC to ensure proper sanitization. Your hand-washing stations are getting extra use, and it’s more important now than ever to ensure they are working at all times. If you neglect to schedule pipe cleaning services, you could end up with plumbing problems that interfere with employee health and sanitization. Don’t let this happen during the pandemic — make time in your maintenance schedule for regular plumbing maintenance. 

 

Preventative care to reduce loss of productivity.

Preventative maintenance should be an integral part of your maintenance budget. It not only helps to extend the service life of equipment, but it can help prevent unwanted downtime due to emergency repairs. At a time when many employees must take 14-day periods of sick days due to COVID-19, your business cannot afford more downtime. By investing a little extra in your preventative care, you can ensure to weather this storm with as few disruptions in productivity as possible. 

 

COVID-19 has been a hardship for all Americans, but MaintenX believes we can get through it together. If you have questions about how we’re committing to disease prevention and COVID-19 safety, contact us today!

In a majority of modern office buildings, drywall is used throughout the interior to create a smooth, durable wall surface. It has become the predominant material over plaster or wood because of its affordability and practicality in large commercial facilities. However, drywall is not an infallible surface. It has a propensity for cracking along joint lines, which can cause long-term structural issues if not addressed. 

 

Often drywall will crack along joint lines because it is the weakest point of the wall. However, cracks can also occur due to rapidly changing temperature or humidity. They can also crack due to pressure, such as when a piece of furniture bumps against the wall. If the crack is small, it can typically be repaired by your handyman. 

 

Steps to DIY Drywall Repair

If the crack is small, all you need is an hour of your time and some supplies from your local home improvement store to repair it on your own. Here’s what you need to do:

 

Step 1: Clean the Area of Debris

Before you start applying drywall tape, you need to clean the area of any dirt or debris so as to not seal that into your drywall repair. You should also cover the surrounding area with painter’s tape to ensure the repair does not affect other parts of the drywall or other fixtures such as wood trim. 

 

Step 2: Apply The Drywall Tape

 

Next, you need to apply the drywall tape over every part of the crack. First, you want to fill the crack with a joint compound to adhere the tape to the area. Next, embed the drywall tape into the crack, covering it completely. Once you flatten these two layers, use the excess joint compound to smooth the surface and seal any small gaps in the repair. 

 

Step 3: Finishing

 

Once the compound has dried completely, you can use a putty knife to scrape off any excess. You can also use any excess joint compound to create a second or third layer on your repair to ensure it is completely smooth. 

 

While this method will work if the break is small, cracks wider than one-quarter of an inch must be repaired by a professional. MaintenX can assess the damage and either repair the crack or replace the drywall completely. Contact us today if you need help with major drywall repairs.

Typically, when something in the office stinks, your employees take notice. However, they may not always speak up when they need to. Unreported odors from your HVAC or furnace could be signs of trouble within a piece of equipment, often resulting in risk to employees and tenants. It’s important to speak up and make an immediate service call if you smell one of these three odors:

 

Rotten eggs

The smell of rotten eggs is often associated with a sewage leak. A pipe could have burst and be causing issues with your sanitization in and around the facility. Even if you aren’t having issues in your bathrooms, contact a MaintenX plumber to inspect the site once you notice this odor. 

 

Ammonia

Many commercial facilities use ammonia-based cleaners; however, if you notice this smell after the janitors have left, it could be cause for concern. Ammonia is sometimes used in the coolant of older commercial appliances, which means its scent could indicate a leak. Ammonia-like smells can also occur if you have mold or pests living within your walls. No matter what, this odor is cause for a consult with your MaintenX professionals. 

 

Burning smell

Oftentimes heaters can smell like they’re burning when they first come on in the winter. This happens due to dust accumulation, and it can mean that dust and dirt are circling through your facility. However, if you smell this in the summer, it could be cause for other issues within your HVAC system. Contact your local MaintenX HVAC technician to identify the cause of the odor. 

 

Never Ignore What Your Detector Tells You

Unfortunately, some of the most dangerous contaminants are those without a smell. Carbon monoxide (CO) — a chemical that can be deadly when inhaled — is colorless and odorless, making it impossible to detect without a CO detector. CO leaks can happen due to industrial combustion and are very serious. Be prepared and install monitors in every area of your facility to ensure a safe working environment. 

 

MaintenX takes these odors very seriously. They are often the warning signs of a serious problem within your HVAC or plumbing system and must be addressed before they become a danger to your staff. To learn more about our emergency maintenance service, call your local MaintenX today!

At MaintenX we specialize in preventative maintenance. From hydro-jetting services to routine HVAC repair and roof cleaning, we do it all. However, one of the questions we often receive from clients is, “Am I doing enough? Or am I doing too much?”

 

Typically, we worry about clients skipping preventative maintenance services, but it is very possible to do too much preventative maintenance. When services are over-scheduled, you may be interfering with the proper performance and aging of your machinery. Plus, you’ll be spending your maintenance budget on unnecessary services that could better go toward saving for emergencies. 

 

Some clients may put all their eggs in one basket, hoping that by increasing their PM budget that they can eradicate emergency repairs. However, your equipment simply doesn’t work like this. Emergency repairs do happen with aging, and will occur due to circumstances outside your control. You need to be prepared at all times, including both a preventative maintenance plan and emergency repair budget. 

 

So, how much is too much preventative care? Ask yourself these questions to find the answer:

 

• Do you do more than the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance?
• Do you do preventative care ahead of schedule often?
• Are you performing preventative care services not compatible with your equipment’s age or condition?
• Are you performing services to prevent issues that have yet to occur?
• Are you scheduling inspections without your MaintenX technician’s recommendation?
• Do you look to cut energy costs at every corner, even at the expense of an equipment’s performance? 
• Are you spending more on maintenance services instead of less over time?

 

If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, you could be spending too much time and resources on preventative care. As a rule of thumb, we recommend sticking to your MaintenX team’s plan for your facility, as we offer a custom and detailed preventative maintenance schedule based on equipment age, facility capacity, and other unique characteristics of your building. 

 

MaintenX has your best interest in mind when it comes to PM care. To learn more about our services, contact your local MaintenX team today!

MaintenX works with industrial facilities across the U.S. to provide exceptional preventative care services for their operations. We service plumbing, electrical, roofing, and HVAC systems for large-scale facilities and small operations alike. While every industrial facility is different, we see many commonalities in what works best for their maintenance programs.

 

Whether you own or manage an industrial facility, there are three areas in which you should focus your maintenance strategies. If you take care of these three things, your facility will be in good shape for long-term sustainability and health: 

 

Climate Control and Ventilation

Most industrial facilities require powerful ventilation if they are manufacturing products or parts inside. The ventilation system removes indoor air contaminants and helps to monitor the climate which may be crucial for the development of products or for other industrial purposes. For this, a powerful HVAC system is needed which must be cleaned and maintained regularly for maximum performance. Call your MaintenX contractor to learn about HVAC maintenance options that best suit your system. 

 

Water Treatment

If your facility uses or recycles a great amount of wastewater, then your plumbing system should take first priority when planning strategic preventative care. By investing in wastewater treatment you can reduce your facility’s environmental footprint as well as its water costs. Even if you do not use wastewater in your facility, plumbing preventative maintenance can help lower costs and create a cleaner environment for staff. 

 

Maintenance Staffing

Industrial facilities are often some of the most difficult clients for facility managers because of the sheer amount of work that goes into maintaining a facility of their size. It’s vital to employ a knowledgeable maintenance staff, instead of relying on employees to take care of minor maintenance issues throughout the day. Having a dedicated team like MaintenX can help you take control of your maintenance schedule and put savings back in your budget for the future. 

 

MaintenX can help you create a cleaner, safer, and more efficient workspace through diligent preventative care. To learn more about our services, contact a MaintenX specialist today!

Office buildings have gone through many changes since the onset of COVID-19. Many have stringent new health and safety protocols to keep the virus’ risk to a minimum while in close quarters. However, as we move into a new age of COVID-19 life, there is an increased focus on maintenance strategies to keep office buildings safe. 

 

If you own or manage an office building, there are certain preventative care measures you should take for the health of your staff and efficiency of the building itself. We believe these three systems typically need the greatest care on a month-to-month basis:

 

Climate Control

Many facilities revisited their HVAC cleaning and maintenance strategies during COVID-19 to ensure greater indoor air quality. When vents and air ducts are clean and functioning properly, your building is less likely to circulate bacteria, viruses, and other germs. Now is the time to look at your HVAC maintenance schedule and see if there are areas to improve. Your MaintenX technician can help you get on a regular cleaning and preventative care schedule that works for you. 

 

Plumbing Maintenance

Smaller office buildings often have similar plumbing systems to residential facilities, but they are used much more often and therefore require greater care. MaintenX offers hydro jet cleaning, backflow testing, plumbing insulation, and other preventative care services to keep your office plumbing in working order. These simple procedures can help you maintain a cleaner office for your staff and ensure you never have to upset guests with an “out of order” sign on the restrooms. 

 

Electrical Safety

Most office buildings rely on computers and other office appliances for the bulk of their work. That means that nearly every outlet you have will be in use or connected to extension cords to handle toe demand of electrical power. This can cause stress on the system as a whole if not properly monitored. Your MaintenX team can provide electrical maintenance strategies to ensure you never have to worry about electrical hazards or power outages at the office. 

 

MaintenX specializes in office maintenance for both preventative services and emergency repair. Contact us today to learn more about your preventative care options!