When the COVID-19 crisis began in late March, many storefronts had to close temporarily for the safety of their customers and staff. This means that these commercial buildings have gone several months without foot traffic, without care, and without proper maintenance. While these precautions are necessary, they may change the state of your building when it’s time to reopen.
For some businesses, reopening may not be an option for some time. It is therefore up to facility managers to tend carefully to these buildings and ensure that when their tenants are ready to come back, they can pick up operations smoothly and effectively. This may require additional investments while the store is closed, including routine maintenance and cleaning services.
Whether you’re opening after a temporary closure or have recently purchased a dark closed storefront, you’ll want to carve out some time for building maintenance before re-welcoming customers. Below are just some of the services MaintenX recommends before reopening a storefront or industrial facility:
Schedule roofing maintenance.
Roofing is a relatively stagnant element to any building. However, with no tenants inside, roofing maintenance can be easily forgotten. Before you reopen your storefront, be sure to clean the gutters, check for leaks and cracks in the roofing surface, and take a look at any rooftop HVAC systems for problems. You’ll be glad you took care of these maintenance tasks beforehand, rather than finding out about them later.
Clean pipes and check plumbing for leaks.
Even though your building has not been in use, natural debris and contaminants can still cause clogs or line breaks in your plumbing. You may want to schedule a water jetting service, as well as a preventative maintenance checkup to make sure that no piping problems are waiting for you when you return.
Ensure electrical safety.
If your building has been left unattended for some time, you will want to schedule a preventative maintenance check with your electrician before reopening. Pests can gnaw through wires, and systems can deteriorate when not in use. This could wreak havoc on you when it comes time to turn the lights back on if you’re not careful.
Run diagnostics on your HVAC system.
Your HVAC system has probably gone some time without any sort of maintenance, including inspection of drip pans, coils, or changing of the air filter. As the summer heat approaches, you want to make sure your HVAC system is in tip-top shape before reopening your storefront. Contact an HVAC specialist from MaintenX to schedule a consultation and preventative maintenance check on your entire system.
Times are tough, but with the right preventative care you can get back to business as usual in no time. Contact MaintenX today to schedule your custom commercial maintenance services.
