Maintenance - For your rental home

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Preventative Maintenance is important in minimizing issues that could cause damage to your rental home. Please use the guide below for the best practices on maintaining your property. If you do have a maintenance issue, see if you can find an answer in our Maintenance Troubleshooting Guide.

· It’s important to keep the HVAC unit clean and in good working order in the interior of your home as well as the exterior.

· Replace the air filters ONCE PER MONTH during normal HVAC use.

· DON’T cover an interior vent.

· Keep debris away from the exterior condensing unit.

· DO NOT mow grass into the unit. 

· Keep open air flow around the unit. Do not enclose the unit.

· DAILY – To prevent clogs and bacteria, scape food from the dishes and pre-rinse and dried food before loading them in the dishwasher.

· WEEKLY – Be sure to run the dishwasher at least once a week, even if it is empty, to prevent and clogs in the drain line. This is especially important if you have a garbage disposal.

· BEST PRACTICES:

• If you are in a property without a water softener, add two cups of white distilled vinegar every few months to dissolve hard water deposits.
• DON’T overload the dishwasher – this will prevent it from properly cleaning your dishes.
• DON’T use liquid dish soap or del soap – the risk overflow from suds or clogging up the system.

· DON’T Overload it. When washers and dryers are overloaded, they perform inefficiently. Break big loads up into smaller piles to extend the life of the motor and use less energy.

· Clean out dryer lint vent after every use. Also clean the vent on the exterior of the home.

· Use it or lose it. If you are not planning to use your washer for an extended period of time, turn off the waterflow to the washer. Otherwise, constant water presser may cause or exacerbate leaks. 

· Give it some air. Over time, small amounts of stagnant water can lead to mildew and odors. Leave the lid open in between washes.

· Soap is for interiors, not exteriors. Clean any spills quickly as most appliances are painted with synthetic enamel that may be damaged by chlorine bleach, ammonia, solvents, and other chemicals.

· Be careful to keep foreign objects from going down the drain.

· Consider placing removeable strainers on each of your kitchen drains – these will easily capture anything that is not supposed to go down the drain and can easily be cleaned.

· Check out this great trick to prevent clogs from hair, food, and oil – pour 1 tbs of table salt and 1 tbs of baking soda down the drain. Next pout in ¼ cup of white vinegar and step back – it will begin bubbling and fizzing. Wait about 20 minutes and pour in 2 quarts of HOT water. If you are treating kitchen drains or garbage disposals, use COLD water.

· During normal use, make sure to use a strong flow of cold water while your disposal is running and for a few seconds after you stop the disposal.

· Periodically, clean your disposal by grinding 1 cup of ice and a few lemon or orange wedges. This will help fight odors.

· Put very few things down the disposal – you should scrape pieces of food, etc, into the trash before rinsing the dishes and using the disposal.

· NEVER put grease or oil down the disposal and do not try to grind bones or pits. Also keep foods with a lot of fibers out of the disposal, including artichokes, banana peels, celery, and corn husks.

· Smoke detectors should be checked regularly. There are many types on the market. Check the operation manual for your specific smoke detector. This info can often be readily found on the internet. 

· Change the batteries at least once a year. Most systems will chirp to alert you that the battery is low.

· If your smoke detector does not work properly after changing the battery, submit a maintenance request.

· Notify Kenabre Enterprises immediately if you notice any indication of Termites or Pests in your home. Signs of termites may include:

• Appearance or “swarm” of winged termites, especially around windows or doorways.
• Small “mud trails” on the side of the house or fencing.
• Small piles or tiny black balls or sand-like material.

· DO NOT flush anything except toilet tissue – things such as paper towels, diapers, napkins, sanitary napkins, tampons balls of hair, Q-tips, and rags will cause problems.

· Do not use hangers or snakes to unclog a toilet, they may cause damage to the porcelain bowl.

· If there is a service call and a breaker is tripped.

· Sewer blockage is caused by placement of debris in the line (toys, tools, diapers, rags, sanitary napkins, tampons, excessive toilet paper, cat litter, etc.)

· If the Resident (or their pet) causes damage to the property in any area.

· If the Resident reports a repair which does not require service.

· If the Resident fails to replace the battery for a smoke detector or remote door opener and causes a service call for only battery replacement.

· For damage caused by a break in, in the event a police report is not provided.

· For carpet cleaning while living at the property.

This list is an example and is not complete, tenants will be charged for damage to the property caused by residents or their quests and any service call when there is no issue found.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL TENANTS TO REPORT MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS. FAILURE TO DO SO CAN CAUSE TENANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES.