Things to Fix around the Property before They Get Worse

No matter how much time you spend safeguarding your landlord's property by performing routine maintenance to keep everything in tip-top condition, you'll still be caught out by unexpected breakdowns. But often you can eliminate potential problems before they arise, saving your landlords a lot of money and hassle and retaining more of the rentable income for them.

Roy Fuller, owner at Everything Lettings', says we are always the first port of call to provide general maintenance services for our clients and often to check and replace items such as those listed below, because they trust us and they know we will do it right. They know that preventing issues is so much more cost effective than curing them; once they have gone wrong they can result in expensive fixes.

Items such as those listed below are now some of the most common we are asked to attend too.

Replace dishwasher and washing machine hoses to avoid a flood

Approximately £170 million in damages is caused to homes in the UK every year because of dishwasher and washing machine hose failures, according to leading Insurance companies "We advise our clients to let us inspect and change their washing machine hoses regularly during a tenancy. Making sure the connections are secure," "You should also make sure there are at least 4 inches of clearance between the water connection and the back of the washing machine. This reduces the chances that the hose will kink. Reinforced rubber and stainless-steel hoses can break, even the ones that say "burst-resistant" or "burst-proof." The hoses typically fail at the same spotthe coupling. But cracks and leaks at the connection point are common, too, so we check that as well. If the hoses are worn or more than five years old, we replace them with ones made from braided stainless steel.

Clean your fridge's coils before its performance deteriorates

Coils underneath or behind a fridge or fridge /freezer attract dust, debris and pet hair. Besides being unsightly, dirty coils can restrict airflow and make the fridge work harder, which will shorten its life span and reduce its efficiency. "If coils get dirty enough to block the air exchange or reduce air exchange, then cleaning them will help improve the energy consumption and cooling capacity. When we attend we use a refrigerator coil brush to wipe the coils clean. Some new models have the coils encased, so cleaning isn't necessary. For the rest of them, cleaning the coils twice a year is essential.

Remove tumble dryer lint/fluff before it catches on Fire

The fire brigade reports that tumble dryer fires occur more often than you think. The leading cause of these fires is the lint/fluff in the trap, the vent and the area around the dryernot many people are aware that lint/fluff and debris is highly combustible. If clothes take a long time to dry or the dryer is hot to the touch, the dryer vent may be obstructed. While cleaning out the lint trap inside the dryer after each use is easy, cleaning out the vent itself is a multistep operation.

Free a Stubborn Sliding Doors before they Get Stuck
If opening and closing the patio door is like working out at the gym for your tenants, then debris is probably clogging the track and jamming the wheels. You need to fix the problem before your tenants break the handle or damage the door by tugging on it. This can only be done by removing the door from the track. The removal process can vary by door, but typically, it requires removing the screws at the top and bottom rails, then pulling off the stile cover that keeps the door panels from lifting out. Then lift up the door and pull the bottom toward you to remove it from the track. Once the track is cleaned it will last at least till the end of another summer.

Fix Up Crumbling Masonry Before Cracks Widen

Crumbling mortar can cause bricks to come loose and even fall out of the wall or chimney. When your tenants start to notice damp appearing on walls over the coming months or deep cracks in the mortar that possibly wasps have taken up residence in over the summer, it's time to act. It may be that only one side of a house, chimney or retaining wall has problems, this is normally due to the elements and what position the property is facing. But it needs to be fixed before it gets worse.

We would normally attend to make minor mortar repairs, by re-pointing: Re-pointing is applying cement, and sand and forcing it into cracks in the mortar. (Be aware that the new mortar probably won't match the existing colour exactly, but it will weather over time for a pretty close match.) To make more serious mortar repairs, involves using an angle grinder and a plugging chisel to remove the old mortar to a depth of about three-quarters of an inch to an inch. After, a pointing trowel is used to pack the mortar into the joints. However (and this is important): Serious mortar repairs are a much bigger job than grouting; it has the potential to cause serious damage if not done right. So if your properties need major mortar repair, make sure they are done by professional tradesman.

At Everything lettings we provide: In hour's planned and Emergency maintenance from: 9am - 5:30 pm Monday to Friday. We can attend and fix on site, attend and quote from site (fix if authorised), attend and provide a quotation with digital photographs where possible. Out of hours emergency cover from: 5:30pm- 9:00am Monday to Friday (Weekends and bank holiday) working to pre set rates and pre agreed attendance criteria Gas safety certificates & Gas safety + combined boiler servicing, Pat testing and Electrical wiring reports from: 9am - 5:30 pm Monday to Friday.

Please talk to us at Everything Lettings ,we can help you- Tel 0844 272 2442 Roy Fuller Mobile -07970 840561
E: roy@everything-lettings.co.uk W: www.everything-lettings.co.uk