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Are Residents Inadvertently Damaging Your Appliances?

 

are residents inadvertly damaging your appliances?

Are residents inadvertently damaging your appliances in your single-family rental property?

Renting single-family homes can be a profitable business. But as property owners know, renting comes with a certain amount of wear and tear on the home, both inside and out. When it comes to appliances, even using them as intended will, over time, cause them to wear out.

But sometimes, residents may inadvertently damage a rental home’s appliances. One common reason could be through multiple people using them. At other times, neglect of appliances may lead to damage and premature or expensive replacements. Misuse of appliances is also a common reason for early retirement. Understanding the most common ways your residents are misusing appliances can help you educate them. As well as extend the useful life of each appliance, saving you thousands of dollars over time.

Everybody wants high-quality appliances. But are they being cared for?

While residents often place quality appliances high on the list of reasons to rent a home, they may not always know how to properly care for the same appliances. Refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, and dryers need maintenance, just as any other aspect of a rental home. By failing to perform timely maintenance or by unknowingly misusing these appliances, your resident could inadvertently damage them.  In the process, creating an otherwise preventable (and expensive) situation for property owners.

For example, what’s inside the refrigerator often gets far more attention than what’s going on underneath. A refrigerator uses condenser coils to run 24 hours a day, every day, making it one of the hardest-working appliances in the home. So by not cleaning those coils regularly, means an appliance that should last for many years can fail in just a few. Just vacuuming or cleaning the coils with a brush once or twice a year can significantly extend the life of a refrigerator. Similarly, cleaning the gasket (rubber seal on the doors) can ensure a tight seal and more efficient operation, and save on high electricity bills.

The dishwasher is another heavily used appliance that often suffers from neglect or misuse. Asking residents to rinse dishes before loading them into the dishwasher can help keep it from breaking down. If your dishwasher has a manual filtering screen, residents should clean it regularly. In fact, you can ask residents to clean the entire dishwasher 2 to 4 times a year. They can do this by running an empty cycle with a dishwasher cleaner. Or just a cup of vinegar. This helps keep the sprayers working properly and the drains free of blockages.

Are residents inadvertently damaging your washer and dryer?

Washers and dryers are perhaps the most prone of all the appliances to break down. Washing machines can be subject to high levels of wear if residents wash loads that are too large or are using too much soap. Trying to wash too many clothes in a single cycle,  adds extra weight that can damage the machine’s bearings. And too much soap can leave a residue that is bad for many of the machine’s components; over time, they will start to fail.

Dryers too can break down if not cleaned regularly. This requires periodic inspection and cleaning of both, the lint filter and the dryer vent. Periodic maintenance should ideally extend to the entire venting system. Including, where the vent meets the outside wall of the home. This too should be cleaned with a vent brush at least once a year; while you must rinse the lint filter with soapy water every quarter.

How we can help.

To get the most from your rental home’s appliances, it’s important to ensure that residents use and maintain them properly. This is where Real Property Management can help. We perform regular property inspections that include checking appliances. You can avoid expensive repairs and keep your appliances working better and longer by trusting the property management experts.

We can handle all of a property’s needs, which includes everything from the basic day-to-day tasks, to repairing and maintaining appliances in your rental property. With us on the job, you can be confident that your tenants, and your property, are being professionally cared for. As are the expensive household appliances.

If you are not sure how to maintain and repair the household appliances in your rental property, Real Property Management Premier  can help. Our property management professionals understand the maintanance and repairs and can offer solutions to help avoid replacing them prematurely. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you today.

Contact us online or call 954-800-4433 and ask for our experienced property managers atoday!

 

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