The everchanging seasons of property maintenance

Springtime

Increase garden maintenance as the growing season is starting especially the grass and weeds. Carpets and hard floor surfaces will undoubtedly look tired as rock salt, mud, leaves and wet weather conditions have left their mark on communal areas.

During the autumn, leaves and moss from roofs, would have dropped into the gutters so consider having drains and gutters cleared. Clearances are particularly busy at this time of year as traditionally it is time to spring clean. Most people thinking of selling/moving will chuck out their chinks but unfortunately some tenants leave these items in or near the bin area although dustmen normally will not remove them.

Decorating the external and internal communal areas also should be done now. Due to the weather drying periods for paint are reduced and also you can leave windows open for ventilation.

Summer

Over the last few years, July has been wet and warm - ideal conditions for plants, weeds and grass to grow rapidly. By August another water ban may be in force, so lawns will start to go brown. Cutting grass should ease slightly and the height should be increased - this helps to keep moisture and roots strong. It is also advisable to treat lawns with feed and weed. Bin areas will start to smell more so pressure wash them on a regular basis and keep an eye out for dumped items especially mattresses and sofas as they make perfect breeding places for rodents.

Over the last few years heavy rains in July have caused a lot of flooding with burst pipes etc so ensure there is a plan to deal with this. Preventative maintenance with the drains being cleared does help but flash floods are increasing and no amount of maintenance will prevent the damage caused.Sap from trees increase which sticks to external windows, so increase the window cleaning schedule. The most economical way is to use the water fed pole system. This is recommended by the HSE as it is a safer method to clean windows as you do not use ladders and as it is pure filtered water, without detergents so better for the environment. Now is the time to treat any problem areas liable to cause slips and trips from ice and snow. Most anti-slip products need to be applied in good weather. Also communal boilers should be serviced -when the cold weather comes, statistically boilers break down within the first few times of use after the summer shutdown. From these the majority have not been serviced. This is not an exhaustive list of maintenance, but it may help when planning necessary preventative measures.