When you own your own business, it’s beneficial to keep up with important maintenance tasks. If you run a manufacturing business or contractor business, for example, you probably already know that your equipment and tools needs to be checked on a regular basis. However, there are small tasks that businesses frequently overlook, and end up paying for it later. Here are some maintenance tasks you should not put off.
Check the Water Heater
If you have a water heater in your building, it needs to be checked and drained on a regular basis. Regular maintenance of the water heater ensures you have it in proper working order and can you prevent costly repairs if something more serious occurs.
One of the most important parts of maintenance of a water heater is draining the sediment. This means you will open the drain valve of the water heater and empty a small amount of the sediment. This is done for both gas and electric water heaters, preventing precipitation of minerals and calcium carbonate.
If you are not familiar with the mechanisms of a water heater, it is best done by a professional who specializes with HVAC systems.
Keep Up with the Smoke Alarms
Another vital task in maintaining in your business involves the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Not only should you be changing the batteries on a routine basis, or every six months, but you also need to remember some other minor maintenance tasks with them as well.
Be sure to check that the unit is working properly by testing it, and know how old it is. In many cases, once a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector reaches 10 years old, it is recommended that you replace it with a new one.
A good way to remember to test it is by changing the battery and testing the unit every time the time changes for daylight savings time. Better yet, test your carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms monthly — perhaps on the 15th of every month.
Clean Out Dryer Vents
If you have a clothes dryer at your business, which is common for cleaning work uniforms and towels on-site, you should also be cleaning out the dryer vents. This doesn’t just mean cleaning lint from the lint screen, but actually looking at the ducts and vents. Lint can also build up here and needs to be cleaned out. If it gets too backed up, it can become a fire hazard. The leading cause (32 percent) of home clothes dryer and washer fires was failure to clean, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
With these small tasks, you can keep up with important maintenance tasks that are often forgotten about, saving your business money. It is also important to have equipment breakdown insurance coverage, just in case your water heater or other appliance breaks down.
