MAINTENANCE

Almost all garbage disposal systems that stop working just need a quick reset to get going again. Look for a red or black reset button on the garbage disposal motor underneath your sink and give it a push to reset it. If that doesn’t do the trick, check and see if there’s a hole underneath that allows you to hand-crank it free once it’s been jammed. 

No one wants to be stuck inside on a sweltering Nevada summer day with no functioning A/C. Often if there’s been a recent storm or power outage, resetting the circuit breakers can restore the unit. If that doesn’t work, be sure to turn off the unit so the coils will thaw out. That way when a technician gets there, he will be able to get to work immediately. 

Some homes heat with electric power, and others use gas. Which one does yours use? Be sure you know before you call it in. If your system uses electric or gas heat, look at the following before submitting a maintenance request:

• Reset the circuit breaker if you need to.
• Double-check that your thermostat is on and you’ve selected “heat” as the setting. Select the appropriate temperature and see if your unit clicks on.
• Look and see if there is anything blocking the airflow and remove it if it’s obvious.
• Sometimes there is a light switch located right next to an electric furnace that accidentally gets turned off. Be sure it’s on if it needs to be. 
• If the heater is gas, call the gas company and find out if the gas has been disconnected due to late payment issues. If your furnace filters are dirty, replace them as soon as possible. It’s a good idea to keep spare filters handy and replace them at a minimum of once a month.

Still no heat? Now it’s time to submit that online maintenance request.

It never fails that in the middle of the night, you’ll be startled awake by an annoying chirping sound and it will take you 20 minutes to figure out which smoke detector it’s coming from. Please don’t call the maintenance hotline when this happens! A smoke detector that beeps calmly in five-minute intervals usually just means the battery needs to be replaced. It’s very different from the long, high-pitched screeching sound you’ll hear in the event of an actual fire. Keep some spare batteries on hand so you can quickly swap out the old ones and get back to sleep. 

Most clogs are caused by hairballs and it’s gross, but it happens to everyone. Clean out your drain area and remove any hair you see to prevent it from clogging again. Make sure nothing else was put into the drain such as a kid’s toy or a piece of jewelry. You can purchase a simple “hair-catcher” (it looks like a strainer) for your drain that will trap hair and keep it from going down into the pipes.

Garage doors weigh a lot, so please don’t try to repair them yourself. As the tenant, you may need to change the batteries in the garage remote, change light bulbs, reposition motion sensors, etc from time to time, but when there’s a bigger problem such as a worn-out spring, the Nevada Asset Preservation & Management property management owner should contact an experienced handyman to fix it. 

There are a few months in Nevada when it gets below freezing and pipes are in danger of becoming frozen or busting. In order to prevent this from happening, try to keep your home at 68 degrees or higher inside. If freezing temperatures are expected at night, drip your pipes and check your faucets for water flow and pressure before you go to sleep and again when you wake up. 

If you have frozen pipes, you can thaw them with a hairdryer or with towels soaked in hot water and wrapped around the pipes. Always be sure to start thawing the pipes that are nearest to the faucet first. Make sure the faucet is turned on so that melted water can drip out.

If you experience a burst pipe, be sure you know where your main water valve is. You may need to shut it off. Most main water valves are located in the basement, next to the water heater, or outside close to the home.