December e-Tips – Strata Cleaning News

Did You Know?
Dryer Vent Cleaning

So in the past twelve months we have cleaned nearly 30,000 dryer
vents across the lower mainland: High Rise, Low Rise, Townhouse complexes…. by ladder, rope and by in-suite access. We thought it might be useful to provide some thoughts we gleaned from the field.
The main cause of damage is from pooling water within the vent that accumulates over time. This is usually the result of low air flow through the run that leads to airflow becoming restricted. Basically lint and other solid debris build up, until the entire vent is blocked resulting in moisture condensing and pooling. The first sign of trouble is usually when the moisture drains out of the vent through a hole (or corrosion) and stains a ceiling.

In our experience, slab ducts in high rises are the most susceptible to this problem, particularly when they have long runs, multiple corners and lack an effective boosterfan. This almost certainly results in some vents accumulating high levels of lint and debris.One thing we noticed is a huge help is reminding residents to clean their lint traps after each load. The difference between units that do or do not do this one simple task is immediately noticeable to our staff.

A number of people have asked when is an exterior only cleaning is appropriate and when a interior/exterior cleaning is required. Typically an exterior only cleaning is sufficient if the vent runs are fairly straight and short. and Interior/exterior cleaning is recommended for slab ducts with longer runs with corners. A best practice is to alternate between the two: one year from the interior and exterior next year the exterior, unless there are some known challenges on the location.

Snow Removal & De-Icing – Lessons Learned

The past two years were pretty bad for ice and snow. Over that time we’ve developed a number of responses to meet your needs. First off, this year we have started to offer the supply and delivery of ice melt to customers. A number of our longtime clients already have staff on hand who can undertake snow cleaning and ice removal, but not the ice melt to do so, this is our attempt to help them. To learn more about our ice melt delivery service Please Click Here.

Not every building has the luxury of staff on hand who can provide all the physical labour to mange snowfall and freezing temperatures. That’s the next level of service we offer. We can offer being on our callout list, where we provide on-demand assistance for pressing needs. This is most appropriate for buildings that need a bit of assistance to their day to day operations, but not immediately. For buildings on our callout list, we do not guarantee that our staff will arrive on site before a certain time. Finally there is our full snow removal program, which is ideal for buildings that do not have a dedicated staff who can clean affected areas. This is an full service program, where we guarantee our staff will be on site before 9am to remediate the snowfall and distribute ice melt to affected walkways as required.

If any of these options piques your interest, let us know. There are a few parts that we will need to sort out with you before we start.
1. Site Maps – a detailed discussion on what areas need to be cleaned, and how. Nobody wants to have a disagreement on the day of a snowfall about an area that was or was not cleaned.
2. Triggers – when is a service required? Only for snow removal or any time the temperature falls below zero?
3. What Kind Of Ice Melt ?– Certain kinds can damage concrete or be unfriendly to our four legged friends. Thus we need to determine which salts we can use where, before we start.
4. Frequency – One Per Day? Multiple call outs? It all depends on the size of your building and needs.

Freezing and snow is a major issue, and we can tailor our service to your needs. Call us today and see what ServiceMaster Clean Vancouver can do for you.