PREPARATION FOR THE COLDER MONTHS
Summer has come to a close and the evening shadows fall a lot sooner so now is a right time to take stock of what you need to do for your buildings and offices in dealing with the fall and winter seasons.
In cleaning, one doesn’t often think about landscaping but if you own a building now is the time to take a good look at the land surrounding your building. Besides the usual cutting and watering of lawns walk around your property and remove plants that have not survived the summer so that mold or blackspot that may be on them will not affect soils. At this time of year you will see sales on evergreens and trees, with warm days and cool nights it is an excellent time to plant evergreens and trees as they still have time to set up a good root system. As long as temperatures stay above freezing you need to keep on watering all trees and evergreens. If you enjoy the look of spring flowers such as tulips and daffodils now is the time to plant those bulbs. A good start to a healthy lawn next year is to spread on a top quality fall fertilizer.
It is time to take a walk around your building and look at items that may cause problems for you during the next six months. Check all garbage bins that have sitting outside, whether they be a heavy metal or cement, inspect them to see if they are worn and need to be replaced. Make sure that they are always lined with a heavy duty poly liner. Also check your sidewalks for grimy residue, pop spills, gum etc. Gum should be scraped up and the sidewalks washed. Take a good look at the caulking around windows and doors and if it has deteriorated have the caulking replaced. Caulking helps keep your windows clear of moisture between the panes and also helps to stop drafts. Now is the time to give your entrance doors and interior and exterior windows and window frames a good washing to remove summer dust and acid rain. Nothing is more attractive to a building’s facade than pristine windows. This indicates hands on management.
In some offices, windows can still be left open so everyday dust and allergens will seep in. In other offices, windows are tightly sealed and the AC is continuously running in the summer and circulating the same dusty air throughout, even if there is an air cleaning system. So besides giving all windows a good washing at this time of year, your venetian blinds, your cloth partitions, all soft materials and carpets should be cleaned. We are trying to, AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, clear your offices of the fecal matter that has been left behind by dust mites, allergens from pollen and the general grime that has been dragged in on your shoes. A fall cleanup of these items will reduce illnesses and lost work days.
Thinking back to last winter, ask yourself if you had enough mats for your entrances to be able to soak up autumn rains and melting snows. At the same time ask yourself if at the end of last winter did your cleaning company give them a good scrubbing to remove winter stains and let them dry before they put them away until the next fall. Make sure that the mats you have are commercial grade mats, heavy in weight so that they lay flat so that clients will not trip over them. They also need to have the proper kind of backing so that they do not easily slide around and cause someone to fall. State Building Maintenance Limited will gladly supply your company with new mats or re-clean your old mats.
Some winters are kind to us and some are fierce. Take a look in your storage room and see if you have any bags of ice melt leftover from last year. If not, fall time is the time to stock up on these as we cannot forecast what the fall and winter will be like, despite what your meteorologist may tell you. It is often too late to purchase ice melters when ice or snow is on the ground. There have been some very icy winters that have left us in short supply. There are a wide range of de-icing preparations that can be used on sidewalks, driveways and parking lots. Some are made of all natural ingredients, some are safer to use around landscaping, pets and cement, some don’t leave a powdery residue and some of these also provide good traction.
We at STATE BUILDING MAINTENANCE LIMITED will be only too happy to go through a fall check list with you, answer any of your questions and offer our cleaning services. Please call 416-247-1290
