Maintenance Tips

Please First review the Maintenance Troubleshooting Steps Below

If you have tried the necessary Maintenance Trouble Shooting Steps and the issue remains, please submit a Maintenance Request online by logging into your Tenant Portal.

Garbage Disposals:

Run a lot of water while using your garbage disposal.  Tenants will be responsible for the cost of repairing disposals, unless due to a defect in the equipment.  A service call charge will be billed to the tenant if any foreign object has jammed the unit.  The following items should not be put down the garbage disposal.

1. Pasta and Rice Products
2. Fats and greases
3. Bones
4. Fibrous food waste (i.e. celery, banana, potato peels or onions
5. Non-food waste items.
6. Large quantities of anything should not be put down the disposal.

If your garbage disposal does not work:

1. Turn the wall switch off!
2. Check the inside of the unit for bottle caps, coins, silverware, dishcloths, sponges, etc. and remove them.
3. Find the reset button on the bottom side of the disposal tank and press it.
4. Use a disposal key (allen wrench) and insert it into the bottom of the disposal tank and turn it.  Remove the key and push the reset button. (Always be sure the disposal switch is turned OFF.)

Try these steps first or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL5GlsTzS-I.  If these steps do not work, please proceed with a maintenance request through your tenant portal.

Please Do Not do the following:

• Do not use liquid drain cleaner in the kitchen sink or garbage disposal.
• Do not let excess food, potato peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc. go down the garbage disposal. (They will stick to any sludge in the pipe and quickly create a clog.)

Please Do the Following:

• Maintain your disposal and keep odorless by regularly grinding up pieces of lemon peel and ice cubes.
• You can also put in a couple of handfuls of baking soda and a half cup of vinegar. Let that set in the disposal hopper with the unit turned off. After it’s done foaming, rinse it down the drain with running water

Slow/Clogged Drains:

Please Do Not do the following:

• Do not use any cleaning chemical such as Drano
• Do not detach plumbing; use snakes; metal objects such as coat hangers to clean out drains

Please Do the following:

• Remove hair and/or debris from the drain.
• Try using a plastic drain stick from a home improvement store to easily remove hair clogs. You can also try using a plunger. If you are still having issues, schedule a maintenance request through your tenant portal.

Sewer Backup:  If the sewer backs up into the kitchen sink or bathtub, or floor drain immediately contact property management.

Clogged Toilets:

Each unit/residence should purchase a plunger for unclogging the stool. You will be charged for maintenance when routine plunging is needed. Tenants are responsible for the cost of unstopping toilets and drains, unless due to defective plumbing. Toilet paper is the only acceptable paper product to flush through the sewer system. Items not to be placed in stools include: disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, facial tissue, or cotton swabs. (You will be charged a service call if any of these products cause a sewer backup.)

Please Do Not do the following:

• Do not detach plumbing
• Do not use snakes; metal objects such as coat hangers to clean out drains

Please Do the following:

• Use a plunger to clear the clog.
• If you have tried to clear the clog with a plunger and are still having issues, schedule a maintenance request through your tenant portal.

In Case of Toilet Overflow:  Turn off water to the toilet (the valve is located behind the stool) prior to plunging. If water overflowed on the floor, please make sure you wipe the floor immediately to prevent leaking into the ceiling below you and water damage.

A/C or Heat Not Working:

• Check the air filter and replace if dirty. Make sure the air filter is clean and properly installed.  Maintaining a clean air filter is the tenant’s responsibility, please make sure to change every 2-3 months.
• Check/replace the battery in the thermostat.
• Step 1: Turn off your AC/Heat at the thermostat. Step 2: Find the circuit breaker box. Step 3: Reset the AC's/Furnace circuit breaker: Open the circuit breaker box and find the circuit that has an air conditioner/HVAC label next to it. It's OK if there's no label. Just look for a switch that is “tripped,” meaning that's it's moved to the neutral position. To reset the circuit breaker, turn it to the “off” position (right), then the “on” position (left) Step 4: Wait 30 minutes Step 5: Turn the thermostat back to “cool”

If these steps do not work, schedule a maintenance request through your tenant portal.

Power Outlets and Power Outages:

Outlets:

• Test the light switches to see if that turns on/off the outlet.
• Locate the GFCI outlets (outlets with the test and reset buttons) and press the reset button on all GFCI outlets.
• Tip: Look for GFCIs in bathrooms, kitchens, basements, garages and on the home’s exterior. Test and reset every GFCI you can find.
• Check the breaker box to ensure no breakers are tripped. 
• If the reset button and breaker reset doesn’t work, schedule a maintenance request through your tenant portal.

Power Outages:

• Make sure the power is not out in the area (check with Idaho Power). Idaho Power: 208-388-2323, or 1-800-488-6151 from outside the Treasure Valley area.
• Check the breakers.
• If the issue remains, schedule a maintenance request through your tenant portal

Garage Remotes/Doors:

• First check your batteries! Here is a video on how to change the battery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8JAnDic9T0
• If replacing the batteries doesn’t work or you have other issues please open a maintenance request through your tenant portal.

Smoke Alarms and CO2 Detectors:

• If your smoke alarm or CO2 detector is beeping and there is not fire or smoke present, it may need a new battery, please replace the battery and press the reset button, this is tenant responsibility. If you have completed this process and it continues to beep please contact property management.

Sprinkler Timer and/or Thermostat Programming:

• Refer to the owner’s manual or use Google to determine how to program the sprinkler timer and/or program the thermostat.
• If cannot program the timer/thermostat, schedule a maintenance request through your tenant portal, this may result in a tenant charge for a service call.

Pest Control:

• Pest control is the tenant’s responsibility after the first 30 days of tenancy.
• Try products you can purchase and use to remove the pests. (Insects, rodents, etc.)
• Tips on how to: http://www.doityourselfpestcontrol.com
• If you have tried to resolve the pest issue yourself and cannot, please schedule maintenance request through your tenant portal.

Dryer Duct Cleaning:

• It is the Tenant’s responsibility to maintain a clean dryer (clean the removable lint trap)
• If the duct is clogged through to the outside of the home, please open a maintenance request through your tenant portal.

General Maintenance Information

• Residents are responsible for cleaning and maintaining their unit/residences at all times, including proper removal of trash.

• Heavy acid drain cleaners may damage drainpipes. Always follow manufacturer’s instructions.

• Residents are responsible for proper care of all major appliances.

• When running the dishwasher, take care not to allow silverware and cooking utensils to get caught in the bottom. Be sure to use automatic dishwashing detergent only, pods are recommended. (Do not use regular dish soap.)

• Residents should inform Property Management if they will be gone for extended periods of time (2 weeks). During your absence, do not set the thermostat below 60 degrees or shut off the electricity.

• Abrasive cleaners such as Comet, Ajax, etc. should not be used to clean fiberglass Shower doors. A fiberglass cleaner or non-abrasive cleanser is recommended.

• Periodically replace the furnace filter.

• Painting the unit/residence is prohibited. However, if there are any alterations you would like to have done to the unit/residence, contact our office.

• Residents must be sure to shut their exterior windows when it rains or snows.

• The residents are asked to promptly report all leaking water, electrical or mechanical malfunctions observed in the unit/residence during office hours unless it’s an emergency.

• Tenants are responsible for replacing their own light bulbs. When replacing light bulbs in the appliances or unit/residence, be sure not to exceed the recommended wattage. For all enclosed fixtures, you should use 60-watt bulbs, and for appliances such as your stove and refrigerator, a 40-watt bulb is recommended.

• Residents are to replace batteries in batter-operated smoke detectors as necessary; do not tamper with detectors or disable detectors or deliberately remove batteries. Any detectors found disconnected or without functioning batteries will be subject to a violation.

• Service calls on repairs resulting from resident neglect, carelessness, or abuse will be charged to the resident.