It is possible that your renters are damaging the bathrooms in your single-family rental homes without even realizing it. Even good tenants can unintentionally damage bathroom elements or fixtures. The main causes of accidental bathroom damage are generally a lack of regular maintenance or using the wrong cleaning products. By helping tenants understand how to care for the bathrooms on the property properly, Chesterfield County rental property landlords can spare themselves a lot of expensive repairs.
Regular maintenance and cleaning are the solutions to maintaining a bathroom in its perfect state. But there is no assurance that a tenant will recognize what it means to properly maintain and clean a bathroom and may unintentionally damage a bathroom’s fixtures and elements.
For example, hard water (water with a high mineral content) is generic in several zones of the country. This kind of water can cause mineral deposits to accumulate in and around plumbing and fixtures, triggering rubber seals to deteriorate, rust fittings, and leaving behind an unattractive ring in tubs, toilets, and sinks. Hard water can lead to leaky pipes, toilets, and faucets, and cause a shower to lose water pressure. If left untouched, it can even permanently stain bathroom surfaces, getting them to look grubby.
Regular maintenance is a critical component of preventing a little rust or hard water deposit from becoming enormous trouble. In the shower, directly scouring the shower head and the faucet on a regular basis with vinegar can help keep them running appropriately and prevent the water pressure becoming unstable. But most household cleaning products will not remove hard water buildup, and neither will abrasive sponges or scrub brushes. To clean fixtures without damaging them, tenants need to see the right technique to do it or they might unwittingly trigger more damage.
Some elements of a bathroom that often sustain accidental damage are cabinets and floors. Because they are near to a water source, water damage in a bathroom is always a concern. A small leak underneath a bathroom cabinet or a dripping faucet may not be of much concern to a tenant, but even small leaks are critical warning signs that something had gone awry with the plumbing and it should be tackled promptly. Otherwise, the moisture from the leak could lead to damaged cabinets and, if ignored long enough, damage to the flooring or even the subfloor beneath the bathroom’s tile or laminate.
Using on the wrong cleaning products on cabinets and floors is another sign of accidental damage. Most tenants would want to have their rental home disinfected and in excellent condition, but they may utilize harsh chemicals or other cleaning products that strip the varnish off a wooden cabinet or compromise the seal on a tile floor. Exposed wood and grout are far more susceptible to mold and other moisture-related problems, and it can immediately become not only difficult to remove but likewise a health hazard.
It’s critical for property owners to establish that their tenants possess the needed knowledge of proper bathroom maintenance and cleaning. But communicating this fact to them and then verifying that those plans are being fulfilled can be laborious and may result in strained relations between tenants and property owners. This makes a professional approach to educating tenants about property servicing one of the better aspects to keep good tenant relations. At Real Property Management Richmond Metro, we can deliver the information tenants need and the control that property holders want to ensure that each rental home is kept in the best possible status. Contact us online or call our office at 804-417-7005 and see how we can help make your rental property ventures go smoothly and profitably.
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