Unfortunately, in an effort to conserve money, building owners and managers occasionally put off routine or preventative maintenance. When it comes to air quality, neglecting to maintain your ventilation system might jeopardize the health, safety, and general well-being of the people who live in your building.
Here’s why you shouldn’t put off building maintenance, especially if there are issues with your ventilation system or hvac repair and the quality of the air within.
How does deferred maintenance work?
When a business puts off performing routine or preventative maintenance on a structure for one or more of the following reasons, it is considered deferred maintenance.
- save money
- to adhere to financial obligations
- to enhance the environment aesthetically
When you postpone maintenance, you neglect routine tasks, such as repairing a roof or improving the security system, which may be necessary for the safety of the building and its occupants. However, postponing these tasks can also increase costs, such as when a roof collapses during a snowstorm or expensive office electronics are stolen in a burglary.
While routine maintenance and problem-solving are essential, preventive maintenance is even more so, especially if it helps to ensure the safety and health of building occupants and to prevent problems before they occur. occur.
Four Serious Issues With Delaying Maintenance
While you or your management may believe that deferred maintenance is essential, you could actually be aggravating current issues, which would necessitate additional time, money, and effort to resolve. When normal and preventative maintenance is neglected, the following four issues may occur:
First Issue: Ineffective Tools
Equipment might lose efficiency by delaying maintenance. For instance, regular tune-ups keep machinery functioning efficiently and smoothly. On the other side, when equipment isn’t properly maintained, it can cost the company more money and contribute to environmental issues by requiring more energy to run.
Preventive maintenance on a regular basis can reduce energy use and lengthen the lifespan of equipment and systems. Additionally, it gets rid of wear and finds issues early on.
Because they are outdated and nearing the end of their useful lives, equipment or systems can occasionally be inefficient. The company’s sustainability and outcomes both increase when they are replaced or upgraded.
Second issue: system crashes
When emergency repairs must be made while regular business operations are in progress, system breakdowns can result in operational disruptions that are both longer and more expensive.
The cascades of events can happen as a result of system failures. Building systems and structures might become ineffective as a result of malfunctioning components. In this situation, you now deal with a multitude of problems rather than simply one.
Third issue: Growing issues
System flaws can cause bigger, more serious issues if maintenance is put off. For instance, unattended water leaks can harm a building’s walls and ceilings. Standing water can also promote the spread of mold and lead to structural issues with walls, floors, and ceilings.
If the issue is not resolved right away, these expenses may mount up very rapidly. For instance, firms are predicted to pay 15 times more for delayed repairs than they would if the issue was fixed right away. A minor issue can quickly balloon into a major issue!
Fourth: Concerns about health and safety
The inhabitants’ health may be impacted by neglected maintenance. In order to preserve safety, enhance indoor air quality (IAQ), and stop negative health impacts before they happen, facilities need preventive care.
Building occupants run the danger of breathing in or coming into touch with increased quantities of biological and chemical contaminants when basic maintenance is neglected.
Higher concentrations of airborne pollutants, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, can circulate through the air in older or poorly maintained buildings. To securely reopen your building and guarantee the health and safety of your employees and customers, these infections must be eradicated or lowered to safe levels. This indicates the need for improved indoor air quality.
Immediate remedial action may be necessary in the case of poor air quality, such as improving an hvac replacement system or installing an air filter. For instance, Sanalife’s top-notch air purifiers and scalable solutions can eliminate germs, hazardous particles, and viruses like SARS-CoV-2 from areas of all shapes and sizes.