CREJ

Page 22 — Property Management Quarterly — April 2021 www.crej.com S pring cleaning typically is associated with homes. It’s a time when consumers clean up and organize their homes, crawl spaces and garages, get rid of unwanted items and ensure the house is “in order” for warmer weather. But it’s also important for businesses to conduct spring cleaning. While there may be less clutter for a property manager to organize at a business, it’s just as important to make sure the build- ing is ready for a new season and warmer weather. Getting in the habit of an annual spring cleanup ensures the building looks good to those who walk in its front doors, and it helps property managers stick to a schedule when it comes to performing mainte- nance. Here are some of the ways property managers can conduct spring cleaning at businesses. n Make sure the building looks pre- sentable. Clean up the exterior of the building, including tending to the landscaping, cleaning up any debris on the property and ensuring all lights are functioning properly. Inside, touch up chipped paint by using leftover paint or purchasing the right amount of paint for the job to make sure the building pres- ents well. n Declutter storage spaces. Once touch-ups have been done, prop- erly dispose of unused, unwanted paint that may be cluttering the basement or storage space through PaintCare, the nonprofit organiza- tion that operates Colorado’s paint recycling program. For disposal of small amounts of paint, property managers can take paint to one of the more than 150 drop-off sites across the state. Before bringing your paint to any drop-off site, be sure to call to check business hours and to make sure it can accept the types and amount of paint you would like to recycle. For business- es that have a large amount of unwanted paint (200 or more gal- lons), PaintCare offers a free pickup service that benefits both the busi- ness and the organization’s volun- teer drop-off sites – property man- agers don’t have to take paint to a drop-off site a little at a time and the sites don’t get overwhelmed with large volumes of paint at once. If you prefer to keep some paint on hand for future touch-ups, use the tips below to ensure paint remains fresh longer and remains eligible for recycling in the future: • An unopened can of paint can last a long time if it is stored in a dry, cool (but not too cold), dark place. It’s best not to leave any paint cans in sunlight, outdoors or in a damp location. • When opening the can, use a paint key instead of a typical screw- driver because it may bend, distort or otherwise damage the lid, mak- ing it difficult to put back on. • When putting the lid back on the can, tap it with a rubber mal- let instead of pounding it with a hammer. If you don’t have a mal- let, place a piece of wood or an old book (or even a thick magazine) between the hammer and the lid and then carefully tap it down. n Building systems. Once the build- ing looks like new inside and out, check the key components and systems in the building. Switch out fire alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries or have the com- pany that performs these services come out to check that everything is working properly. Do this in the spring and in the fall to ensure alarms don’t go off in the middle of the workday due to low batter- ies, and help prevent other systems from failing, too. Swap out lightbulbs that might need to be changed. Walk through the building and make sure any burnt out bulbs are replaced with efficient LED bulbs. According to the Department of Energy, “Com- pared to traditional incandescents, energy-efficient lightbulbs such as halogen incandescents, com- pact fluorescent lamps, and light emitting diodes have the follow- ing advantages: They typically use about 25%-80% less energy than traditional incandescents, saving you money, and can last 3-25 times longer.” Additionally, LED bulbs offer brighter light using less energy and offer the same natural looking light as incandescent bulbs. Businesses should conduct spring cleaning too A S P H A LT & CON C R E T E S E RV I C E S A S P H A LT • C O N C R E T E • C O N S T R U C T I O N • M A I N T E N A N C E S E R V I C I N G T H E CO L O R A D O F R O N T R A N G E 3 0 3 . 3 9 8 . 7 0 8 0 economypavinginc.com info@economypaving.com CALL FOR A BID TODAY MARKETS SERVED • Commercial • Industrial • Retail • Multi-family • Condominium Maintenance Kevin Lynch Colorado program manager, PaintCare Properly dispose of unused, unwanted paint that may be cluttering the basement or storage space through PaintCare, the nonprofit organization that operates Colorado’s paint recycling program. Please see Lynch, Page 28