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Resident Services: Maintenance Tips
This area of our web site is a service to help our tenants prevent and solve a few routine maintenance problems. Many of these tips are very easy to do, they could save you time, sometimes save you money (if you have caused the problem), and might prevent you from having to schedule around a maintenance person to fix a minor problem.
- Summer: HVAC (Air Conditioning)
If your A/C stops working, especially after a quick power outage or storm, then it could well be the breaker switch, not the A/C. Please check the breaker first. See "Reset Circuit Breakers" below.
If your unit is not working and you have submitted a maintenance request, please turn off the unit completely. The reason is that the majority of time, the coils have frozen up and when the technician gets there, he won't be able to do anything until the coils thaw out. This means 2 trips for the HVAC tech, and a longer wait for you.
- Change Your Furnace Filters
- Reset Circuit Breakers
 If you have been using an electrical outlet and it stops working, then you may need to reset a "tripped" circuit breaker. This happens many times when you are using appliances that may cause a temporary overload on the system such as a hair dryer or portable heater.
- Garbage Disposal Reset, Use, and Care
- GFCI outlets
 GFCI stands for "Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt". These outlets (pictured at right) are typically installed within a short-range from water, but could possibly be installed anywhere in your house. If you have something plugged into one of these outlets, and it stops working, it's possible that you were overloading it with a device such as a hair dryer or a portable heater. In order to make the outlet functional again, simply press the button (white or red) that says "Reset". Try again and you should be okay. If the outlet continues to trip, then you are most likley overloading the outlet with whatever is plugged into it. If it does not work at all, then there may be another problem and you might need to submit an Online Maintenance Request. Please note, in some cases especially in newer homes, a GFCI outlet or reset switch could be located away from, but still controlling, the outlet that stops working such as in a nearby closet in a bathroom.
- Septic Tank Care
 Clogged Toilets
If our plumber determines that a clogged toilet was caused by the resident, then very possibly the resident will have to pay the plumber's bill. If you think you've caused the problem and want to avoid this situation, you can try to unclog the toilet yourself using these simple and helpful hints.
- Replacing the Toilet Flapper Valve
 This one's real easy and one of the simplest repairs in the house. We have a couple of videos for you, with the first being the shortest and most straightforward. Please note: even though the first video shows a wet vac to soak up water, you do not need that in order to complete the replacement, although a towel might be handy. Also note: the water in the resevoir is filled with clean water, so getting your hands a little wet should not be a concern.
- Garage Door Remotes
 Winter: Preventing Frozen/Burst Pipes
When the temperature drops below freezing, there is a very real possibility of your water pipes freezing in your house which could cause your pipes to burst and ruin your house with water when they thaw. More »
If none of the items above seem to help, please fill out a maintenance request below:
 online Maintenance request form »
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Reset the garbage disposal 
