It’s Important to Take Care of Your Underutilized Buildings – Here’s How

Hybrid work schedules and shifting higher education or warehouse demands can leave some buildings or specific floors underutilized or unoccupied. When buildings are left unmonitored, the risk for damage to the building and its HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems increases.

Maintaining these buildings is critical, because these systems are designed for continuous use. When they aren’t used or are underutilized, you could see:

• Bacteria growth in air and water systems
• Plumbing failure due to backup of solids or other issues
• HVAC failure and/or catastrophic damage due to lack of use
• Water leaks in ceilings damaging flooring, walls, etc.
• Fire danger caused by unmonitored electrical systems

To avoid these issues, quarterly maintenance is recommended to protect the equipment as it runs at a lower load than it was designed for. This includes:

• Replacing air filters
• Cleaning evaporator coil sections
• Operating HVAC system on cruise control
• Operating plumbing regularly, including flushing toilets and running faucets
• Routine electrical maintenance

As shared buildings reopen to welcome workers, students, shoppers and users, your goal is to ensure mechanical systems are up to speed to keep occupants comfortable and safe. But what steps should you take before inviting occupants back full-time? Review our checklist and guide for building readiness.

As long as you stay on top of your proactive maintenance as the building is unoccupied or underutilized, getting it up to speed for occupants to return shouldn’t cause too many headaches.