There’s a direct link between quality air and quality of life, yet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) studies show that indoor air can contain 2 to 100 times as many pollutants as comparable outdoor air. That’s a big problem for tenants and landlords alike, and it’s one that property managers can help with.
The good news is, poor air quality can be fixed. Indoor air pollution tends to have a lot more to do with how a property is managed than how the property was built; excellent apartment management can be the key to improving air quality.
Improving Air Quality Through Apartment Management
When you work with a qualified apartment management company, you can rest assured that the ongoing maintenance and management practices needed to improve air quality will be taken care of. There are many ways great apartment managers can work to improve air quality in your property, including:
- Identifying the cause.The first step to improving air quality is identifying the source and cause of air pollutants. It’s not just odor complaints, either. Allergens and pathogens of all kinds can build up in unseen areas, reducing air quality and even impacting the health of your tenants.
Mold, mildew (both are huge potential issues in the Pacific Northwest), pests and pesticides, radon and a wide range of bacteria and allergens may be present. Property managers will help oversee the identification of their source, and their elimination.
- Eliminating problem odors.Some of the most common air quality complaints are odor-related. Pet odors, cooking odors and secondhand smoke top the list, and buildings with a trash chute can run into a lot of problems when trash builds up or gets spilled inside.
Even though many of these odors are typically generated by the tenants themselves, they can be easily alleviated by an apartment management company, which will not only oversee cleaning and maintenance to make sure smells don’t build up, but also enforce your building’s regulations to help prevent them from becoming an issue in the first place.
- Maintaining air flow.Good air flow is crucial to keeping problem odors and pollutants from building up inside apartment buildings. Hiring an apartment manager to oversee the cleaning, maintenance and repair of your HVAC and ductwork can keep air moving, which will allow many air quality issues to be resolved.
Apartment managers will make sure the air system in your property will be routinely cleaned and maintained, and keep up with preventative steps like replacing filters and servicing the HVAC.
- Making improvements.Don’t panic if you have air quality issues inside your building! In many cases, these problems can be eliminated through cleaning, maintenance, or making adjustments to your HVAC equipment. In some cases, however, you may need more extensive improvements or upgrades to improve your equipment.
Your apartment management company can oversee the installation of new heating and air conditioning, vents, ducts, windows, and other elements that impact air quality. In many cases, these improvements will not only make the air better, but save your building money in the long run by making it more energy-efficient.
Apartment management companies have a lot of experience when it comes to improving indoor air quality. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help improve the air in your building. Son-Rise Property Management has been serving the property management needs of Bellingham and Whatcom County since 1996.
