Losing power is never fun, a blocked drain, even worse. Many tenants who find themselves in these situations immediately rifle through their paperwork for the number of their property manager. Whilst this may seem like the logical thing to do, there a number of DIY checks you can do to make sure the problem can’t be resolved quickly and without the involvement of your agent. Please have a look at the Repair Tips below first, to avoid any unnecessary call outs.
No power
- Have you contacted your electricity supplier? There may be a fault in the street.
- If renting a unit/apartment – Have you checked with a neighbour? If in a block of Strata Title apartments, it may be the Owners Corporation that needs to be contacted for action.
- Have you checked your fuse box? There may have been an overload and the safety switch has been activated and needs resetting.
- Have you checked that one of your appliances is not faulty? Unplug all appliances in the house. Reset the safety switch in the meter box. Plug in the fridge and turn on the power point, check the safety switch. If the safety switch clicks off then you know that there is a fault with the fridge and you will need to get it repaired.
- Otherwise disconnect the fridge and plug in the stereo and continue checking all appliances until the faulty appliance is located. If our electrician attends to your repair request and finds the fault is with one of your appliances, then you will be charged for the service fee.
Faulty Power points
- Is power point loose or sparking? DO NOT touch or attempt to fix a faulty power point switch, phone/email your property manager immediately.
No hot water
- Is it Gas or Electric?
- Have you arranged for the connection of your Gas or Electricity?
- Have you checked the fuse in the meter box? Has someone turned off the fuse by mistake? Or has the safety switch been tripped?
Lights are not working or power points are not working
- Have you checked your fuse box? If there has been an overload the safety switch may need resetting.
- Have you replaced the light bulb?
Stove element is not working
- Have you checked the connections to make sure they are not loose or dirty? Sometimes pulling the element out and cleaning them and putting back in again can fix the problem.
- Check if power is connected or check fuse box for a tripped switch or blown fuse.
Garbage disposal is not working
- DO NOT attempt to disassemble the unit
- Is it turned on at the switch underneath the sink?
- Have you attempted to reset the safety switch? This is normally a little red or black button underneath the bottom of the garbage disposal unit. You may have to get on your hands and knees to find the switch. This switch can be activated by an overload and simply needs to be reset.
- Is there a blockage in the sink/blades? IMPORTANT – Before putting hands down the sink to check for blockages – make sure unit is turned off at the wall and unplugged.
Kitchen/bathroom sink is blocked
- Have you tried using some Draino to try and free the blockage?
- Have you tried pouring boiling water down the sink to free up old soap & hair?
- Have you removed old food from the kitchen waste & poured boiling water down the drain? Do not put fat and oil into the drain as these will clog up the pipes.
Dryer is not working
- Check power is on.
- Have you checked to see if the filter needs cleaning out? Dryers can automatically shut down due to overload of lint in the filter.
- Check the dryer is not overloaded.
If you have exhausted this list, the problem is not written here, or you don’t feel you have the confidence to DIY then you should get in touch with your property manager to organise a repair.
Brought to you by Tony Nash – RE/MAX Property Associates Sunshine Coast
Phone Tony and his team today on 07 5452 4545
www.rentaladvice.com.au
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