Home & Business Maintenance - Safety & Cost Reduction

main·te·nance

  [meyn-tuh-nuhns]  noun

1.  the act of maintaining.

2. the state of being maintained: the maintenance of friendly relations with England.

3. care or upkeep, as of machinery or property: With proper maintenance the car will last for many years.

4. means of upkeep, support, or subsistence; livelihood: to provide a comfortable maintenance.

5. alimony or child support.

Good morning, Patchers!  We wer pulling out our bbq tools this weekend and  hought, wow, these babies could use some maintenance.

As many of you do, we like to bbq, and having the right tools is key. We’ve had these nice tools for over 15 years, and they’ve done us good.

But, they've been out in the bbq over the winter, in the cabinet under the grill and the winter winds and cold have pulled the oils out of the wooden parts of the tongs, spatula and fork. 

So, we took out some mineral oil ($6.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond) and rubbed some on the wooden parts, and voila!, almost good as new. Not quite, because the weather had taken its toll and we should have done this long ago, or done a better job of keeping these babies protected.

This is something you can think of as you’re going about your daily life:

maintenance and inspection of something is by far the easiest way to extend the life, get the full value of whatever you own, and most importantly, from an insurance perspective (because that's what we're all about here) save you big, big problems.

We’re all busy and we have no time for anything, least of all something as mundane as maintenance and inspection, but here’s a short list of things that will have big payoff for little investment of time:

Home:

• Check your deck – decks rot and crumble. And we’re heading into entertainment season. That big party you’re planning? With all your litigious friends? You don’t want it to collapse.

• Here’s a good video: http://www.strongtie.com/videolibrary/gma-deck.html

• If you need your deck inspected, give us a call. We know people who will inspect your deck for you.

• Inspect your roof.  Just look at your roof.  If you think it looks bad, it is. Trust me on this. We’re coming into hurricane season and rain has this funny habit of working its way into your home when you least want it. I insure many roofers, and if you need a quote on a new roof, call us. 

• Clean your dryer vent – clogged dryer vents make your drying inefficient, but more importantly they are a major cause of home fires. You can do it yourself or call one of the services to do it for you.  http://news.consumerreports.org/home/2012/07/three-overlooked-home-hazards-and-how-to-prevent-them.html

• Fix cracks in sidewalks, but more importantly, fix the portion of the sidewalk that has been pushed up by tree roots. That is a huge trip hazard.  If you have a sidewalk in front of your home (or business) you’re responsible for it.  People trip and fall.  You don’t want to have a very avoidable lawsuit on your hands.

Business:

• Roof – Same as for home – hurricane season is approaching – get someone up there to take a look.

• Summer has its own hazards – people walking in flip-flops, more casual attitudes.  Make sure that your property is clear of hazards where people could trip and fall

• Fire - Lightning happens, people are careless with cigarettes and electrical components overheat. Do an inspection yourself visually and see what could go wrong and take steps to correct.  Debris should be thrown out. Crowded outlets should be made right.

• Theft & Vandalism – Summertime brings more folks that might be out more and create more mischief.  Is your physical security as good as it could be? Don’t let your business be an easy target. Ne’er do wells are opportunists for the most part.

That’s all  for the moment.  Take a quick few minutes and you’ll be ahead of the vast majority of people.

Any questions, we’re here to help.  www.nj-insurance.info 800-499-4195 info@nj-insurance.info