June Monthly Newsletter

Dear PEACE OF MIND Customers,
WELCOME to the first PEACE OF MIND newsletter of 2009. So far this month things have been typical June with a few minor and a few major problems encountered. As always we've checked everything to be sure your home has been prepared for long term vacancy, water mains turned OFF, A/C and humidistat set properly, made sure A/C vents were all open, windows and doors were securely locked and etc. and etc. and if you had forgotten to do something, we've found it and have made it right.
The rains have been sporadic at best...lakes are still low, some lawns that were turning brown have shwon signs of starting to turn back to green again. Overall the weather has been extremely warm (nix that....extremely HOT and in some cases records have been set. FYI the Gulf water termp is 93 degrees!!
Not surprisingly, we've had a few A/C failures, a refrigerator breakdown (fortunately no perishables had been stored inside) and a couple of major water problems. We've had a sewer backup in Forest Glan and a major flood in Cedar Hammock caused by a water line break at the refrigerator ice maker water supply.Sure we've been asked to send several items back north to folks who forgot to take something with them, ie. IRS Tax returns, check books, cell phones, jackets, hats and even keys all of which arrived at their destination within a reasonable time-frame which we're sure made our clients happy but this happens every year and we are happy we can provide this service for a small fee.
Had water accumulating in the drip pan of a unit in Forest Glen and after contacting the A/C repair company the problem was resolved. Another A/C failure in a new unit at Heritage Bay. Ice was building up in the air handler, again we caught it early, so, it just goes to show you that you can never rely on newer units having less problems. The truth is air conditioners do fail and nobody knows when it will happen.
Lots of vendors needing access to units for any number of reasons, A/C inspections, termite inspections, pest control treatments, county inspectors needing to approve A/C installations, property appraisers needed for re-financing purposes all of which require prior approval from home owners before we give anyone access. We do our best to accommodate these needs for a nominal charge however sometimes the time required for us to wait around for these people far exceeds the amount of time we are able to spend so...we ask that you try to schedule these activities while you're in residence so you can be certain they get done. Well stay cool and relax because you have PEACE OF MIND!
Until next month...
Sonny & Joy & Mike
PEACE OF MIND

Sewer Backup

Today when we were checking a unit in Forest Glen we discovered that sometime during the past week there had been a sewer backup. Initially it appeared that the problem was limited to the kitchen area however once the restoration people were called they found that the sewage had migrated into

other areas of the condo. Needless to say when something like this occurs it's a hassle for the owners and for POM getting things restored to normal. The photos shown here are what we initially discovered when we were checking the unit...the first photo is the actually the trash bucket which is completely filled with the backup water, the second shows the water that backed up into the dishwasher and the third is the sewage that backed up into the sink. We've experienced similar problems like this in the past and it usually is the result of the soil pipe getting clogged and when people living on the upper floor(s) run dishwasher, clothes washer etc. the water will backup into the first floor unit. We cannot emphasize enough how critical it is that you have insurance on your unit otherwise the expense for restoration lies with you the owner.

Water Intrusion

Here are some photos of a water intrusion problem we discovered while doing our weekly checks in Kings Lake. When we entered the unit we discovered water on the floor and upon further investigation we found mold & mildew behind the clothes washer and dryer. We reported it to the owners and referred them to Matthew Collier Disaster Cleanup a company who they hired to restore things back to normal. As you can see from the progression of photos the drywall was then removed, the mold & mildew were cleaned up and treated and the commercial dryer and air scrubber completely dried things out.

After they finished the cleanup they had to determine the source of the leak and much to their surprise they discovered that when the A/C unit was replaced the A/C company never glued the drain and only stubbed the 3/4 inch pipe into a 1 ½ drain that was only siliconed together.

Needless to say this was a disaster waiting to happen so now that they have corrected the problem the owners can rest easy that the problem has been taken care of and it won’t happen again.

A/C Vents

Here is an example of a problem we often find during the first weeks of checking a unit after owners have left for the season. In all likelihood it's the result of folks closing off A/C vents to prevent cool air drafts from blowing on them and then when they leave for the season they forget to re-open the A/C vents. The result can be elevated FPL Electric bills and if not discovered may even cause mildew to form from lack of ventilation. The photo on the left shows a closed vent while the one on the right shows the same vent after we opened it.

Damp-Rid Bags

Spoke with one of our new client who lives in the Vineyards and he told us about a problem he had with those Damp-Rid bags some folks hang inside their closets to prevent mildew. Seems he arrived last year only to find that one of the Damp-Rid bags had broken and the liquid spilled and soiled his rug, some clothing and a pair of shoes. He still wanted to use the bags but decided to prevent any re-occurance of last year by hanging the bags inside a bucket (see photo) in the event that they broke the liquid would collect inside the bucket instead of on his floor.

Rust Spots on Clothes

The following is something that happened to Sonny & Joy...Joy had been complaining about finding rust spots on some of her clothes after they had been run through the dryer and for the life of me I couldn't find the reason it was happening. Then...recently our building had the dryer vents cleaned and after that we began to notice excessive moisture buildup inside the dryer even though it wasn't being used. One time when I was checking the inside of the dryer trying to solve the rust problem I could feel warm air coming from inside the dryer. Upon further investigation I determined that whenever a unit under us (we live in a third floor condo) used their dryer we could feel the warm air coming out of ours. I reported this to our building president and we were about to call the vent cleaning company back to see if they could determine what was happening when I came across an item at Home Depot that cost $5 and solved our problem. It seems that whenever a downstairs dryer was being used, hot air would syphon back into our dryer. Pictured here is a Draft Blocker that allows air to flow out but prevents any air from flowing back into our dryer. If any of you experience this problem buying one of these and installing it where the clothes dryer vent pipe enters the wall will solve your problem.

Sewer Backup

Had another sewer pipe break in Cedar Hammock. Unfortunately the 1st floor is always the one that takes the hit….The unit is all set now, but the rebuilding process was time consuming. You just never know when bad workmanship will rear it’s ugly head. The good news is it was discovered fairly early because of our weekly check policy….Had this gone on longer, I hate to see what the outcome could have been. It took awhile but the problem was resolved with minimal damage done.