Effort and regular maintenance are required when caring for a rental home. A good quality tenant understands this and will help property owners keep their Laurel rental homes clean, maintained, and in good repair. But sometimes, even tenants with good intentions can unintentionally damage a home’s interior surfaces.
Sometimes tenants would cause unintentional damage simply because they were unaware that their effort to help would actually do the opposite. Other times, damage happens because of accidents or as the result of a tenant’s poor decision. The knowledge of the most common ways a rental home’s interior surfaces can sustain inadvertent damage is a tool that property owners shouldn’t be without. This would allow them to keep their tenants informed and maintain the condition of their rental homes.
When surface damage goes beyond basic wear and tear, tenant negligence is usually the source. Countertops, floors, and even sinks and bathtubs are constantly being used yet they hold up well for many years. The difficulty is that tenants, although well-meaning, may not be informed that some of these surfaces need to be cared for and protected in a certain way.
As an illustration, kitchen and bathroom countertops can typically take daily cleanings, food preparation activities, and a few spills. They can go through all that and still be in good condition. But countertops can be ruined by harsh cleaning products, notably those containing bleach or ammonia. The cleaning product for your countertops should be picked carefully. They should be picked based on the kind of countertops you have in your rental home.
Countertops can be damaged in several other ways; one such way is placing too much weight on a countertop. Damage could be done when there is an unusually heavy appliance or even a person standing on it. Some countertops may be damaged by placing hot pans or appliances on them, such as a toaster oven or a slow cooker.
Even a curling iron can cause burn marks on a bathroom countertop and can be difficult to remove. Cutting and chopping directly on a countertop may likewise damage the surface, forming small indentations that can eventually lead to worse problems.
Floors are another interior surface that tenants often accidentally damage. There are plenty of issues that could go unseen even under a watchful tenant’s radar. There could be small leaks under a refrigerator or a drip under the cabinet from a sink water supply line that, when not repaired, could lead to permanent water damage in a kitchen floor.
Moving furniture is one of the biggest culprits of unintentional floor damage. Pushing heavy items to move them across a laminate or wood floor can cause scratches, gouging, and tears. This is also one of the many ways carpets get torn. Setting heavy furniture in the wrong spot can crack or chip tile floors, likewise would dropping heavy items, such as exercise weights or even books. Comparable to countertops, using the wrong cleaning products can permanently damage a floor, stripping off finishes and creating unsightly stains or bleach spots.
Bathtubs can also sustain accidental damage from harsh cleaning products. On the other hand, not cleaning often enough is also a common mistake. Mineral deposits from tap water build up to the point where they are almost impossible to remove and end up allowing mildew to form. Exactly like tile, a bathtub is designed to hold up to a certain weight. Putting something too heavy in a bathtub can cause cracks; and its misuse can cause different kinds of problems, from unfixable scratches in a solid-surface unit to rust or coloring dye stains.
The most beneficial way to help tenants avoid unintentionally damaging your rental home’s interior surfaces is through information. Show them how to properly clean countertops, move heavy furniture, and so on. This education can greatly help in preventing expensive repairs. At Real Property Management Metro, we interact with both tenants and property owners to make certain that all the people involved would take care of the rental home with more than just wanting to be helpful, but with the proper know-how as well.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
