Maintenance Request
During normal business hours, please call Customer Service at 408-559-1977.
In the event of a life-threatening or safety issue after hours, please call the on-call emergency line at Community Management Services 408-599-1977 Option 3 and leave a message for the On-Call Managers.
Call in case of a Maintenance emergency.
408-559-1977
Routine Maintenance Request
Submit Request
Good Maintenance Habit
Preventing or Detecting Issues Early
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Ensure you have homeowner insurance!
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Purchase water detectors (check Amazon)
Maintenance Routine Frequency
Every month
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Kitchen hood fans - these get oily
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Check your washer tray and ensure it's not cracked and leaking.
Every 6 months
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Smoke alarm 9V battery replacement (unless you did a swap-out and your smoke alarm has a 10-year lithium unit)
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HVAC condenser water line flush See step-by-step instructions or here
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Bathroom fan cleaning (use the circuit breaker to turn off the bathroom, unscrew the white grate, then unscrew the black panel, wear an N95 mask, and use a toothbrush and vacuum to clean). You can also take off the fan unit and clean it in more detail.
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HVAC air filters. Note: not all filters in P51 are the same size. Lowe's carries a trim-to-fit type of HVAC filter, or you can order custom sizes online.
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Showerhead descale (video tutorial)
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Refrigerator Water Filter (If applicable, check your model)
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Every year
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HVAC vent cleaning - this you will need to find a local vent cleaning company to do this. Places typically charge 35 / vent. Try Yelp and go through the estimates process and get quotes from multiple vendors.
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Dryer vent cleaning - the HOA schedules and pays for this - (you will get announcements about it) saving you $$ because of negotiated bulk rates. These prevent dryer inefficiencies (longer time to dry clothes) and potential fires.
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Window washing - the HOA schedules and pays for this - typically in the summertime. If you need to clean it beforehand and live on anything other than the ground floor, it's recommended you use a magnetic wipe. Don't lean outside your window, you may fall out, nobody here is liable if you do so and injure yourself. Hire someone.
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Every 10 years
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Replace your smoke alarm (if you haven't replaced them yet, they are overdue for a replacement).
I have an issue, who can help?
The first thing to check is whether it's your unit (your responsibility) or a larger issue in the complex that either is or may affect other neighboring units.
Example of things that are your own responsibility - you most likely should not contact the Property Management company
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Your appliances or any equipment that came with your flat (see section below)
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Burnt out lightbulbs (the HOA does not replace these, ACE is across the street)
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In-unit toilet/shower/sink issues (call a plumber for consultation, and only if a water shutoff for the stack is needed contact the Property Management company to schedule the shutoff here.
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Toilet - it could be anything along the water flow path, ranging from a seized water shutoff valve to the fill valve to the flapper.
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Shower - it could be your shower cartridge - the hard water over the years may have damaged it.
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Sink - it could be your faucet cartridge - the hard water over the years may have damaged it.
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AC / heating issues - this one is tricky, as you may need to triage whether it's your in-unit HVAC elements or the common elements.
Examples of things that may be the HOA's responsibility - contact the Property Management company :
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No water (hot or cold) - if it's potentially the whole stack affected. E.g. your toilet AND your sink AND shower all don't work - most likely a stack issue.
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Water shutoff requests based on any in-unit plumbing work needed (info here)
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Unusual noise or drilling
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Floods or leaks in your unit or any adjacent units
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Issues with your window rollers
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Anything in the common area (e.g. Latch issues not tied to your phone - for example the gate
Example of things to ask others:
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Power fluctuations / outages --> PG&E
Troubleshooting
If an appliance or other equipment in your flat or loft that came with the unit is not working…
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If the problem is with equipment that is no longer under warranty, the cost of repair is yours (Renters, check with your owners).
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If you are an owner and just moved in, see if you have homeowner's insurance as part of your home purchase.
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If you need to replace items (such as light bulbs or batteries in smoke detectors or HVAC filters) that came with your condominium and you do not know how to do it, search the discussion topics on the Google Group, where most issues have been discussed with recommended solutions.
If you need to clean granite countertops or your stainless steel kitchen sink…
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Use a non-abrasive cleaner only.
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Method products (available at Orchard Supply or Target) work very well on P51 countertops and other surfaces.
If you want to take care of your wood flooring…
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Bona or a similar cleaning product (available in Orchard Supply or Bed, Bath, and Beyond) works well in cleaning wood flooring.
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Take care in dropping anything heavy on the floor; the floors dent easily.
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Do not wet-mop or steam-mop the wood flooring; it will warp the panels over time. Clean-up wet spills right away.
If your air conditioning or heating appears to not be functioning properly:
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Shut the system down and wait 10 minutes to reset it.
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Restart the system.
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If there appears to be no improvement, this indicates a system-wide (rather than unit-specific) problem. Therefore, contact the Property Management company and notify them of the issue. Be sure to specify your building (Buildings A and B are on one HVAC system; Building C is on a separate system).
If your smoke detectors are chirping…
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You should replace all the batteries of all your smoke detectors at one time (they “talk” to one another).
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Set a date to replace them annually or more often.
If your carbon monoxide (CO) detectors are chirping:
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The number of chirps and their meaning depends on the manufacturer/model. Check the back of the unit or online for instructions
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Most alarms require regular Alkaline batteries, not rechargeable Lithium ones
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CO monitors are designed to be end-of-life after 5 or 10 years and need replacement. This is indicated by a different chirping sound, which does not go away after replacing the batteries
If the building fire alarm goes off…
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Calmly but quickly exit the building following directions posted at entries.
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If you believe the alarm is a “false alarm,” contact the Property Management company after leaving the building.
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Read other instructions for emergency preparedness under "Safety" on this site and on the Safety brochure. What to do: Safety in and around Plant 51
If you have ants…
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Establish a perimeter of cinnamon if you don't want to deal with chemicals
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Dropping tons of salt in window crevices, waiting a few days, vacuuming up any seeable salt left on the outside
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If the ants are outside your unit (in hallways or courtyards), you should notify the Property Management company of the problem so pest exterminators can spray the area. Try to locate the ants’ “nest” site and include this information in your message. ("I have ants!!" is too general.) The only truly effective way to get rid of ants is to stop their activity in their nest.
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If the ants are only inside your unit, you are responsible for their extermination. If your own efforts are unsuccessful, you may contract a vendor found on the Services page
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Keep in mind that once the ants' nest has been disturbed, their activity level may increase for awhile (as they search for new places). Ant extermination at the "nest" level is not instantaneous and may take multiple applications.
Water Shutoff Request
Submit Request
Plumbing Prevention
This document will talk about plumbing prevention as well as what to do to fix your plumbing in the event there is a clog or back-up.
Plumbing Emergencies
See the Maintenance Emergencies section
Preventative Maintenance
When you put things down the drain (toilet bowl, sink garbage disposal, etc) you run the risk of clogging your unit's stack and at worse create a water backup and flooding that's costly and inconvenient.
What to never put down the garbage disposal
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Coffee grounds (dense, thickly packs together)
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Pasta (collects and expands down the line)
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Bones (you'll probably jam/break your garbage disposal machine)
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Oatmeal (same as #2)
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Nuts (the oils and physical bits)
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Onion skins (the membranes catch items)
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Egg shells (membranes lodge)
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Fibrous vegetables
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Potato peels
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Pits
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Paint (imagine it drying in your pipes
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Oils
Preventative maintenance methods
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Citrisol ($100 for a gallon) plumber recommended
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Roebic Main LIne
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Green Gobbler
Plumbing Troubleshooting
What we don't recommend:
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Draino or lyes, they will damage the pipes, causing them to clog more in the future.
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Pouring down boiling water
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Compressed air-based plungers (the building is fairly new but pipes don't respond well to extreme pressures)
What we do recommend:
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Use a plunger
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Filled up your sink all the way with water to try to use the pressure to push it through
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Use a snake drain (if it's the toilet, you can directly insert the snake in, if it's a sink clog, you may need a bucket (to catch the water) and to remove the under-the-sink trap and snake it in directly from there (that is what the plumbers do).
If nothing above worked, we recommend calling a plumber.
Issue
Issue - Stuck Garbage Disposal
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Unplug the unit from the outlet.
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Find the large hex wrench that should have come with the garbage disposal and use it on the hole in the bottom center of the unit, turning it back and forth in both directions (it’s okay to use force)(If you don't have it, check your model and go to the ACE across the street to see if you can buy it.)
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Then plug it back in, and try it again. They have also in the past thrown a ice cubes down the sink to clear any physical obstructions.
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Never stick your hand down the disposal, unplugged or not, in case there are sharp objects you weren’t aware of that fell down and got stuck inside.
Issue
Plumbing Responsibilities
Pursuant to Article II, Section 2.52.1 of the CC&Rs, the boundaries of the Podium Units are to the interior unfinishedsurfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, doors and windows, excluding bearing walls. Utility systems and components thereof and fixtures and appliances which are located wholly within the boundaries of a Podium Unit and which service only that Podium Unit are also part of the Unit.
Article V, Section 5.1 of the CC&Rs indicates the Association is responsible for the maintenance of the Common Area. Pursuant to Section 5.3, each Owner is responsible for maintenance of the Owner’s Unit, including any and all fixtures, appliances and appurtenances. Section 5.3.1 provides the Owners shall maintain fixtures or utility connections attached to ceilings, floor ro walls, including without limitation, toilets, showers, bathtubs, sinks, kitchen appliances, lighting and plumbing fixtures, telephone facilities, and doors within the Unit.
The description of the work in the invoice you provided does not indicate the location of the pipe which was clogged resulting in the backup. If the pipe was located within the Common Area, the Association is responsible for the maintenance and repair necessary to address the issue. If the pipe was located within the boundaries of the Unit, the Owner of the Unit is responsible for that maintenance and repair.
An exception to the foregoing could be applicable if it is determine the damage was caused by the Owner or the Owner’s Invitees. Under those circumstances the Association can levy a Reimbursement Assessment pursuant to Article VI, Section 6.4 of the CC&Rs to recover the costs incurred by the Association to repair the damage.
How Does a Refrigerator Work?
Learn all about it here: https://www.danfoss.com/en/about-danfoss/our-businesses/cooling/the-fridge-how-it-works/
What should I do to keep my refrigerator in good shape?
Perform a yearly defrost
What this does
This involves relocating items in your refrigerator to ice chests and coolers, or consuming all your fridge items, then unplugging and keeping all the doors open overnight. You may have ice in it that melts so ensure you have towels underneath and at the ready if there was ice buildup.The first recommended step (if you don't want to hire someone or replace your refrigerator) is to defrost it. This means you take all your food out and pack it into coolers/bags or you eat it all, and you unplug it and open the doors and let the whole thing go to room temperature (some people may say to use a heater or hair dryer but you may damage your refrigerator plastic in doing so). You can also run some warm water down the drain hole if you have access to it.
Detailed instructions here:
https://www.whirlpool.com/blog/kitchen/how-to-defrost-a-freezer.html
Then when everything has melted, plug it back in and let it return to normal operations. If the ice continues to build, you can google the model number and see what others have done if you want to DIY and take apart your refrigerator to fix it yourself (at times, heating elements may be sold as either replacements or upgrades to the existing model's part number, or you can hire someone to do all of this, or replace it. Here are the repair instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rk9LFXIv-E
Pull out and vacuum
The radiator fins may have dust bunnies that are collecting on the may be reducing the efficiency on your refrigerator. If you need to remove the back panel to clean the inside, unplug your fridge first.
Why do I get icing in my refrigerator?
Condensation due to humidity or open containers along with a failed defroster or clogged drain tube may lead to icing which will keep your refrigerator from cooling.
If you want to take a DIY approach, the ice sheets are most likely caused by a refrigerator drain tube that's clogged. Excess condensation usually goes down this tube and onto a tray pan in the back of your refrigerator which then evaporates into the air. Blockage means that condensation stays in your refrigerator and creates ice sheets. This can be caused by a variety of reasons, including:
Bad design by Whirlpool: The drain tube is too small, or the temperature sensor on it may not kick in to defrost it properly. Whirlpool has a terrible S-shape design for their drain pipe. Could be frozen there, it could be frozen further up in the line.
User behavior: Leaving any exposed food in the refrigerator leading to condensation, or if the room has humidity, it clings to the evaporator coils and creates ice, which disrupts the ability for the refrigerator to get cold enough.
HVAC Not Working
Issue - HVAC Not Working
What should I do if my HVAC doesn't work?
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Thermostat: Check and confirm it's not an issue with your thermostat controller (if it's a Google Nest, check the troubleshooting steps and test to isolate).
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Circuit Breaker: Check the circuit breaker wasn't tripped. Turn it off, then turn it back on after 10 minutes.
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HVAC Switch: Check the switch on the outside of the HVAC unit (see pictures below) wasn't flipped off by accident
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Isolation: Confirm it's just your unit impacted and not others in the area either by checking with your neighbors in person or via the Google Groups
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If there's more than one unit impacted, notify the property management company, as it's most likely a building HVAC plant issue
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If there's only your unit that's affected, read the info below:
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Owners --> dispatch their own HVAC repair company to take a look at it. At this point we don't have a recommended individual unit HVAC company. Check Yelp and ask for quotes.
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Tenants --> contact your owner or property management company, but provide them this critical information. You will be fully liable for anything that goes wrong and impacts your unit or those below yours.
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Internet Issues
This is how your internet connects to your devices:
Sail
Ethernet --> WiFi Router --> Devices
Comcast
Coax cable --> Modem --> WiFi Router --> Devices
Sometimes the Modem and WiFi router may be the same device.
Something along this pathway isn't working and it's important to determine whether it's the device itself or a cable connecting said device that's causing the issue.
You can:
Restart your modem / router
Try removing any coax splitters (if applicable)
Check your cable angle (coaxial cables cannot bend more than a wrap around a tin can, don't jam it behind your entertainment center at a right angle)
Check your cables (replace any coax cables or ethernet cables with new ones)
Hardline your internet (connecting your ethernet to your device) to determine if your WiFi is the issue.
Reset your modem / router (there should be restart buttons on the back of every device - note this means you may have to re-set up your WiFi name and password)
Contact Sail / Comcast / Direct TV to have them further troubleshoot
Sometimes, maintenance work is happening that may upgrade and improve the networks (e.g. recently Sail upgraded to gig, Comcast plans to upgrade to increase upload speeds)
Podium Utility Closet Access
Please contact Customer Service at cs@communitymanagement.com or call 408-559-1977 well in advance to schedule our Facilities Maintenance staff so they can provide access to the Utility Closets (IDF) when your technician arrives.
Dryer Vent Cleanout
A compromised vent will not exhaust properly to the outside. As a result, overheating may occur and a fire may ensue. Professional dryer vent cleaning not only ensures your dryer's external airflow, but also helps prevent lint-based dryer fires from starting.
Signs that it is time to clean your dryer vent:
Your clothes are taking much longer than usual to dry;
Both your clothing and the dryer exterior get very hot;
Presence of debris around the dryer hose;
The vent hood flap does not open properly;
The dryer vent has not been inspected for more than a year;
You notice a strange burning smell on the clothes;
The laundry room feels excessively hot when the dryer is running.
What happens if you don't clean your dryer vent?
The dryer has to work overtime with more and more heat in order to dry the clothes. The machine wasn't made for that degree of heat. With the debris blocking the vent, the machine overheats. This could and has caused a house fire.
How often do I really need to clean dryer vent?
How often should you clean dryer vents? Dryer exhaust vents should be inspected and cleaned at least once a year, depending on the size of the household and dryer usage.
How long can you go without cleaning dryer vent?
But even with these preventative steps you should clean your dryer vents at least once every 12 months to remove the lint and debris and prevent clogs!
Annual Fire Inspection
Background
Fire Alarm Inspections occur annually at the end of the year or just after the New Year begins
Our schedule is for one Saturday in the Condos taking 2 hours per floor.
The following Saturday we will have one hour set aside for people who couldn't make the first round in the Condos and then all of the townhomes the rest of the day. The building will be grouped into two-hour blocks just like the Condos so no one has to give up their whole Saturday for these inspections.
Unit access is required and mandatory per the National Fire Protection Agency code 72. The alarm and sprinkler test require that each sprinkler be given a visual inspection so the technicians will go into every room and closet that has a sprinkler to ensure they are in proper operating condition. We apologize in advance for the intrusion but, it is an NFPA &@ requirement.
We will post announcements on common area doors with the schedule and send out Today's News messages.
If you are not at home on the date and time, please work with a friend or family to make the unit available. Owners with tenants and property managers - please confirm with your tenant that they are aware of this request.
Window Washing and Gutter Cleaning
We plan to complete window washing for both the Townhomes and Condominiums in the Summer of 2024.
Gutter cleaning is expected to be completed in early Fall 2023 to beat the Winter rains. In the past we have only included the Townhomes, but this year we will try to include the Podium building.
Annual Fire Inspection
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Window Washing
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s.
