Are you contracting out your preventative maintenance?  Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of restaurant managers be misled by their mechanical contractors into thinking their “building is balanced.” However, these managers are still noticing misreported — or never reported problems — that are causing complaints from their guests. For example, maybe a manager has been told that air filters and screens used for the outside air intake are clean. Or maybe he/she has been told that HVAC belts are tight, when they are in fact loose or cracking and ready to break.

These facility problems would cost so much less if treated immediately! For example, a $10 fan belt replacement (if not replaced by your facility management when needed) can cause irreversible damage to the rooftop units, along with the cost of uncomfortable guests. These instances escalate in the summer and fall months when outdoor weather threatens indoor comfort.

Summer Sick Building Symptoms

Be aware of these frequent summer "sick building" symptoms, so you can call out the indicators, if necessary:

1. Humidity can cause moisture to sit in the carpets or hardwood floors. Prolonged, this can lead to buckling, odor, and mold. Humidity issues often trigger allergies for guests.
2. Too much exhaust and little or no fresh air can cause a negative building pressure. When this is off, essentially anything on the outside air can come in to the building, including bugs and pests.
3. Condensation on windows and/or grills
4. Negative building pressure can also make entry doors difficult to open, leaving guests frustrated, or — worse for your profit — assuming the restaurant is closed.

All the above issues can cause a negative building pressure, allowing the outside air to infiltrate the building through every crack and crevice, causing damage that could shut a restaurant down from a health code standpoint.

If you’re concerned that your building is uncomfortable or not running how it was designed to, you have the option of calling in a third party HVAC balance service who can give you an objective diagnosis of the issue, and fix it. Melink can help - contact us today using the form below, email tbestimating@melinkcorp.com, or call (513) 965-7300.