NORTH COAST COMMUNITY HOMES MAINTENANCE MANUAL Bill Bray, Chief Operating Officer Karen Palivoda, Property Services Secretary 14221 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44125-1953 Phone: (216) 662-1880 Web: www.ncch.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Section One Electrical Page Number Being Safe Around Electricity 1 Electrical Panels 2 Partial/Full Power Failure 3 How to Reset a Tripped Breaker 4
Table of Contents Section Four Floor Care Mops 26 VCT, Vinyl, No Wax Flooring 27 Ceramic Tile 28 Carpeting 29-30 Hardwood Flooring 31 Section Five Safety Systems Fire Alarm System 32 -Instructions -Control Panel -Smoke Detector
Safety System Quick Reference to Common Problems Electrical Page Number Partial/full power failure 3 No power at outlet 4 Outlet at kitchen or bathroom sink is not working 7 Plumbing Shutting off water to sinks or toilets 11 Sink is clogged/draining slowly 13 Toilet is running 14 Toilet is clogged 15-17 Heating and Air Conditioning No heat 21-22 No air conditioning 23 Flooring Carpet stains 29-30
SECTION ONE ELECTRICIAL
BEING SAFE AROUND ELECTRICITY Remember, electricity is very safe--as long as you are careful. Always be careful when you use any electrical appliance inside your home. Remember these tips: Never put your finger or anything other than an electrical plug in an outlet. Pull by the plug not the cord when unplugging an appliance. Don't use an electrical appliance when you're wet, have wet hands or you're standing in water. Be sure outlets near water sources have GFIs (see page 7). Limit the number of appliances plugged into each outlet. Be alert for damaged plugs and cords. Don't touch them! Do not place electric cords so that they run through doorways or under carpets. 5 Tips For Electrical Safety 1.) Keep electrical cords for lamps, etc. in good condition. If frayed or cracked, they could cause a shock or fire. 2.) Whenever possible don t use extension cords. 3.) Don t overload extension cords (see page 8). Follow the ratings on the cord or appliance labels. Extension cords should only be used on a temporary basis; they are not intended as permanent household wiring.
4.) Choose the correct wattage for all bulbs in light fixtures and lamps. Using higher wattage light bulbs may damage fixture (see page 9). 5.) Unplug any appliance that repeatedly blows a fuse, trips a circuit breaker or has given a shock. Call your maintenance department if this happens. 1 ELECTRICAL PANELS Electricity comes to your home from the street and goes to the electrical panel. It is then distributed to different areas of your home. There are many different types of electrical panels. Each electrical panel should have a list showing which breaker controls which area in your home. Panels with breakers are preferred and we will replace fused panels. Two Types of Electrical Panels Main Electrical Shut off Rooms covered by breaker Individual Breakers
2 PARTIAL POWER FAILURE If some of the lights and some of the outlets in your home stop working, the first thing to do is to make sure that the light switches and devices plugged into the outlets are turned off. Then go to the electrical panel and check to see if the circuit breaker controlling those areas is on (see page 4). On the door of the breaker panel there should be labels which tell you what rooms or appliances are controlled by each circuit breaker (see page 2). If you notice it is off, try resetting the breaker (see page 4). Then go back to the area and turn on the lights and appliances again. Breakers can be turned off because circuits are overloaded. General lighting circuits in homes are not designed for large appliances such as air conditioners, dehumidifiers, etc. If the breaker will not reset, there may be a short circuit. In such a case, leave everything alone and call your maintenance department so that an electrician can be sent to look at the problem. FULL POWER FAILURE If all the lights, appliances and devices in your home suddenly stop working, first check with your neighbors to see if their lights are working. If their lights are working and the problem is only affecting your house, call your maintenance department for assistance. If all the lights in the neighborhood are not working, there is a general power failure and you or one of your
neighbors will need to call the electric company. The number for electrical companies are as follows: Illuminating Company 1-888-544-4877 American Electric Power 1-800-807-6789 Ohio Edison 1-888-544-4877 City of Hudson 330-342-1715 City of Cuyahoga Falls 330-971-8050 3 I HAVE NO POWER AT AN OUTLET HOW DO I RESET A TRIPPED BREAKER? Why breakers trip: Use of too many appliances on one circuit, especially ones that draw a lot of electricity (for example: hair dryer and iron). To reset a breaker, flip the breaker to the off position (see photo 2), then flip it back to the on position (see photo 3). This should reset the breaker for the circuit. If a breaker trips repeatedly, it may be a sign of a serious problem. Call your maintenance department if a breaker needs to be reset repeatedly. Electric panel showing a breaker tripped (breaker is moved slightly toward the middle)
THEN Flip breaker to off position 2 Flip Breaker to on position 4 MAIN ELECTRICAL SHUT OFF The main electrical shut off switch is usually located at the main electrical panel in your home. This switch controls the electrical power in your home. Turning it off would shut down all the electrical power in your home. Different types of main electrical shutoffs 3
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ELECTRICAL OUTLETS Grounded Outlet A grounded outlet (3 prongs) increases safety by connecting directly to ground. Provided the grounding wire is intact, there is no way you can receive a shock by touching the electrical box or appliance cabinet. Do not use an electrical cord if the third prong has been broken off. Non-Grounded Outlet A non-grounded outlet (2 prong) is not connected directly to ground. These outlets are typical in houses built before the 1970 s. They are still safe but have been replaced by grounded outlets. Your property may have some of these 2 prong outlets. That s okay they work fine. You should not put an appliance which is meant to use a 3 prong outlet in this type of outlet (see page 8). Unsafe Outlet If you see a broken outlet in your home, you should call your maintenance department as soon as possible. Using an outlet that is broken or has exposed wiring can be a safety and fire hazard and needs to be repaired as soon as possible. 6
THE OUTLET AT THE KITCHEN OR BATHROOM SINK IS NOT WORKING GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) In some instances, there is a special outlet called a GFI (ground fault interrupter) outlet. These outlets are installed when electrical receptacles are near water. They will shut off the electricity and prevent a shock if someone accidentally touches water while holding on an electric appliance (hair dryer, curling iron, electric razor, etc.). These outlets are located in your bathroom, kitchen, and sometimes garage and basement. If an appliance plugged into this type of outlet does not work, it may be that the outlet itself needs to be reset. Push the reset button on the outlet and check to see if the appliance operates. In some cases outlets near water look like regular outlets but are connected to a special GFI breaker in the electrical panel (see photo 3). Whether the outlet or breaker is GFI protected, they both serve the same purpose. GFI Outlet 2 1 GFI Outlet Reset Test GFI Electrical Breaker 3 7
Outlets CAN I USE ELECTRICAL ADAPTORS OR EXTENSION CORDS? GFI Adaptors (Ground Fault Interrupter) In some instances, there is a special outlet called a GFI (ground fault interrupter) outlet. These outlets Danger, are installed anytime electrical receptacles are near water. They will shut Danger! off the electricity and prevent a shock if someone accidentally touches water while holding on an electric appliance (hair dryer, curling iron, electric razor, etc.). These outlets are located in your bathroom, kitchen, garage and sometimes basement. If an appliance plugged into this type of outlet does not work, it may be that the outlet itself needs to be The use adaptors reset. Push theof reset buttondefeats on the outlet and check to see if the appliance operates. Some of our homes the purpose of the safety will not have a GFI outlet. Instead the outlet will look like a regular outlet but is connected to a GIF breaker at theon electrical If not, call so that an electrician can come ground the 3panel. prong plugs out on to look at the problem. many of today s electrical devices. They should NOT be used. Overloading Outlets Outlets that are being overloaded with plugs and extension cords can be a potential safety hazard. No more than 2 devices should be plugged into any one outlet. 8 LIGHT BULB WATTAGE During routine visits to our homes there have been many occasions where light bulbs are missing from light fixtures or the wrong wattage bulbs were being
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