Maintain Your Fire Sprinklers. It’s More Important Than You Know
Photo by Kevin Butz on Unsplash
If you want to prevent fire sprinkler water loss, you have to be proactive about care, maintenance, and inspections. Fire sprinkler systems are designed to protect the facility in case of a fire, but they also are often overlooked as a system that needs to be cleaned and maintained. It’s almost an out-of-sight-out-of-mind issue. We want them to work when it’s time. However, we fail to properly care for them and all too often, that leads to malfunctions that cause significant water damage and loss.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a residential or commercial property; if there are fire sprinkler systems, maintenance and care are absolutely crucial.
Tips to Maintain Fire Sprinkler Systems
The advantage of fire sprinklers is you don’t have to do a lot to maintain them. It’s really pretty simple. However, if you neglect maintenance completely, that’s when you run into an issue. Plan to do some basic care and maintenance about twice a year. You should also have an inspection and system test done once or twice a year as well.
Complete visual inspections quarterly so you can try to catch any problems early. Other maintenance includes ensuring the system doesn’t have any leaks or disrepair. Ensure a flow test is done once or twice a year, even if you hire a company to do that for you.
Always make sure your fire sprinkler system water is on. Most places will use a padlock so that it can’t be haphazardly turned off. If you do this, be sure the padlock can be removed quickly in the event of a malfunction.
Here are some tips for routine maintenance:
Ensure there isn’t excessive dust on any fixtures
Inspect fittings and fixtures for any leaks
Never hang anything from sprinklers or the lines
Know where the valves are and how to use them
Train staff to properly inspect, care, and maintain sprinklers
Protect from freezing temperatures
Why is Maintenance So Important?
It seems so menial to worry about inspections and dusting, doesn’t it? But it’s not. Since sprinkler systems are rarely used, they sit idle for long periods of time. They are designed for this. However, it also means you probably won’t notice if there is an issue - until you have a malfunction.
When you inspect and maintain your systems, it keeps you aware and far more likely to pinpoint a potential problem before it turns into a water damage disaster. Fire sprinkler water loss can be significant and lead to massive water damage in a short amount of time. If you do experience damage from a malfunctioning sprinkler, be sure to hire a professional to come in and quickly help with cleanup and mitigation!
The best way to prevent loss and damage is to be familiar with your system, inspect and test it regularly, and ensure the risks of malfunction are minimized as much as possible.
Photo by Kevin Butz on Unsplash
If you want to prevent fire sprinkler water loss, you have to be proactive about care, maintenance, and inspections. Fire sprinkler systems are designed to protect the facility in case of a fire, but they also are often overlooked as a system that needs to be cleaned and maintained. It’s almost an out-of-sight-out-of-mind issue. We want them to work when it’s time. However, we fail to properly care for them and all too often, that leads to malfunctions that cause significant water damage and loss.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a residential or commercial property; if there are fire sprinkler systems, maintenance and care are absolutely crucial.
Tips to Maintain Fire Sprinkler Systems
The advantage of fire sprinklers is you don’t have to do a lot to maintain them. It’s really pretty simple. However, if you neglect maintenance completely, that’s when you run into an issue. Plan to do some basic care and maintenance about twice a year. You should also have an inspection and system test done once or twice a year as well.
Complete visual inspections quarterly so you can try to catch any problems early. Other maintenance includes ensuring the system doesn’t have any leaks or disrepair. Ensure a flow test is done once or twice a year, even if you hire a company to do that for you.
Always make sure your fire sprinkler system water is on. Most places will use a padlock so that it can’t be haphazardly turned off. If you do this, be sure the padlock can be removed quickly in the event of a malfunction.
Here are some tips for routine maintenance:
Ensure there isn’t excessive dust on any fixtures
Inspect fittings and fixtures for any leaks
Never hang anything from sprinklers or the lines
Know where the valves are and how to use them
Train staff to properly inspect, care, and maintain sprinklers
Protect from freezing temperatures
Why is Maintenance So Important?
It seems so menial to worry about inspections and dusting, doesn’t it? But it’s not. Since sprinkler systems are rarely used, they sit idle for long periods of time. They are designed for this. However, it also means you probably won’t notice if there is an issue - until you have a malfunction.
When you inspect and maintain your systems, it keeps you aware and far more likely to pinpoint a potential problem before it turns into a water damage disaster. Fire sprinkler water loss can be significant and lead to massive water damage in a short amount of time. If you do experience damage from a malfunctioning sprinkler, be sure to hire a professional to come in and quickly help with cleanup and mitigation!
The best way to prevent loss and damage is to be familiar with your system, inspect and test it regularly, and ensure the risks of malfunction are minimized as much as possible.