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Recommended maintenance related items to buy

Everyone should have at least these things listed below when they move in

Where to get supplies

• American Royal Hardware (TrueValue), 251 Park St, Upper Montclair 973-744-6727
• Saunders Hardware, 627 Valley Rd, Upper Montclair, 973-744-2583 (closing in 2024)
• Costello's Ace Hardware, 490 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell 862-702-3260
• The Home Depot, 60 Orange St, Bloomfield 973-680-8700 (also in Clifton, Totowa, Montville, ...)
• homedepot.com
• amazon.com
• Paint:
  • Our painters (most painting contractors do) use Benjamin Moore Super Hide flat and semi-gloss
    The color at Lord Essex and Montclair Mews is usually "White" (white-white), but sometimes off-white = Navaho White or Bone White, bright-white = Atrium White
  • Red Star Paint & Decorating Center, 420 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair 973-746-2468
  • Caldwell Paintland, 313 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell 973-226-7916

Basic tools

• Flat-head screwdriver
• Phillips-head screwdrivers
• Hammer
• Pliers

Cleaning supplies

• Garbage bags
• Paper towels
• Sponge, rags, etc.
• Bleach
• Broom
• Dustpan
• Some sort of mop (regular, sponge, ...) and/or Swiffer Wet
• For wall-to-wall carpeting, area rugs, carpet tile, etc.:
  • Vacuum
  • Recommended: Purchase or occasionally rent a carpet cleaner (uses water + solution)
• For bathtub cleaning, use liquid or spray cleaner. Do not use anything abrasive like Comet if you have a re-glazed bathtub (PDF)
• CLR or LimeAway to remove calcium, limescale hard-water build-up
• ...Whatever other cleaning products you like

Power outage supplies

• Battery powered radio
• Lighter or matches, safe candles that will be supervised 100% of the time and will not cause a fire (or LED fake candles)
• Flashlight (or battery-powered lantern)
• Power bank phone charger - good for long-term outages

Miscellaneous supplies

• AAA, AA, C, D, 9V batteries - for flashlight, portable radio, whatever type your things take
• Extra light bulbs
• Toilet plunger
• Step stool

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Toilets

• So called "flushable" toilet cleaning products should not be flushed, they should only go in the garbage
• Never flush anything other than TP - no baby wipes, no adult wipes, no paper towels, no feminine products, or anything else, no matter what it says about being sceptic safe or flushable. Nothing should ever go in a toilet other than water, toilet paper, and what comes out of your body.
• Never use a regular pipe snake in a toilet, you can crack the toilet. The Resident Managers can use a toilet snake, or contact one of the sewer & drain contractors, or plumbers if needed.
• Toilet cleaner:
  Do not use the toilet cleaner where you put a disc in the toilet tank. Try either Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel (goes in the bowl), or the best way... use toilet cleaner and a brush - including the type where you have a re-usable handle and replace the brush part each time you use it (throw it in the garbage, don't flush it!).
• For difficult toilet stains that will not come off with toilet bowl cleaner and a brush, try using a pumice scouring stick

Blocked drains - toilet, tub or shower

• Do not use Liquid Plumber or Drano - they usually only melt a small opening through a blockage, if they work at all, and if it does not work, whoever we call out for you after that will not be happy if the toilet/tub/sink is filled with a base (the chemical opposite of acid)

Wall holes

• If you need to remove a plastic anchor, un-screw the screw about half way, then pull the screw and anchor out together
• If you use toggle-bolt anchors, remove the screw and let the toggle bolt fall down inside the wall
• Use a putty knife and spackle to fill in drywall-wall holes, not caulk - then sand smooth when 100% dry
• Spackle comes in a tub or in a squeeze tube, DAP Dry-Dex is pink when wet, white when dry
• If you're an experienced DIYer, you might want to use plaster instead of spackle

Various maintenance tips

• Window cleaning:
  You can clean the windows on the outside, from inside. Un-lock the window lock. Raise the lower sash (the bottom half) a few inches, then push the two latches on the top of the sash towards each other. That will release the top of the sash so you can tilt it inside and downward. Then slide the top sash down using it's release handle at the top-center, lower it several inches, and push the release latches at the top of the sash together and lower the top sash inside and downward. When finished cleaning the top sash, tilt it back up until it clicks in to place, then slide up the sash until it clicks at the top. Then clean the lower sash glass, and repeat the process to put it back. (does not apply to slider side-to-side fire escape windows)
• Carpet cleaning:
  If your apartment has wall-to-wall carpet, you may want to rent a carpet cleaner occasionally, hire a carpet cleaning company occasionally, or just buy a carpet cleaner machine - your vacuum can only do so much. Contact us if you would like the # for one of the companies that we use for the building. If you want to rent one, the Rug Doctor web site will list nearby locations.
• Dishwasher:
  • If you use your dishwasher mainly as a dish rack, if you have water built up in there in the bottom, you can turn the knob directly to the point where it is pumped out, but you should run it every so often anyway to remove stagnant water in the hoses, to moisten the rubber seals, etc.
  • If your sink drain is draining slowly or not at all, do not run the dishwasher until the blockage is cleared - the dishwasher drains in to the sink drain

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Light bulbs

• Incandescent bulbs are being phased out. If you still have any, make sure you don't use a higher watt bulb than the fixture is rated for. All light fixtures are supposed to say what their max is - usually 60w.
• CFL (twirl/curly) bulbs cost more than incandescent ones, but they last longer and use less electricity - your electric bill will be lower.
• LED bulbs are the most expensive of the three, but they are the most efficient and last the longest. Over time, they are actually the least expensive to use.
• If you have trouble getting a light cover off, ask us for help. They usually have set screws around the cover holding it on. Carefully hold the cover with one hand (so it does not hit the floor), loosen the set screws all the way around with the other. If there are no set screws, especially on some hallway light fixtures, those are usually held there by three sort of springs inside. With those, very carefully pull the cover down to pop it off. If in doubt - ask us! Really! We'd rather answer a question than clean up broken glass and call an electrician.

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When _____ happens, try this

When...	Try this
On the 1st of every month	· Before bed, pour a cup of bleach down any drain (both sinks, tub) that a child or cat can not get to. Run hot water for 5 minutes the following morning. This will help to break up hair/grease blockages in the trap. · Test your smoke/CO detector(s)
Faucet aerator or shower head is clogged	Clean off the calcium/limescale buildup with CLR or Lime Away
Toilet will not flush	If it is due to a mechanical problem with the toilet, broken handle, etc., contact us. If not, try a toilet plunger. If you can't get it, we can try. If we can't get it, we have a sewer & drain contractor.
Slow drain	A Zip-it is a good way to get hair out of a slow draining tub or sink drain. For a sink, just use the Zip-It as-is. For the tub, remove the screw that holds the drain cover in place, put the drain cover and screw aside, then use the Zip-It and use needle nose pliers to remove any remaining hair that you see, and put the drain cover back on. At the end of a shower, take a few squares of TP and remove any hair caught on the drain cover, throw it in the garbage.
A/C is not cold	Clean the filter every month while using the air conditioner. It lifts up and out from the front. Vacuum dust off of it, rinse it in the sink, let fully air-dry, then carefully slide it back in.
Dishwasher has build-up	Try Dishwasher Magic. Usually available at supermarkets, Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, Amazon.com, etc. The manufacturer's web site is at summitbrands.com
Range hood filter is dirty	Replace it. The range hood model # is underneath, usually on the left side. There are several different ones that may be installed here, but the most common is Broan 41300. If you have that one, the filter part # is 97007696. You can get it from the Broan NuTone parts store, Amazon.com, Home Depot (filter 41F), Ace Hardware (item # 3011897), etc.. We have manuals for various models of range hoods on the manuals page so you can find the part # for yours.
Microwave exhaust filter is dirty	Replace it. Find your microwave model #, usually on a plate inside the microwave. Then find the manual, and in there you'll find the filter part # for ordering. Amazon.com, appliancepartspros.com, Home Depot might have it, if GE-brand: geapplianceparts.com, ...