Don’t wait! Summer is key for annual boiler maintenance
When it comes to commercial boiler rooms in our schools, it’s easy for K-12 school administrations to think out of sight, out of mind. What we don’t see won’t hurt us, right? Wrong.
Proper boiler maintenance is absolutely crucial for schools – when schools fail to stick to a regular maintenance schedule for their boiler system, it can lead to wasted money, an uncomfortable classroom environment for students, and much, much worse.
Commercial boiler maintenance is critical for safety
The most common type of safety issue children and faculty in schools face today is carbon monoxide poisoning. You can not see, taste, smell, or stop it, but according to the CDC, approximately 50,000 people will visit the emergency room every year for treatment, and at least 430 will die in the United States alone. Over half of those numbers are children; because of their high metabolic rates, children are biologically at an increased risk of CO poisoning when exposed to CO.
In Jan 2016, almost 220 students and staff at Marshall Middle School in Houston, Texas, had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. The accident occurred due to two different failures, corrosion that let fire exit the boiler and an inoperative ventilation fan. Those failures “were preventable through routine maintenance and inspection,” Chief Boiler Inspector Rob Troutt said.
Many schools are lacking in preventive maintenance training, and most states do not require carbon monoxide detectors in their schools, which makes proper maintenance ever more crucial to not only be done correctly but done while the children are not at risk. What better time than summer break to take care of all major and minor boiler maintenance.
Our Recommendations:
- Keep an updated boiler maintenance checklist
- Keep an annual maintenance schedule
- Receive up-to-date training and an understanding of current regulations
- Receive specified training and understanding of your school’s commercial boiler
School boilers are usually old and vary from fire tube to updated high-pressure steam boiler systems. Knowing how they operate and what parts are prone to fault is critical.
Why perform boiler maintenance and inspections in summer?
Doing commercial boiler maintenance during summer break prevents interruptions during the school day. It allows the engineers to turn off the heating or hot water to replace faulty parts or install a new heating system. Doing annual maintenance during warmer months when staff and students are away from the building not only results in fewer interruptions but ensures the safety of staff and students.
Planning and setting up a boiler maintenance program helps to prevent any unexpected downtime and expensive emergency boiler repairs A boiler maintenance program built on prevention ensures safety and helps keep costs down by catching faulty parts early before they become a more significant issue.
Benefits to annual boiler maintenance:
- Summer boiler maintenance prevents building closures and education disruptions
- Schools typically have a very tight budget, and replacing a boiler is far more complex and expensive than regular maintenance
- Keep staff and students safe
Commercial Boiler Maintenance Schedule
Solid preventative maintenance is much less expensive than the cost of an entire boiler system. The whole procedure takes a toll on a commercial boiler when not maintained properly. Take a simple water leak from a steam valve overlooked during an inspection. This could leak into the insulation and begin completely corroding the boiler, leading to a complete replacement. This could have been prevented by shutting down the boiler, performing a comprehensive inspection, and replacing a $5 part, which would have saved hundreds of thousands.
Working With The Boiler Experts
Proper training and a solid maintenance program can not be overemphasized enough. Most accidents involving commercial boilers can be directly attributed to untrained or unqualified maintenance personnel. Don’t allow a careless incident to happen when routine maintenance could have alleviated the issue.
When you consider everything, expert boiler maintenance is highly recommended. Our expert technicians have a complete understanding of commercial boilers and what issues to look for. They also hold a national board R certificate of authorization for repairs and alterations if necessary. With school budgets so tight, it’s best to partner with professionals that understand all the complexities of your boiler systems.
Professionally trained experts can alleviate all the stress and concerns regarding commercial boilers within our children’s schools. Having an expert technician service and maintain your boiler room equipment will prolong and extend the life of your commercial boiler system, saving time and money that could be put back into your school.
Willbanks has been in this industry for over 45 years, so we have seen it all. With experts on hand 24/7 and a vast inventory of parts, we’re always ready for any job undertaking. Willbanks is family-owned and operated and knows the importance of our children and family; therefore, you are treated as our own.
