Elevators are a part of everyday life for many people across the country. There are approximately 900,000 elevators around the United States. Every year, people take at least 18 billion elevator rides. They are also a lot safer than escalators. They are at least 20 times safer than escalators. Despite the fact that there are at least 20 elevators for every one escalator, there are only about 30% more elevator accidents as a whole. It has been reported that elevators transport the equivalent of the entire planet every nine days, this is according to United Technologies. If you have one in your building, having a great elevator repair company is important to the management of that building.
Tips for Maintaining Your Elevator
- Keep track of how much the elevators are used. To better manage your elevator and prevent needing a costly elevator repair, keep a log of how often your elevators are used and note what they are being used for. For residential elevator service, you may have some elevators that are used only to transport people from the lobby to their floors and another set to help with cargo, like furniture. Include in your log any strange or unusual operation issues such as sounds or if the doors start to stick. This can help prevent small problems from becoming big ones and give your elevator company a better sense of what is causing a problem should one occur.
- Replace damaged parts as soon as you notice the problem. If the lights in your elevator burn out, and they will replace them. When the button lights go out, get them fixed. Your elevator repair contract should include these issues but also if you are paying close attention to your elevators and how they are running, you will most likely notice any issues early. This may save you time and money later by keeping the elevators in good working condition. For a commercial elevator, a breakdown can cost a company valuable business. It is imperative to properly maintain the elevators.
- Inspect your elevators often. Many elevator company experts recommend performing elevator inspections every day. These do not have to take a huge amount of time. You can have an employee ride the elevator every day and pay attention to the ride. Is it jerky? Is the elevator motor loud? How are all of the lights working? Keeping track of how the elevators are running is a great way to prevent really big problems.
- Be careful with the cleaners you use on your elevator. It may be counterintuitive but harsh cleaners are not the best options for the delicate machinery that moves your elevators. Commercial products can be very corrosive and so more damage to your elevator’s internal machinery. Corrosion is the number of causes of problems with most elevators around the country. The real problem is that a lot of this is caused by the cleaning agents used by many elevator repair companies. Be very picky about what is used on your elevators.
- Do not put too much in your elevator. It should maybe go without saying that you should not over pack your elevator but you should not overwhelm your elevator with a lot of heavy stuff. This is why residential buildings will have a separate elevator system for heavy items. Not every elevator is built to handle really heavy items. If you expect to need to move cars, for instance, you need a car elevator. Putting too much into your elevator can increase the wear and tear on the machinery and pose a real danger to the people who ride in it.
You want people who use your elevator to not notice how it runs at all. They should not be able to hear its machinery operating as it moves them and their items from floor to floor. Having a good elevator safety company that you can call on when you have problems with your elevator operations is always a good idea. This will save you money on elevator repair but also provide you and your customers with more peace of mind.