- Blue i Properties
General repairs
If you’re in a bind, don’t panic! Below in alphabetical order are the most common problems our tenants face and what you should do if any of them happen to you.
| Sector | Problem | Observation | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alarms for smoke, heat and fire | Going off unnecessarily and being difficult to turn them off. | Individual smoke alarms in rooms, halls and landings, and heat alarms in kitchens and centralised smoke alarm occasionally go off and can be difficult to turn off. | 1. Remove the alarm from its base by spinning it round (it might require a small screwdriver to flick a small catch) to allow the alarm to be spun around. Once off it is necessary to remove the rectangular battery, which will stop the alarm. 2. Centralised fire alarms powered by mains electricity do occasionally go off and can be disconnected by inputting a code, which is normally written on the cover of the alarm cabinet. 3. In either case please go on the Blue i Properties website and click on the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Baths and basins | Taps leaking, not shutting off or a leaking waste pipe. | It is the responsibility of each tenant to inform Blue i Properties of any leaks so they can be repaired. | Please go on the Blue i Properties website and click on the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Boiler and Heating, including radiators | Not lighting when you open hot tap or radiators are not getting hot. | Assuming that it is a combi(nation) boiler check the pressure gauge, which is normally on the front of the boiler. If the needle shows below “1” and out of the green area then the water pressure in the system is too low and needs re-pressurising. | 1. Check that you have gas by turning on one of the gas hobs (if you have gas hob). If you don’t have gas call your supplier because possibly you haven’t paid the bill and you have been cut off. 2. If you have a PAYG gas card, check the meter to see if you have credit on it. If you have gas and the boiler is not working, go on to the Blue i Properties website and click on there REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Drains inside and outside | Blocked drain in the kitchen, bath, basin, shower or toilet. | Kitchen drain blockage will be caused by food, whilst bathroom drains will invariably be blocked by hair and soap, whilst toilets will be blocked by Tampax, Baby wipes or condoms or both. | 1. Read the section on Drains under the Emergency Section above. 2. Long term solution to kitchens is not to throw food down the drain and in the bathroom unblock the drains regularly. 3. Drains can invariably be unblocked with a good plunging with a rubber plunger purchased from Wilcos or any large supermarket costing £3.50. 4. The occasional use of liquid drain un-blocker can help in some cases. If none of the above works then go on the Blue i Properties website and click on the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Drainpipes and gutters | Blocked, broken or leaking. | Please keep an eye on them as gutters and drainpipes are invariably forgotten about but they are crucial to the health of the property and the occupants. | Any problems please go on to the Blue i Properties website and report the blockage by clicking on the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Hoovers | The hoover is not hoovering up dust or the motor is not working. | Hoovers relies on there being space in the bag or transparent dust receptacle to put the dust, crumbs, hair or paper. If there is no space left, the hoover will turn on but not pick anything up. Upright hoovers rely on a revolving brush at the front, turned round by a belt to pick up dust. If the belt is broken then the brush will not turn and the hoover will not work efficiently. | 1. Check the bag. If the bag is full replace it with a new one. 2. If the dust receptacle is full then please empty it in a black bin, making sure you stand upwind of the dust. 3. If the belt is broken report it by going on to the Blue i Properties website and report the blockage by clicking on the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Lights | Blown light bulbs. | 1. Lack of light can be caused by an electrical supply fault so check if neighbours lights are out. If they are out ring your supplier/ look on their website to check for local problems. 2. Check the fuses in the white RCD box to see if it has tripped. Please read further details under Electrical Power Failure under Emergency Repairs in the section above. | 1. Normal light bulbs are secured with a bayonet fitting and are simple to replace. 2. Small halogen bulbs, long fluorescent tubes and “H” shaped fluorescent tubes are tricky to replace and need to be replaced by a Blue i Properties electrician. If the light bulb/tube comes under the tricky category go on to the Blue i Properties website and report the blockage by clicking on the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office 3. If it is a bayonet bulb, swap bulbs to check if the bulb has blown. If it has blown then replace it. |
| Locks | Not opening. | Keys and lock mechanisms, like anything mechanical wear out and invariably at the most inconvenient time. | The need to get into one’s home can come under an Emergency and so click on the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. If this occurs during the day also ring the office during the day on 01332 371661. If it occurs at night please follow the instruction under the EMERGENCY REPAIRS section. |
| Radiators | Not warming up, only half warming up or leaking. | Check other radiators to see if the boiler is working or is it just this one radiator. | If your radiator is not fully warming up or has a leak, please contact Blue i Properties via the large REPORT button on our website and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Roof Leaks | Invariably roof leaks lead to water ripping through the upstairs ceiling. | If you see brown staining on a ceiling after a storm or rainfall then it means that water is coming through the roof. | 1. Place bucket or bowls underneath the drips to catch them and stop them soaking the floor, bed or furniture. 2. Report all leaking roofs immediately to Blue i Properties via the REPORT button on our website and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Showers | The problem is that: 1. The tap/shower is leaking. 2. there is no hot water coming from the electric shower or from the mixer tap (from the boiler). | If it is an electric shower make sure that the isolator switch is switched on. The isolator is normally located on the ceiling near the door with a white pull cord string attached or a white plastic box with a Red switch located outside the bathroom. | 1. If the tap/shower is leaking make sure it is completely turned off. If still leaking please contact Blue i Properties via the REPORT button on our website and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. 2. In the case of an electrical shower and with the isolator switch turned on and the RCD has not tripped (Please read further details about RCD’s under Electrical Power Failure under Emergency Repairs in the section above) and there is still no hot water coming from the shower, please contact Blue i Properties via the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. 3. Similarly if there is no hot water coming via the mixer tap, please contact Blue i Properties via the REPORT button and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Showers Sockets & Power failure | Appliance not working. | This will either be localised to one socket or it will be the complete socket circuit either downstairs or upstairs or both. | 1. Similar to the section under Lights, check neighbour lights – it may be a local power failure 2. Check fuse box to see if it has ‘tripped’ (with a switch in the down position; flip switch back up to turn power back on) 3. If this trips again immediately, unplug all appliances in the house and try again; if that works, plug individual appliances in until the faulty one trips it (often a hair dryer or kettle) 4. If all else fails go on to the Blue i Properties website and report the blockage by clicking on the REPORT button on our website and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
| Toilets | The toilet is blocked, taking time to drain away or water is coming over the top of the bowl. | This is invariably caused by Tampax or Tampons being flushed down the toilet, when they must be disposed of in a plastic bag in the black bin. | See Drains above. Unblocking drains are an expensive and dirty business and you run the risk of an expensive bill of up to £150. |
| Washing Machines | The washing machine is not working, stopped in mid-cycle, which includes not emptying the water. | Washing machines react badly to metal and plastic objects. It is crucial that all clothes and pockets are checked for foreign objects like badges, hair grips, nail files, screws and writing implements. Please note that the continued and excessive use of clothing conditioner gunges up machines and pumps and makes them smell badly. | Report problems immediately, by contacting Blue i Properties via the REPORT button on our website and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. Note: Any repair that is not notified through the Blue i Properties Report a Repair request could result in a fine. Please let us know the make and model and exactly what the problem is. If the cause of the problem is found to be because of incorrect use of the machine by the tenants then the bill will be passed to the house for payment. |
| Windows | The glass has been broken from the outside or it is not opening or closing properly. | If broken from the outside, it is classed as an attempted break-in or vandalism – report it to the police. | For crimes involving damage to your property you should call the Police on 101 to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response. Obtain a crime number and contact Blue i Properties to report it. 1. If the window is not opening or not closing please report problems immediately by contacting Blue i Properties via the REPORT button on our website and send a Blue i Properties Report a Repair request to our office. |
