October 2021 | ApnaComplex Blog | Apartment Management Platform

apnacomplexnitin
October 26, 2021

Pro-tips to minimise home maintenance errs!

Home maintenance is more than mopping, sweeping, and vacuuming. It goes beyond regular chores and needs attention from time to time. From plumbing to electrical, everything that is vital for comfortable and healthy living needs to be looked after and ensured that they are always working at their best.

But most of us tend to miss on the basic repairs and upkeeps due to lack of time and busy life which lead to poor maintenance of the house. In this article, we’ll share some handy tips that will simplify home maintenance.

Keeping an eye on faucets, plumbing issues

Over time, faucets can become leaky and rusty. When this goes unchecked, the repairs can cost you a lot of money. Hence, it is prudent to check the faucets at least once in two months. Other plumbing-related issues such as drain, water heater, and pipes should also be checked often.

Keep clogged gutters at bay

When storm drain pipes aren’t unclogged often, the dirty water will overflow. This will erode the foundation, and the waterlogging can flood the gated community’s pathway, basements/parking. To avoid this, take professional help and clean the gutters at least twice or thrice a year.

Maintain appliances

Make some time to check your home appliances like air conditioner, refrigerator, fans, etc, and service them regularly so they don’t run into trouble. When not serviced regularly, they’ll malfunction or stop functioning altogether, and the replacement expenses can burn a hole in your pocket.

Well-maintained tanks and roofs

Water tanks are more susceptible to water damage. Incorrect and improper flashing, wind damage, storm, or faulty roofing can cause roof leakage. Water tanks should be cleaned often and cleared of algae, rust, bugs, dirt, etc. It should be checked especially before and during monsoon and corrected soon if any issue should be done. This will save you a fortune in the long run.

Pay attention to electrical wiring

Though faulty or broken electrical wirings are a common issue we seldom look into it unless we experience blackouts, burning smells, or broken switchboards. To avoid this, install branded wirings and switchboard at the beginning itself even if it is slightly on the pricier end since they tend to last long. Whenever possible, check circuit breakers to ensure wires are all intact.

Exterior care matters too

Weather condition rapidly affects the exterior of the house. Go for rainproof paints and seal cracks and chips once in a year or two. If this goes unchecked, the water will seep through walls eventually eroding the building. Likewise, paint your house, both exterior and interior, once in five years.

Taking care of windows and doors

Loose and creaky windows/doors may not pose an immediate threat but when not taken care of properly, they can cause a lot of trouble in the long run. If you notice dust owing to termite or creaking, oil or grease them up. Likewise, clean and often inspect the mesh or shutters installed in the balconies too. Else, birds/bird feathers and rodents may get in.

Clean, clean, and clean!

When we say clean, we are not only referring to floors or generic cleaning but also attic cleaning. When the attic collects dust or mold, it can become a breeding ground for rodents, insects, and reptiles. This can cause health issues too. So, clean the attic!

Cleaning agent and toolkit

To maintain a house properly, you need more than water and soap. Stock your house with proper gloves, goggles, microfibre cloth, the correct mixture of acids and chemicals for cleaning. Similarly, have a toolbox that has spare nails, screwdrivers, hammers, tape, utility scissors and knife, glue, etc. These will come in handy when you need to quickly fix something.

By using the ApnaComplex app, you can effortlessly hire experts to fix your home, raise complaints if you encounter an issue and auto-escalate it, and do much more. ApnaComplex will also help you to set early maintenance reminders on common society assets such as lifts and other equipment. To know more about the app or to schedule a free demo, kindly visit https://bit.ly/371rCxL.

Leave a comment InHome Improvement Maintenance Tips

apnacomplexnitin
October 19, 2021

Smart Water Conservation – Keerthi Gardenia’s tool to tackle Bengaluru’s water crisis

Managing a society efficiently is a mammoth task. It involves commitment and dedication, team effort, and the ability to constantly improve the management methods and add innovation for the welfare of the society.

One such society is Keerthi Gardenia, located in Marathahalli, Bengaluru. Lieutenant Maniyan, President of Keerthi Gardenia, shares the ‘best practices’ implemented by his society which are benefitting them in the long run.

Water Treatment Plant (WTP)

Maniyan was quite proud of the measurements his society is taking when it comes to treating and reusing wastewater. He said, “we collectively strive for better hygiene and good health of our society members and we ensure both water and water-supplier, are good.

This has pushed us to implement a wonderful WTP (Water Treatment Plant) System in place. Our water filters are well maintained and make sure our water treatment plant is always in a good and operational condition. Here, I’d like to particularly thank our housekeeping team who cleanse the media filter for half an hour daily. If you don’t flush it, then the salt will sediment and the quality of the water will also be affected. Eventually, within a month, the filter will also not function as it is supposed to function.

Every member of the housekeeping actively takes turns to cleanse the media filter and maintain the WTP. While there are at it, they will also take a photo and share it with the Committee Members as proof”.

Water Preservation

Keerthi Gardenia has taken three measures for water preservation – the Rainwater Filter and STP (Sewage Treatment Plant), and the Rain Water Harvesting Pit.

“You might have seen a black box or cylinder on the rooftop of a few apartments and we have such a system here as well. This is called the rainwater filter. This filter collects the rainwater that falls on the terrace, filters impurities and then the water is moved to the sump. This way we have reduced the water dependency from outside sources.

Secondly, our STP system is doing very well. The water is so transparent and free of impurities that even our vendor claims this can be used for drinking purposes, however, we don’t use it for drinking as of now. The treated water doesn’t carry any kind of smell and it is very clear and clean. The daily logging system we have in place is also proving how honestly we are maintaining the STP.

Once KSPCB (Karnataka State Pollution Control Board) audited this water sample and post which, they certified it as well stating Keerthi Gardenia is treating the water well”, explained Maniyan.

Speaking about Rain Water Harvesting, Maniyan said, “our apartment has been constructed on only 60% of the area, and the rest of the 40% is open or rather garden. In this land, we have created 10 Rainwater Harvesting pits. We ensure that the rainwater is collected properly and the excess water is released to the borewell”.

Smarter COVID management

Maniyan recounts how his society effectively took care of the COVID crisis and the measures they had taken especially when the cases were at their peak.

“When Corona cases were skyrocketing during April and May, the government had issued guidelines and one of them was people traveling must home quarantine mandatorily. In light of the then-developing events, our society created a voluntary framework to tackle the situation. We decided not to allow any vendors or online delivery agents inside the premises and the packages were asked to be left at the gate.

“Since we have a voluntary framework, our volunteers pick the deliveries from the gate and leave them at the doorsteps of the quarantined flats. If a package was left at the gate at 4 pm, by 4:15 pm, it was delivered to the flat by our volunteers. We were able to see the deliveries in real-time.

After a while, cases increased in our society too and we continued to follow this framework along with other COVID protocols. We went to great lengths to avoid gossiping about or treating COVID-positive residents as pariahs.

Another best thing is we had enormous voluntary support. Three or four volunteers came forward to help a single flat that was under 14 days home quarantine. Through these methods, I believe, we were able to effectively and successfully tackle the Coronavirus crisis”, concluded Maniyan.

From assisting with the water tank monitoring to helping track quarantined flats and vaccinated staff and residents, ApnaComplex helps with every aspect of society management. Our app is comprehensive and we are the only matured solution that caters to all the needs of a gated community. Schedule a free demo by clicking https://bit.ly/371rCx and manage your society effortlessly with the help of India’s No 1 Society Management Application!

apnacomplexnitin
October 7, 2021

This is how Bengaluru gated societies are conducting Committee Election this year!

Societies across India are in the process of conducting or have already conducted Committee Elections. Committee Elections are a process that takes place every year or once in a few years depending on each society’s by-laws and the outcome of the election determines the new Management Committee in a society.

Since the pandemic, conducting safe elections has been the top priority of the gated communities. While some have gone digital and effectively used the ApnaComplex application, others have taken other precautionary measures before conducting the elections.

Speaking about upcoming Committee Elections in his apartment, in a reply to our email, Mohandas Ukkandath, President of Harmony Homes in Bengaluru said, “last year, we conducted the whole process online. This year we intend to do it in person with all covid precautions in place”.

Not just Harmony Homes, lieutenant Maniyan, President of Keerthi Gardenia was also singing a similar tune. He said, “we are going to conduct committee elections probably by the end of this year. We usually have a ballot box and residents will vote the traditional way. With the ongoing pandemic and fear of COVID still around, we are planning to conduct the elections online. In the past, we have conducted GBM (General Body Meetings), polls, and surveys online, and our residents are used to this. So we are expecting the elections to go smoothly as possible”.

Keerthi Gardenia has been using ApnaComplex for conducting all the surveys and polls and Maniyan had nothing but praises for the application. He added “using the ApnaComplex application is extremely easy. Even people from non-technical backgrounds were able to create and host a poll on ApnaComplex easily. The application is so user-friendly that our estate manager who is from a civil background was able to use the ApnaComplex app comfortably. He used it extensively for conducting polls based on the COVID vaccination and requesting residents to get vaccinated. He found the application very easy to use”.

Keerthi Gardenia elects seven Committee Members and 15 executive committee members – three members representing each wing.

On the other hand, Sanjay Dutta, Director (electrical) of Suncity Apartments, Belandur, reveals that their society did not conduct a proper Committee election since the onset of COVID and the present Committee was formed based on the willingness of owners who wanted to take committee responsibilities. Speaking about the election that was held before, Dutta said, “we had conducted elections once, and at that time, though we conducted physical election, we requested people who were eligible to vote register for casting their vote online. Conducting online and offline elections parallelly can cause confusion and residents can end up voting twice rigging the election process. To avoid this, using ApnaComplex, we had created a group exclusively for people who opted for online voting and created a separate polling list for them. We ensured that those residents cast their via online only. This enabled a smooth election process”.

However, Sanjay Dutta was quick to tell us how ApnaComplex is helping them conduct regular and AGM (Annual General Meetings) online. “We have conducted our third AGM online last week using ApnaComplex. With the help of the application, we have also conducted polls that played a crucial role in decision-making during these meetings ”, he said.

These tête-à-tête with Management Committee members has given us an insight into how much software like ApnaComplex is helping societies conduct safer elections. Apart from offering additional safety during these hard times, it also provides practical solutions.

To know more about ApnaComplex and how you can digitise your society for both Management Committee’s and residents’ benefit, please visit https://bit.ly/371rCxL.

Archives: October 26, 2021