School is starting. The weather is beginning to cool and talk about football and hockey season is picking up. This is also the time of the year where we remind church leaders to conduct church building maintenance. Here’s a review of our recommended standard fall maintenance tasks, with additional suggestions rooted in how the pandemic has transformed our understanding of cleanliness.

What Is Clean Enough?

With people more fearful of virus transmission one question to address off the top is when to clean the surfaces of your church building with soap and water, and when to fully disinfect. CDC guidelines recommend a daily standard soap/detergent and water cleaning protocol for all shared/public spaces in your church building. They recommend cleaning more frequently or disinfecting with a disinfectant from this list in the following situations:

  • high-traffic areas, which would likely include your foyer, café, worship center, and other areas of your church design most people visit on Sundays and other busy days
  • poorly ventilated areas (if you have an older church property and are uncertain about its ventilation capacity, reach out to us for a consultation)
  • you don’t provide easy access to hand sanitizer (we recommend strategically placed hand sanitizer stations all around your church building)

Standard Fall Maintenance Checklist for Your Church Building

Of course, in addition to keeping your church building clean to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, there are standard fall maintenance protocols that also need attention as the weather cools down and winter approaches.

  • HVAC: Save energy by investing in a programmable thermostat, so you can keep the building cooler when it’s not occupied. This is good stewardship, as is changing your filters, dusting the grilles on your vents, and making sure your furnace is ready for winter.
  • Plumbing: Check indoor plumbing for slowdowns and insulate any exposed outdoor piping. As the weather gets cooler and plants hunker down for winter, disconnect hoses and cover hose bibs.
  • Church Building: Inspect caulking and weather stripping on all windows and doors to prevent heat from escaping. Inspect your roof for any signs of weakness, clogged drains, missing tiles, or leakage. Clean gutters and downspouts now, before leaves start to fall, and again during and after leaf season. Trim any tree branches that overhang or brush against your church façade. Invest in doorway entry mats to minimize mud and slippery surfaces. Test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and replace batteries.
  • Church Property: Replace burnt-out light bulbs (exterior and interior), seal cracks in walkways and parking lots, and check ice melt supplies.

With the approach of fall, there’s plenty to keep your maintenance team busy, as the above demonstrates. For us, this season also means the winding down of our yearly free i3 webinar series. To catch the latest information on church design and construction in 2022, sign up today for our last two remaining webinars in September and October.