A year of likely complaints
General patterns for the Front Range; actual timing varies by building and weather.
- Winter
- Units stay closed and heated. Smells carried by air handlers show up when systems cycle. Dry air shrinks drain trap water faster than expected.
- Spring
- Storms and melt can bring moisture to ground-floor units and garages. Watch for musty closets and damp corners.
- Summer
- Heat speeds spoilage in trash rooms, chutes and dumpster areas. Vacant units show dry-trap smells.
- Fall
- A good window for filter changes, condensate line cleaning and walkthroughs before heating returns.
Season and likely sources
- Winter
- Air handler residue, stale closed-in air
- Spring
- Ground-floor dampness, musty closets
- Summer
- Trash rooms, compactors, dry traps in vacant units
- Fall
- Condensate lines and filters ahead of heating season
Rounds to schedule by season
- Winter: cycle air handlers in vacant units and check filters before showings.
- Spring: check ground-floor units and garages after storms.
- Summer: increase trash room and enclosure cleaning, and refill traps in vacant units weekly.
- Summer: check condensate lines on air handlers during peak cooling.
- Fall: replace filters, flush condensate lines and walk corridors with the heat on.
Using the calendar without over-trusting it
A calendar is a prompt for attention, not a forecast. A warm week in February or a cold snap in May can break any pattern. Communities also differ: a garden-style complex with exterior stairs behaves differently from a mid-rise with interior corridors and a chute.
The best use of this calendar is to write in dates and tasks that match your own buildings. Add recurring work orders for the rounds above, then note over a year or two which ones found real problems and which found none. Keep the useful ones, and drop the rest.
Keep a short log of complaints by month. After a season or two the log will show where your community actually has patterns, and the calendar can be adjusted to match what staff see.
Pair each season with a small stock check as well: filters, drain trap supplies, cleaning materials and disposal bags. Running short of basics in the first hot week of summer is a common reason small smells become larger complaints.
Common questions
Does the calendar apply outside the south metro?
The general pattern of seasons is similar across the Front Range, but the specifics of buildings matter more than the location. Adjust the tasks to what your own staff have seen.
How often should the calendar be updated?
Once a year is usually enough. After each season, review the complaint log and add or drop tasks.
General information for Centennial, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.