Cleaning problem sewer lines every month to avoid backups is an example of which type of maintenance?

• A. emergency services maintenance
• B. routine maintenance
• C. preventive maintenance
• D. requested or corrective maintenance

Answer: (C)

Preventive maintenance involves performing planned, proactive actions to prevent a failure before it occurs. Cleaning sewer lines on a monthly schedule is done to stop backups from happening, not in response to a current problem. It’s scheduled in advance to maintain reliability and avoid costly interruptions, which is exactly what preventive maintenance aims to do.

It isn’t emergency maintenance, which would come after a problem arises and requires immediate action. It isn’t corrective or requested maintenance, which would follow a problem or a specific demand, rather than being a proactive, planned effort.