Tips for cleaning

Please keep your home clean. When you take care of the cleaning on a regular basis, you will have it a lot easier and your home will be more comfortable. Here are some tips on what to pay attention to.

Living in a shared flat is at its best a life experience that provides you with a lifetime of friends and memories. Be right at home but keep your flat mates in mind too. Agree on cleaning days and shifts together. To make the planning easier you can use this cleaning schedule. Common ground rules provide a good framework for comfortable living!

If an apartment needs to be cleaned up after a tenant has moved out the minimum charge is 50€ / apartment. If the tenant is moving to another PSOAS apartment the costs will be invoiced. Otherwise the costs will be deducted from the deposit.

Cleaning instructions

Even though cleaning can be performed without special chemicals or other professional accessories. You will get by with environmentally friendly basic equipment.

Basic cleaning equipment includes:

• dishwashing brush
• cleaning and kitchen cloths
• harsh sponge
• window and floor wiper
• detergent
• broom and dust pan
• vacuum cleaner

Floor and the baseboards

Wipe the floors with a damp cloth weekly. A universal detergent will work just fine and make sure that the dirt will not get stuck. If you have laminate floors in your apartment, avoid using too much water. Also baseboards must be cleaned on a regular basis. They are often forgotten when cleaning up.

Bathroom, floor drains and the toilet seats

Bathroom

Bathroom walls and floor easily gather brown foot rot which is an orange layer of filth. Clean them up with a brush or a harsh sponge and bathroom detergent. Remember to rinse the surfaces carefully so that the detergent will not damage them. You can prevent the accumulation of brown foot rot by leaving the bathroom door open after taking a shower. This way the bathroom will get dry sooner.

Floor drain

Cleaning up the floor drain belongs to the tenant’s responsibilities and it should be done on a regular basis. Hair and bacteria get easily stuck on the drain. Remove the drain cover and remove the accumulated dirt. An old dishwashing brush will do just fine. If necessary, you can also use chemicals available in supermarkets to clear up the drain.

Toilet seat

Always clean up the toilet seat when necessary and wash it properly once a week to make sure that it will not gather lime.

Ventilation openings

Cleaning up the replacement air vents (usually next to windows) and exit vents (usually in kitchen, bathroom/clothes room or toilet) belongs to the tenant. Clean up the vent hole with a towel wrapped around a knife. Do not remove any parts of the vent, just wipe it from the outside and areas that you can access without disassembly.

Stove, oven and the cooker hood

Stove and the oven

Stove and oven can be cleaned up with dish washing liquid. Be careful not to scratch the enamel surfaces. The back of the stove must be cleaned up when moving out but taking care of it also during tenancy is recommended.

Cooker hood

A dirty filter in the cooker hood will make the air inside stuffy. The grease filter must be washed with warm water and dish washing liquid on a regular basis since it gets blocked rather quickly.

Refrigerator

Defrost the refrigerator’s freezer compartment at least once a month, if it doesn’t have automatic defrosting function. Defrost the freezer at least once a year. Never use a sharp tool or a hair dryer in order to remove the ice from the freezer. Remember to clean the water drain hole (on the back wall) of a refrigerator that has automatic defrosting function, so that the water wouldn’t drain to the refrigerator or on the floor. Don’t keep the refrigeration equipment’s quick freeze mode on, because it consumes more electricity and will wear out the device’s motor prematurely.

Kitchen surfaces and planes

Avoid the accumulation of excess goods on tables, as it makes the cleaning of the planes harder. Wipe table surfaces always right after eating. Also the kitchen cupboards should be wiped on a regular basis. You can remove grease stains with for example degreaser spray or rubbing alcohol. Wipe the doors with a micro fibre towel damped with a cleaning agent.

Windows

The windows are washed with a mild solution of water and washing-up liquid. The surfaces of the windows are washed with a rich amount of the washing liquid with a lint free window washer or a micro fibre towel. The windows are dried with a window dryer. Factors that guarantee a bright and clean end result are that the rubber part of the dryer in good condition, drying the rubber part after wipes, the right angle between the dryer and the window and an adequate amount of washing liquid while drying the window. While cleaning the windows it is worthwhile to clean the curtains, blinds and the window frames as well. Cleaning the windows in direct sunlight is not worthwhile.