One. Take shoes off at your door.
The more dirt one brings in from
outdoors, the harder a resident’s carpet will be to clean. Any
cost to repair and clean the carpet will be deducted from one’s
security deposit.
Two. Don’t use tape on walls.
The sticky adhesive, especially from
so-called invisible tape, will leave unsightly markings on a matte
finish wall. Since many landlords choose to go with inexpensive
paints (rather than use a semi-gloss) just about any marking will
appear on a wall painted with cheap paint from a marking from
furniture to dye from one’s clothing, curtains or bed sheets.
Three. Cover heavy traffic areas with
throw rugs.
Heavy wear will show up on carpet from
repeated walking. So if you are the lucky one who received brand new
carpeting, don’t allow it to become unattractive because your high
traffic areas have been left uncovered. Plastic runners, area rugs,
oriental rugs, any decorative rug will do. But watch for those that
might have gripping or leave markings on carpet fibers and damage
them. Also, don’t use masking or gray tape, staple , glue or other
harsh items to keep the carpet in place. These items will also cause
damage overtime.
Four. Cover low wall space with
furniture when you have children.
There are areas in one’s unit where a
child may paint, use markers, pens, and even drive toy cars along the
wall. Center your child’s activities in an area where he or she
can’t use walls as potential canvases. Flush furniture or hang
maps, posters, or decorative carpeting low so that the child's
creative space is well-covered. The mentioned decorative items also
absorb sound which will help with noise.
Five. Don’t flush the full length of
a bed up against the wall.
Sometimes people will line their bed up
against the wall to allow for more space in a room. However, they
don’t think about how bedding will rub up against the walls which
leave markings on walls that have been painted with that cheap paint
as described earlier. Also, children tend to bring toys to bed with
them which might ruin walls and make their bedding area appear
unclean.
Six. Use shelving that doesn’t have
to be hung on walls.
Many people like to organize their home
with the least amount of furniture. So what happens is many shelves
are hung on walls. If items are not hung properly, they might damage
walls. Sometimes wall space is badly marked up because a resident
places far too many items on shelves; therefore, the unit begins to
fall off wall leaving behind large holes and cracks. Buy furniture
and decorative items that don’t have to be hung on walls with large
nails or heavy duty Velcro.
Seven. Store bleach products in
laundry room or bathroom.
When one is washing clothes, he or she
might carry a bottle of bleach around the home or sit it on a floor
with the cap loosely on the top. Accidents easily happen and before
you know it, there is a large bleach stain in the middle of the
hallway or elsewhere. A good idea would be to keep products with
bleach (chlorine) in them near the areas you will be using them the
most. Never use them to treat stains in carpeting which leads me to
my next point.
Eight. Avoid spot cleaning products
that turn carpeting.
How many times has a company boasted
about how their product works only for you to find out that it does
nothing but change the color of the carpeting? This is why on the
back of the bottle they advise test in a discreet area. But some
residents start spraying products everywhere and now their carpeting
looks like a two or three tone mess!
Nine. If you’re not a pet lover,
don’t become one unless you know how to properly care for an animal
and your living quarters at the same time.
There are those animal lovers who do
well cleaning up after their pets, but others not so much. The ones
who are nonchalant about keeping up with their pet’s hair and
accidents are the ones who end up incurring a large bill. Sometimes
their whole security deposit is used to pay for all the pet issues.
Neighbors also tend to complain about pet odors and noise.
Unfortunately, some animals attract bugs as well simply because they
aren't bathed and treated so the resident will complain of having a
flea issue. If time is short and so is money, do yourself a favor
don’t get a pet.
Ten. Call maintenance as soon as
issues arise from broken fixtures to inoperable appliances.
When maintenance issues go unreported,
the resident might be held accountable. Don't be surprised after a
move when your security deposit is not returned. Report problems in
your apartment before you move.
Eleven. Wash hands.
This point seems to be simple enough.
But you would be surprised just how many people don’t bother to
wash hands after coming in from outside, working on something or
eating something. Walls, outlet covers and other fixtures will
easily catch food grease, hair dye, black fingerprints, blood
markings, and more simply because people don’t bother to wash their
hands. Sometimes these marks don’t come off with a multi-purpose
cleaner without taking off the walls’ finish.
Twelve. Keep food primarily in kitchen
and dining areas.
Once you tell someone, “It’s okay,
you can bring that in here…” the food and drink products end up
in the carpet, splattered on walls, cabinets and other places. There
are those times that these products just don’t wipe clean. Many
residents end up having to pay for damages just because a sugary,
greasy or bright red something was too good to drink or eat in the
kitchen or at a dining-room table.
Thirteen. Vacuum, take trash out often
and perform your own pest control.
You can keep bugs from taking over your
place if you maintain the upkeep of your unit. Schedule vacuuming
your suite at least twice or more a week when you know you enjoy
eating in your living-room and elsewhere. Crumbs and sticky messes
attract bugs. Add mopping to your chore list too when you have
linoleum, vinyl or hardwood floors. Don’t leave trash out. Buy a
garbage can that controls odors especially if you cook often at home.
At least once a month, spray cracks and crevices around piping in
your home, doors, windows, floor boards, inside shelves, and other
places bugs can get in. Although pest control comes at least once a
month at most properties managed by corporations and less frequently
at those managed by private owners, you will need to keep up with
managing bugs both in and outside your home.
Fourteen. Entertain guests elsewhere
more often than not.
The more visitors, the more likely
something will get broken, tattered, stained, or damaged when living
in a rented suite. So watch how often you entertain. People who
have the most issues with management and neighbors are those who
unfortunately party the most. If it isn’t one thing, it’s
another. The problem resident never considers that just maybe
serving and/or drinking alcohol and drugs at a party might be the
reason why he or she is often in trouble with the law.
These are just 14 ideas, but there are
others that with a little time, money and patience, you can be able
to add a few more. Think about great pieces that not only decorate
your home, but keep things organized as well. Cover hot spots or
high traffic areas. Check http://organizerhome.blogspot.com for ideas on
organizing your apartment or home.
If you begin to take action on many of
the points mentioned in this article, you just might be one of the
ones who will receive that nice note attached to your security
deposit refund that says, “Thank you so much for all you did! The
place was spotless!” Finally, do remember to take photos before
and after your move.
Learn more about Nicholl McGuire, author, poet, and speaker at http://nichollmcguire.blogspot.com
