Taking care of your rental home
Some of the rental apartment maintenance is part of your duties as a resident, while SATO is responsible for other issues. Taking good care of your home involves cleaning the various rooms and surfaces in the right way. But alas, there is no need to become a super cleaner.
It is so easy to live in a rental apartment! Someone else takes care of the maintenance contracts, someone else sees that the corridor is cleaned, someone else arranges a new stove for you after the old one breaks. However, there are some responsibilities left for the resident, too. For example cleaning your home, and respecting the rules of shared spaces is on you, as well as for example changing the lightbulbs and fire alarm batteries of your apartment.
For the maintenance and servicing responsibilities in different situations see the Division of Responsibilities table. If you notice a defect or problem in your home that causes damage to the apartment or the building structures, notify the maintenance company immediately about them.
Normal wear and tear is part of life. Sometimes, however, extra repairs are needed due to someone's carelessness or an accident. In these situations SATO applies the List of Customer Charges.
Moving out?
Moving-out cleaning is an essential part of moving. With these instructions you will both make the next resident of your home happy, and avoid a cleaning bill.
Best tip for cleaning
A good principle to apply to cleaning is to clean regularly, use clean equipment, slightly damp cleaning methods and neutral cleaning products. When you split your cleaning into smaller regular tasks, there will be less need to do a big cleaning jobs like spring cleaning and such.
The best way to clean laminate flooring is vacuum cleaning or wiping with a slightly damp cleaning cloth. If you want to clean dirty laminate flooring with a damp cloth, make sure you also dry it separately. Washing-up liquid is a good detergent.
Vacuum cleaning and dry mopping are all you need to do to plastic flooring during the weekly cleaning and, if necessary, give it a wipe with mild washing-up liquid.
Things will get much brighter in the spring when you clean your windows. All you need is a window washer, microfibre cloth, window cleaning squeegee and some washing-up liquid to make your windows positively sparkle. Remove dust from Venetian blinds by vacuum cleaning. Also remember to clean the window frames.
It is a good idea to remove children's scribbles or stains from walls while still fresh. Use a mild detergent and a slightly damp cloth to clean painted walls. The more matte the finish of the painted wall is, the less scrubbing it will tolerate. Scrubbing too strongly will leave shiny marks on such walls.
Paper wallpaper can take very light wiping with a slightly damp cloth but must never be scrubbed. Use washing-up liquid as a detergent.
Clean a sink or washbasin trap via the plughole using a 'drain snake' or by unscrewing the pipe parts. Rinse the trap parts with water and screw them back on. Make sure you put all the sealing washers back in place. Finish by running some water down the drain to make sure the trap is not leaking. The purpose of tap drains is to prevent unpleasant smells from entering the room. If you are not using much water (such as during your holiday away from your home), the water in the trap may evaporate, allowing the smells to escape. Solve the problem by running water into the dried trap.
Clean the floor drain regularly to prevent water damage. The floor drain must also be cleaned before moving out of the apartment. Remove the plastic cover of the drain. Hair and other dirt accumulate under the cover and make the room smell unfresh. Clean the drain using detergent water and a brush. Brush hairs and dirt off the strainer. You can also buy a filter for the floor drain that will collect hairs and prevent them from clogging up the floor drain.
How often you need to clean your sauna and bathroom/shower room depends on how often you use them. If you handle laundry in your bathroom, you need to vacuum or wipe the dust every week. If you use the sauna every week, clean the sauna benches, stools and walls near the shower every month. Use a detergent with disinfectant to clean the sauna more thoroughly. In this context also clean the bench support structures, sides and bottom sides.
From time to time, clean the mirror cabinet in the bathroom: wipe the glass surfaces according to the window washing instructions and remove stains and debris inside the cabinet as well.
Especially in the bathroom, remember to dry all surfaces carefully after cleaning them to avoid unpleasant-looking drip marks.
Clean the ventilation valves and radiators regularly. First vacuum the dust and then wipe the stains off with a damp cleaning cloth. Please remember that ventilation valves should never be blocked, as it is important that the air inside is replaced regularly.
Cleaning of the balcony and the yard connected to the apartment is the responsibility of the resident. If the balcony is glazed, remember to clean the balcony glazing regularly and also clean the rails, so that dirt and debris won't accumulate in them.
Take good care of your home appliances
If your fridge has an auto-defrost system it will defrost automatically. You will only need to clean the drain hole at the back of the fridge. Fridges without an auto-defrost system must be defrosted every few months.
You should clean the fridge regularly to keep it nice and fresh. There is no need to use strong detergents. Water, a few drops of washing-up liquid and a cloth will be enough. For electrical safety reasons you must vacuum clean behind your fridge a few times a year.
Freezer should be defrosted at least once a year. A thick layer of ice adds unnecessarily to your living costs as it consumes more electricity. Do not use force or abrasive tools to scrape ice from the freezer compartment or freezer. Keep an eye on the freezer while defrosting it, making sure to dry out the water while still inside it to prevent water from dripping onto the floor.
Regular cleaning is also the best approach to your cooker as it is very difficult to remove food stains that have got stuck on the hot cooker. Soak any dried food spills to make them easier to remove. Cast iron rings remain in good shape when you oil them a few times a year. There are specific cleaning products for ovens and ceramic hobs.
Clean the extractor fan and grease filter at least twice a year or, depending on the size of the family and how often you cook, even more often if necessary. You will find an air extract valve under the grease filter. Remember to remove and clean it, too, when you clean the filter.
The dishwasher should be cleaned regularly. Once a month is a good if you're using the dishwasher on a daily basis. The dishwasher can be cleaned with special cleaning agents intended for it or ecologically with vinegar and baking soda:
- Put 2 dl of vinegar on the lower level and place 1 dl of baking soda in a small bowl on the upper level.
- Leave the machine otherwise empty and start a normal cleaning program.
- After running the program, wipe all surfaces of the machine with a microfiber cloth. Remember to also clean the seals.
- Remember to turn off the water whenever the dishwasher is not in use.
You can see detailed cleaning instructions for each home appliance in the user manual, which you can also often find online by entering the brand and model of the appliance in the search field of a search engine.
Keep the building's laundry spaces and other common areas clean
All residents are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of common areas, such as stairwells and the waste point.
The laundry and drying rooms are meant for all the residents. Make sure you book your slot in the booking systen, so your neighbours know when there is an available time for them. Also, remember to collect your dried laundry from the drying room, so there is space for others, too. If you know you're going to miss your laundry slot, please erase the booking.
Do not wash any heavy laundry in the machines, such as shoes, work clothes, or rugs, as it may break the machine. Rugs should not be washed on the laundry room floor either due to the slippoing hazard caused by the water and detergent.
Also, remember to empty your pockets before loading the clothes to the machine.
Tip: Sometimes it can be useful to ask professionals for help with cleaning. When you buy cleaning services, you can claim the tax credit for household expenses.