Property Maintenance Tips
Avoid mould in the grout.
Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists experience many end of tenancies where exiting tenants are faced with a deposit deduction of remedying the mould that has attacked the grout around the bath tub, shower and surrounding walls. Whilst for a longer term tenancy fair wear and tear needs to be always considered, but within shorter term tenancies it can be easily identified if a Tenant has neglected their duties to perform such maintenance tasks. Tenants can make the mistake of not taking simple steps to avoid a build-up of mould (which can occur instantly from occupation). Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists therefore recommend the simple tip of using a basic bathroom or anti-bacterial spray and cloth to spray and wipe the wet areas when finished using the bath-tub and shower facilities. If you do this one simple task each time, Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists maintain you will be mould free throughout your entire tenancy and you will happily avoid the stress of deposit deduction concerns at the end of the tenancy.
Avoid damp on the ceiling and walls.
Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists additional property maintenance nugget of advice concerns the avoidance of creating damp spots and marks on the ceilings and walls. With energy prices always rising, we can all be cautious at times with our heating in order to be economical. However, the way you use your heating can be detrimental to causing wider property issues. Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists advise that it quite often comes down to “air flow” and the way your property is heated and how that heat is contained and/or released. First of all, it’s not considered good to blast out heat for a period and then switch it off. The best way to heat a property is to keep heat on a lower temperature but constantly. The second factor are the windows. London properties are old and quirky and therefore windows fit into their spaces in all manner of slight ways. Also, double glazed windows collect condensation very quickly (as they assist in compacting air into the property). Because of this, Tenants must remember that when there is a build-up of air, windows need to be left open or ajar to let this air escape. The key mistake that we can make is that we avoid opening windows in cold weather and secondly turning the heating off completely. If you are a Tenant who travels for long periods, then its best to leave the heating on constantly and on a low temperature then switching it off altogether. If you are a Tenant that requires to dry laundry in the property, once again: leaving windows open throughout this process will prevent damp from occurring. Tenants can maximise their usage of a thermostatic boiler by using the 24 hour principle of leaving the programmer for the heating to run continuously. Turn the dial on the boiler itself to the lowest mark, and turn the valves on each radiator open to the highest mark (i.e. to release the most heat), and finally by using the room thermostatic controls for temperature setting. Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists believe this is the best way to regulate your property’s heating. If you leave the thermostat throughout the course of the day on 19 - 20 Degrees Celsius, you will successfully regulate your property’s heating (and effectively enjoy the luxury of not having to think about it). You can further turn the temperature down to 16 -17 Degrees Celsius when you go to sleep. Adopt this method and you will avoid damp issues and further save energy bills. Don’t forget to open the windows ajar in the morning to let all air build-up from over night to escape.
