Keeping the apartment clean

Please keep your apartment 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 apartment is at its best a life experience that provides you with a lifetime of friends and memories. Agree on cleaning days and shifts together with your flat mate. To make the planning easier you can use this cleaning schedule. Common ground rules provide a good framework for comfortable living!

There are no cleaning services in Tellervontie 2, Tutkijantie 2, Yliopistokatu 16 and Yliopistokatu 18. Therefore cleaning shifts have to be organized between tenants. Each shift lasts for one week, from Monday to Sunday and tenants are responsible for assigning weekly shifts equally. The condition of the apartments are checked on a regular basis. If the apartment is found unclean the person responsible for the cleaning will be given a note. If the note does not help, PSOAS will have the dorm cleaned and all the tenants living in the apartment will be charged for the cleaning. In Tirolintie 2 a cleaning company cleans the common areas of the 7-room shared apartments once a week. Despite this the tenants are still responsible for the cleanliness of the common areas as described above.

If an apartment needs to be cleaned 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

Floor and baseboards

Vacuum/sweep and wipe the floors with a damp cloth weekly. 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. Baseboards should be cleaned on a regular basis too.

Ventilation openings

Cleaning the replacement air vents (usually next to windows) and exit vents (usually in kitchen, bathroom/clothes room or toilet) belongs to the tenant. Clean the vent hole with a towel wrapped around a knife. Do not remove any parts of the vent, just wipe the outside area.

Kitchen surfaces and tables

Avoid keeping excess items on kitchen tables as it makes the cleaning of surfaces harder. Wipe the table surfaces always right after eating. Kitchen cupboards should be wiped on a regular basis too.

Stove, oven and cooker hood

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

Bathroom, floor drains and toilet seats

Bathroom walls and floor easily gather brown foot rot which is an orange layer of dirt. Wipe them 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 brown foot rot by leaving the bathroom door open after taking a shower. This way the bathroom will dry quicker.

Cleaning the floor drain belongs to tenant’s responsibilities and it should be done on a regular basis as hair and bacteria get easily stuck on the drain. Remove the drain cover and remove the dirt. Old dishwashing brush will do just fine. Always clean the toilet seat when necessary and wash it properly once a week.

Waste recycling

It is very important to recycle waste. The waste must be sorted in the following way before dropping it in the waste containers:

• bio waste
• tetrapacks
• packagings
• cardboard
• glass
• metals
• batteries
• fluorescent lamps

Please note that in Finland you can recycle most glass and plastic bottles as well as tin cans. Take the bottles and cans to the nearest grocery store and you’ll get back the bottle price!