12 April 2017 Housing Guide for International Students Practical Advice for your first accommodation in Germany. Read it, do it, enjoy it! 1
Your Home is Your Castle It takes only 10 minutes to learn how to keep your flat clean your neighbours happy and To get your deposit back once your moving out! Take this time and consider our advice on Moving In Making Friends with Neighbours and Flatmates Heating & Ventilation in German Houses Cleaning Stuff in Germany How to Keep your Flat Clean in Less than 1 Hour 2
Your Home is Your Castle For many students the apartment in Aachen is the first one without their parents! Household-duties next to the studies will be new and challenging! But with some advice and practice, you can easily learn how to keep your home as your castle Set up a cleaning schedule If you have flat mates make a plan and share the responsibilities Motivate each other for combined efforts The entire flat needs to be cleaned once per week If you do it regularly, it will be easier and faster 3
Congratulations you found a place to stay! Contract Make sure you understand the contract before signing it Take special notice of payment and cancellation regulations Ask for advice, if only available in German Keep a copy of your contract with you Deposit Be prepared to pay a deposit (around 2-3 monthly rents) Attention: The landlord has the right to keep the deposit in case you are not taking care of cleaning and household duties properly! Take pictures of the room when you move in in order to avoid discussions about the refund of the deposit and broken things when you move out 4
Making Friends with Neighbours and Flatmates Make yourself familiar with the house-rules Make a household plan with cleaning and grocery shopping duties with your flatmates Greet your neighbours in the hall Be quite and keep noises to a minimum, especially between 10:00pm and 7:00am Open your windows for ventilation do not open your flat-door to release smell in the house! Bring trash to the foreseen places Do not store trash in the hallway! 5
Heating and Ventilation (1) Particularities of German Houses They are designed for cold winters and gentle summers and are especially designed as heat insulated buildings Usually they do not have an air-condition, but they always have heating system Attention! Many international students come from countries where heating systems do not exist neither the concept of heat insulated buildings so please consider our advice! Mistakes in heating and ventilation can cause many troubles, concerning your financial budgets as well as your health! 6
Heating and Ventilation (2) The right temperature Optimal temperature at day time inside a living room is 21 C Optimal temperatures are at night 16 18 C, if you cool the room down like this, you can save around 20 30 % energy Every degree lower in a room leads to about 6% energy savings. Those who only want to wear a t-shirt or bikini might be charged additional costs! How to heat properly in winter Turn the heating down when you leave the house (to the symbol of 1 or 2) Leave the heating always in a moderate temperature (2-3) it is best to heat moderately during day/night time at the lowest comfortable temperature. Avoid big temperature differences, e.g. by turning off the heating at daytime and heat with highest power afterwards this will need more energy than moderate heating! 7
Heating and Ventilating (3) Proper ventilating To properly ventilate, open the window completely for around 5-10 minutes and turn off the heating during this time. This should be done a few times per day. in every season, also in the winter! With too little fresh air, the house smells and mold forms quickly. Who "exhales" very much, for example because of sports, cooking and especially because of smoking has to ventilate more often! If you rent an apartment, please smoke outside. The bathroom has to be ventilated properly, especially after showering, to release the moisture and to prevent the forming of mold. A constantly tilted window while heating can cause additional costs around EUR 200 per season! 8
Heating and Ventilating (4) Attention: mold forms easily when you are not heating and ventilating properly most sensitive places: bathroom, window frames, corners In case you identify mold Contact your landlord directly Take steps to prevent the further spread of the mold in agreement with your landlord Check already for mold when moving into a place 9
The Bathroom Ventilating in the bathroom is VERY important, especially after taking a shower/bath or after using the toilet! Avoid smell and mold! Keep your bathroom moderately heated! Keep the toilet clean! Only flush toilet paper in the toilet. Do not flush sanitary items or paper towels. Close the shower curtain! Do not let water get on the bathroom floor - keep the floor dry! Major washing and drying in the bathroom is not allowed, but should be done in the cellar/laundry room! 10
The Kitchen: Save Energy and Keep it Clean! Shut off the water tap properly To wash dishes: put water into the sink and wash the dishes, rinse with fresh water afterwards. Do not wash dishes under running water! Be considerate when sharing a kitchen with other students and clean up after using it! 11
Cleaning What you Need Spülschwamm (Sponge) Lappen (Rags) Handtücher (Kitchentowels) Eimer (Bucket) Toilettenbürste (Toilet Brush) Wisch-Mopp (Mop) Staubsauger (Vacuum Cleaner) Besen (Broom) 12
Cleaning What you Need WC Reinigung/Toilet Cleaner Bad Reinigung/Sink and Bath Tub Cleaner Spülmittel/Dishwashing Liquid. Can also be used to the stove. Allesreiniger/All-purpose-cleaner. A few drops in a bucket of hot water to wash the floors. Colourwaschmittel/Washing Powder. Best is to wash coloured clothes at 30 /40 C and underwear/towels/sheets at 60. Notice also the washing instruction inside your clothes. All items are available for small money at bigger super markets (e.g. Kaufland, REWE) or drugstores (e.g. dm, ROSSMANN) 13
Clean Your House Bedroom 10 minutes Do a clean sweep. Strip dirty linens and toss in the hamper. Empty the wastebasket. Wash your sheets at least once a month. Make the bed. Take a tip from hotel maids: Rather than trying to tuck sheets under the end of the mattress, lift up each corner of the mattress with one hand and tuck with the other. It s faster. Deal with dust. Using a dry microfiber cloth, start with a piece of furniture in one corner and work your way around the room clockwise. Dust each surface, working back-to-front and lifting knickknacks as you go, and dump the dust right onto the floor. Your cloth should only touch each part of the surface once (no constant back-and-forth). If there s a lamp on the nightstand, clean it top-to-bottom first, then dust the tabletop. Use your long-armed duster on mirrors and wall art. Vacuum. Start from a back corner and vacuum your way out the door, using long firm strokes. Save time by only running the vacuum over each strip of carpet once not twice. Don t worry about missing an inch or two. Ventilate. Open windows while cleaning. Source: http://www.womansday.com/home/cleaning-tips/clean-your-house-in-less-than-an-hour-125035 14
Clean Your House Bathroom 9 minutes Do your prep work. Spritz the sink, vanity, shower and tub with your all-purpose spray and let sit. Tackle the toilet. Sprinkle toilet cleaner into the bowl, give it a thorough scrub with the toilet brush, then flush. Next, spray a microfiber cloth/rag with all-purpose spray and wipe down the outside of the toilet and tank. Clean the mirror. Spray on glass cleaner and, starting in the top corner, wipe in a circular motion. Go back to the sink. Working back-to-front, start in one corner and move horizontally, wiping the counter, vanity, fixtures and handles. Wipe down the shower and tub. Give them a quick swipe with a dampened cloth, then pull the curtain shut. Mop the floor. Using a water-dampened microfiber mop, quickly mop your way out of the room, beginning in a far corner and ending at the doorway. Cleaning rags. Use different rags for toilet and sink/tub. Ventilate. Open windows while cleaning. Source: http://www.womansday.com/home/cleaning-tips/clean-your-house-in-less-than-an-hour-125035 15
Clean Your House Kitchen 12 minutes Do the dishes. Use dishwashing liquid. Rinse with fresh water. Pretreat. Notice hard-to-remove gunk on your stove or countertop? Scrape it up with the credit card. And use the eraser sponge to tackle any stubborn stains. Clean the counters. Wet a microfiber cloth with all-purpose spray and wipe countertops backto-front, brushing crumbs onto the floor. Wipe down appliances. Swipe the fridge, dishwasher and stove with a damp cloth. Tackle the floor. Starting in a far corner, sweep your way out. Then give the floor a fast once-over with a water-dampened microfiber mop, again working your way out. Ventilate. Open windows while cleaning. Source: http://www.womansday.com/home/cleaning-tips/clean-your-house-in-less-than-an-hour-125035 16
Clean Your House Living Room 15 minutes Clear the clutter. Quickly scan the room to see what s out of place. Stash scattered items like remotes and DVDS in drawers; neatly stack magazines on the coffee table. Dust. Start in one corner of the room, and follow the same howtos as in the bedrooms, working top-to-bottom and back-to-front so that the dust falls onto the floor. And if you have blinds, swipe them with the long-armed duster. Make glass gleam. To clean glass surfaces, spray a microfiber cloth with your glass cleaner and wipe in wide circular motions, working from one back corner to the front. Vacuum. Speed-vacuum yourself out of the room, starting in the farthest corner. Source: http://www.womansday.com/home/cleaning-tips/clean-your-house-in-less-than-an-hour-125035 17
Enjoy your flat All the best! We hope this guide is of help for you and you will enjoy your stay in Aachen! Here are some further links where to find great tipps: How often do we need to clean http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/spring-isalmost-here-and-109964 10 Tips for a great flat share http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02289 /Endsleigh_Top_10_T_2289965a.pdf Clean your house in less than an hour http://www.womansday.com/home/cleaning- tips/clean-your-house-in-less-than-an-hour- 125035 18