lots of questions can you help?

tammy_nadine · 13 April 2005 at 12:54PM

Hello everyone!
I have just got a new job and my husband and I are relocating to Exeter. We are moving out of our rented flat and I need to make it look tip top for when we leave so we get deposit back so can anyone answer the following..

1. how can I get a dirty smudge out of the breamy beige carpet?
2. how can I get scuff marks/grease marks off painted walls (not the wipe clean type)

it makes it sound like the flat is a mess but its not, just a couple of marks.

Also because of the relocation, we need to live very cheaply. We always waste money on food shopping either by being seduced by the offers or ending up throwing food away (I know its bad!). Does anyone have a weekly cheap shopping list they use for two people that I might be able to see? I tried to make one myself, but kept forgetting stuff! Any ideas for cheap meals to make would also be greatly appreciated.

Also am trying to make best use of leftovers, so can anyone tell me how long you can keep mashed potato, rice or pasta in the fridge and if you can freeze it?

Phew...so many questions sorry!

crazyhazy · 13 April 2005 at 12:59PM

Can't help much with the cleaning but can a little with the meal planner. There's two of us and I plan out meals one month at a time and try my best to stick with it, although obviously this doesn't work all the time. How much do you spend on shopping a week at the moment? Do you take lunch to work or buy it? What sort of foods do you like/dislike? I could post you my meal planners for next month, have only done 2 weeks so far but it might help.

tiff · 13 April 2005 at 1:03PM

Yes you can freeze potato, rice and pasta. Not sure how long it will keep in the fridge, I always either freeze straight away or use the next day.

MATH · 13 April 2005 at 1:06PM

If it is wallpaper rubbing with bread can sometimes remove greasy marks HTH

culpepper · 13 April 2005 at 1:09PM

for the carpet you could try the vanish spray.We have a bottle of this in a cupboard in our front room so we can treat our beige carpet the minute there is a spill. It didnt work on motorbike grease off OH's shoe though but clear vinegar did. If you try either of these do a test in an out of the way place first just incase the colour is changed.
For the walls I have heard using white bread can be good ,rolled up to make a sort of pad and rubbed gently on the marks.Again try somewhere inconspicuous first if you can.

zzzLazyDaisy · 13 April 2005 at 1:12PM

Re deposit - if you haven't paid the last month's rent yet - don't.

It won't make you popular, but the LL won't lose out (assuming the deposit is equal to one month's rent).

This advice came from my son and daughter-in-law who got fed up of losing their deposit to unscrupulous LL's / Agencies who found any excuse to keep the deposit.

Lillibet_2 · 13 April 2005 at 1:15PM

Hi Tammy

I used to be a legal exec in property law, specifically dealing with rental deposit disputes, and before that I was a property manager & invetory clerk for many years.

A few questions & I might be able to help :

Is your rental private or through an agent?
Did you have an inventory check when you moved in? If so, find your copy & see what it says about the condition of the walls etc? Check what you have to do at check out, you may be contracted to have it cleaned to professional standards for example.
By LAW a landlord HAS to allow for fair wear & tear to a propery, even if it was brand new when you moved in the landlord cannot expect it to be returned in exactly the same condition (a lot of LL do have this expectation, they are wrong), however soiling & cleaning are never fair wear & tear. A few scuff marks on the walls, especially high use areas like halls,stairs etc & near the skirting boards are fair wear & tear & you should not be concerend. Grease marks may be diffcuilt to remove, you may make them worse rather than remove them & you may do better to try & negotiate a small compansation payment to the LL for these, he cannot charge you the cost of re-painting the whole wall for example unless the majority of it is marked but he could charge you a nominal figure, say £15, for a limited area.
Depending on what your contract says about carpet cleaning, it is standard practise in the rental industry to have carpets professionally cleaned a tthe end of a tenancy. If so, get onto your agent & ask them to recommend cleaning companies, who will know the agents requirements & should work to the correct standard. They shouldn't be any more expensive than other non-recommended cleaning firms. Don't try & clean the carpets yourself using a Rugdoctor or Vax, the standard probably won't be high enough & you'll waste valuable moving time.

Feel free to PM me if you want any more advice.

Good luck
Lillibet

moggins · 13 April 2005 at 1:58PM

Babywipes are great for marks on walls, I stupidly painted the hall and stairs cream and every dirty little fingerprint shows up, get the basic type though and not the ones with cream in, the cheap and nasty type from poundland are best for this.

Vanish mousse is great for getting marks out of carpets but that Oxi stuff you can get in Poundland too is also pretty good.

the_cat · 13 April 2005 at 2:10PM

if the above doesn't work on your carpet, try the 'soot remover' spray from lakeland - it shifted some very old soot marks and other 'miscellaneos' stains from my cream wool carpet when the others failed. it's a bit expensive (about £5) but a lot cheaper than a new carpet!!!

MrsMW · 13 April 2005 at 4:29PM

I can't remember what they're called, but there are some eraser type things made by Flash which are good for stains on walls. Worth a try if all else fails although I agree with moggins, wipes are great for stains. I use the face cleaning ones for removing allsorts of marks.

moggins · 13 April 2005 at 4:32PM

One other thing I didn't think of earlier until I walked past the tub! A very mild solution of sugar soap will work on the walls too, it brings painted doors up a treat as well.

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lots of questions can you help?

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