Fair wear and tear? bath sealant.

Lionel_Thinkbag

Been living in a HA flat for 4 years (not housing benefit) We were the first tenants in a new block.

Anyway were hopefully going to be moving soon (offer accepted, not exchanged yet) So in anticipation we're having a clear out and deep clean. Just done the bathroom with some amazing spray stuff (better than bleach!), however I noticed a few specks of mold on the bath sealant, not all that noticeable but still kind of yukky.

What are the chances the LL will take it out of the deposit? Or is that to be expected after 4 years? Would we be better replacing ourselves? To be honest it doesn't look like it was the most professional job ie; gaps snd smears of excess sealant left.

Any advice would be appreciated.

marliepanda

Get some bleach on it. Domestos used to do something called Grotbuster for this but it disappeared last time I looked for it (talking two years ago though)

lighting_up_the_chalice

The decision to deduct from the deposit doesn't lie with the LL, it lies with whichever scheme your deposit is protected in. They will, if the LL raises the issue, compare the current state of the sealant against what was detailed in the signed inventory done at the start of your tenancy and make allowance for 4 years reasonable wear and tear.

Of course, I'm assuming the deposit was protected and an inventory done.... and a bl00dy good one at that if it lists the condition of the bath sealant!

Kynthia

Just use some bleach.

benjus

This stuff: http://www.amazon.co.uk/HG-186050106-Mould-Spray/dp/B000IU40HQ works really well. I managed to get some bath sealant that had gone completely black back to almost completely white. I had to apply the spray many times to achieve that, though.

cattie

I personally have never managed to get rid of the black marks that sometimes appear on sealant, so usually end up just having it replaced.

If a LL makes a deduction because of marks on sealant I would consider them very unfair. Marks on sealant are not caused by neglect or misuse, the majority of people will have this problem at some time or another.

If you are renting via a HA as your post appears to suggest then it is extremely unlikely that they will try to be so petty over this. However, If it is causing you an awful lot of worry, then just replace the sealant. You can pick some up in most Pound shops.

Mallotum_X

a good bleach based bathroom cleaner should shift it.

Failing that a good quality sealant costs about a tenner