Student tenant, forgot soup on the stove.

Valentas

Hello,

I am interested in what is going to happen to me. I am a student tenant.

Six days ago I left a pot of soup on the stove to warm it up but forgot about it, water evaporated and since my door was open I could smell that something is wrong quite fast. I threw out the pot and charred vegetables.

Six days later, after cleaning walls with vinegar, vacuuming carpets etc, we still have smell lingering and I tried many things like baking soda, vinegar etc but odor is still there. There was no fire at all, just some puffy smoke.

I have no renter's insurance and already accepted that my clothes most likely continue to smell but I am extremely worried about smoke damage I caused and I did my best to try to remove the cause but I could not. I have no money for repairs if there would be a need for professional help and generally feel horrible because I never burned anything in my life.

Can anyone advice me on what to do? I imagine if I take insurance and then ask for cover of damage a week after it is not going to work. Landlord might be reasonable but I am really afraid and try to think what to do....

Please help.

pinkteapot

Valentas wrote: »

Can anyone advice me on what to do? I imagine if I take insurance and then ask for cover of damage a week after it is not going to work. Landlord might be reasonable but I am really afraid and try to think what to do....

That would be insurance fraud. You can't claim for things that happened before the policy started.

Don't panic - post your thread again on the DIY board and ask how to get rid of smoke smells cheaply. People will have tips for you.

Guest101

Valentas wrote: »

Hello,

I am interested in what is going to happen to me. I am a student tenant.

Six days ago I left a pot of soup on the stove to warm it up but forgot about it, water evaporated and since my door was open I could smell that something is wrong quite fast. I threw out the pot and charred vegetables.

Six days later, after cleaning walls with vinegar, vacuuming carpets etc, we still have smell lingering and I tried many things like baking soda, vinegar etc but odor is still there. There was no fire at all, just some puffy smoke.

I have no renter's insurance and already accepted that my clothes most likely continue to smell but I am extremely worried about smoke damage I caused and I did my best to try to remove the cause but I could not. I have no money for repairs if there would be a need for professional help and generally feel horrible because I never burned anything in my life.

Can anyone advice me on what to do? I imagine if I take insurance and then ask for cover of damage a week after it is not going to work. Landlord might be reasonable but I am really afraid and try to think what to do....

Please help.

Bless. When does your tenancy end? the smell will rpobably go before then...

theartfullodger

Claiming fraudulently on insurance for a period you weren't covered would hopefully end up with you jailed...

The issue with deposit and damage & smell depends on what the state of the place is when you leave (presumably June 2015??) not now, and allowing for fair "wear 'n tear".

So do nothing, see what it is like when you leave & of landlord claims off your deposit: The smell will probably be largely gone by then.. and a landlord should expect rather more "mess" from students than, say, one little-old-lady, very house-proud:

Have a great Xmas!

Bean83

Don't panic! The smell will definitely go eventually. It doesn't sound like you did any actual damage, just that the smell is lingering. I once did the same thing with some lentils - there was no fire, just a lot of smoke, but the smell was horrendous! Do you have an extractor fan over the oven? I found that changing the filter on the fan (the stuff inside the hood that looks like cotton wool - cheap and easy to replace!) really helped to get rid of the smell, as this material really seemed to trap the smell inside it.

Valentas

My roommates decided that it is important to inform landlord because he will be coming in to check up on apartment before we leave for Christmas holidays anyways, so he will find out even if I force them to shut up...I cannot believe that smell lingers because it was not serious at all. What can I do if landlord decides that I am liable? I have good idea on smoke damage because my parents had incident where there was small fire in the kitchen and they could not get the smell out, so professionals had to take care of that and it cost them a lot...

I took out the extractor filter(looks like carbon mesh) and replaced it with new one. And the extractor stinks the most by the way. I cleaned everything inside it and it seems it smells even more.

Poppie68

If you had insurance what would you claim for anyway...they don't cover smelly rooms.

Open all you Windows and internal doors so you have a free flow of air, and wash any software furnishings. You may have to leave the Windows open for a few hours so don't go out, turn the heating on and wrap up, and don't worry.

WestonDave

If the landlord comes round and makes anything of it, simply say that the smell will be gone by the end of the tenancy and if not then you'll deal with it then along with any other cleaning requirements. By the time you've been home for a couple of weeks at Christmas and come back the smell will probably have gone. As with the filter comment above, its generally the soft furnishings that will retain the smell so wash any curtains and other soft items in the smell range, and maybe a bit of the old shake and vac on any carpets and it should disappear quickly.

fairy_lights

Did the smoke stain the walls at all? If not then there is no smoke damage, it's just a smell. It's not unusual for strong cooking smells to linger for a few days but they always go eventually. Have you been opening the windows a lot to air the place out?
There's no reason to mention it to the landlord because if he comes round and it smells smoky you can just tell him you burnt your lunch that day. Your flatmates are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Valentas

There is no stain. And the problem is that I can smell this stuff everywhere, I was told those are particles that emit odor and will continue to do so for inordinate amount of time until they are removed from apartment. I would go on with cleaning everything but nothing I tried works. My roommates said they cannot smell anything but I do and it is especially bad when you get back from outside. Also, my clothes will continue to smell even if I buy new ones by absorbing the odor, so I need to get rid of it somehow...

[Deleted User]

Valentas wrote: »

My roommates said they cannot smell anything but I do and it is especially bad when you get back from outside.

If nobody else can smell it are you sure that you're not... imagining it? exaggerating it? That happens to me... if I smell something bad I will smell it for a long time even if nobody else can.

Sorry for your loss.