Mouldy silicone in shower - cost to remove and replace?

Bendy_House

lisyloo said:

I am NOT saying it will cost that.
i am suggesting a temporary reservation so the lodger can get the rest of their deposit back whilst lowering the risk of the landlord being out of pocket.
it would greatly relieve the situation if the lodger gets most/some back.

what figure would you suggest to practically guarantee they won’t be out of pocket? £150? £200?
up to the landlord but you get the idea.

lodgers and tenants are expected to return the property in the condition it was before, minus wear tear (that doesn’t include mould).
they should keep the place well ventilated, clean and treat any mould at an earlier stage.
wiping down is a good option, turning on extractor fan or opening windows should be done for ventilation (whatever is available) and mould remover when it first appears should nip it in the bud.
as a tenant/lodger I would fix everything DIY and that’s always been a good enough standard for the landlord in my experience.
my experience is that they will settle for less than perfection if they don’t get any hassle (like this).
its the hassle that gives them the most grief.

when I’ve smashed a glass or dish I’ve replaced it with at least the same.
sometimes that means non matching stuff but I’ve saved the landlord doing it and non matching cereal dishes should be ok if it’s not the ritz. I bleached the tiles slightly removing the mould, but it was barely noticeable.

Ok, I think I get what you are saying. Since it's hard to get an accurate quote or even someone to do the job right now, and the lodger is moving out, this figure could be agreed with the lodger on the basis of "Once the job is done, I'll send you a copy of the invoice and hopefully a partial refund."?

But, the lodger would need to agree to this. (And if I were the lodger, I'd be reluctant, as it seems a disproportionate sum).

And that's before it can be demonstrated that the lodger is even responsible for this. Does the owner also use this shower? Is it reasonable to expect a shower to be wiped dry after every use? (Who does this?!). Could this issue have been mitigated by a quick spray of mould buster ('Astonish' - £1 per trigger-bottle) say once a week? Is this just normal 'wear and tear'?

lisyloo

Temporarily.
lets try an example so we’re all clear.
deposit is £1000.
refund £700 now, lodger is relatively happy for time being
job costs £100
lodger gets £200 - everyone happy

there is no charge for hassle or withholding, only a temporary reservation whilst the cost is unknown. 
its the tenants fault entirely this occurred yes, and the fact that they have to wait now is their fault entirely. I’m just suggesting relieving the situation.
not sure why your criticising my plan on that basis as my plan gets them most of their deposit earlier than if the landlord withholds the whole lot.

its not random but it was set to protect the landlord.
it could be set to £100, £150 or £200, but if the job costs more than the reservation then the landlord looses and I’d suggest would be very hard to recoup back from lodger.

The other option is just to say they have to wait until labour can be sourced - tough.

breaking_free

Okay some more info: the shower was only used by the lodger. 
I provided him with a squeegee, bleach and shower spray the day he moved in.
In my own shower I use a squeegee to wipe the shower each time, including the shower tray - takes approx 1 minute.
I am quite capable of DIYing this job as I've done it before but my time is as valuable as anybody else's so I didn't want to, hence trying to get a handyman.

Looks like I might have to do this myself, so what do you good people believe would be a reasonable amount to charge? I have to pay for the silicone, scraper and sealant gun, plus my own time.  

By the way, I've already returned the deposit minus £50 which I'm holding back. If it turns out to cost more than £50 I will suck up that cost myself.

Ebe_Scrooge

breaking_free said:

Okay some more info: the shower was only used by the lodger. 
I provided him with a squeegee, bleach and shower spray the day he moved in.

Same lodger or a different one?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6361934/manky-shower-how-to-clean#latest

breaking_free said:

Looks like I might have to do this myself, so what do you good people believe would be a reasonable amount to charge? I have to pay for the silicone, scraper and sealant gun, plus my own time.  

By the way, I've already returned the deposit minus £50 which I'm holding back. If it turns out to cost more than £50 I will suck up that cost myself.

A tenner for a tube of good-quality sealant https://www.screwfix.com/p/dow-785-bacteria-resistant-sanitary-silicone-white-310ml/58308

A few quid for a sealant gun if you don't already have one https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-sealant-gun/988hp

A quid for some masking tape from Poundland.

breaking_free

Yes same lodger - good spotting!
I managed to clean all of the mould off his shower last time by soaking toilet paper in bleach and leaving it on overnight - it was spotless afterwards. I hoped he would have kept it mould-free after that but instead it was allowed to come back and bury itself into the silicone.

Never got any replies from handymen so it's taken me around an hour to razor the damned silicone out and clean up properly (it never comes off in one tidy strip) so that's time I won't get back. Now I'll have to spend more time buying product to make good and more time again to re-silicone it. If this were you guys and gals what would you charge? I just want to cover my expenses and time.

lisyloo

Would be interested to know if you are allowed to charge for DIY time.

Ebe_Scrooge

breaking_free said:

Yes same lodger - good spotting!
I managed to clean all of the mould off his shower last time by soaking toilet paper in bleach and leaving it on overnight - it was spotless afterwards. I hoped he would have kept it mould-free after that but instead it was allowed to come back and bury itself into the silicone.

Never got any replies from handymen so it's taken me close to 40 minutes to razor the damned silicone out (it never comes off in one tidy strip) so that's time I won't get back. Now I'll have to spend more time buying product to make good and more time again to re-silicone it. If this were you guys and gals what would you charge? I just want to cover my expenses and time.

To be perfectly honest, if it were me I'd just get on and do it.  Replacing manky silicone is just one of those jobs that needs doing every now and then in any house.  It's really not a massive job, and it's so easy to DIY that I wouldn't even entertain the idea of getting someone in to do it.

Cost-wise, like I say a tube of really good-quality silicone will be less than a tenner (you can get much cheaper, but it's worth shelling out for decent stuff in a bathroom).  Even having said that, you'll probably use less than a quarter of a tube, and it'll keep for the next time you need to do a little job (the bit in the nozzle tends to go off, and needs poking out, but the stuff in the tube will last for years).  If you don't already have an applicator gun then you'll need to buy one - but that's a one-off purchase for a few quid and will last forever.

I kind of get where you're coming from in terms of wanting the lodger to keep things clean.  But it seems to me you're making this a much bigger issue than it needs to be.  I don't mean to sound patronising - but it's such an easy and routine job, I'd just do the job and forget about it.

kdotdotdotdot

Bendy_House said:

lisyloo said:

I am NOT saying it will cost that.
i am suggesting a temporary reservation so the lodger can get the rest of their deposit back whilst lowering the risk of the landlord being out of pocket.
it would greatly relieve the situation if the lodger gets most/some back.

what figure would you suggest to practically guarantee they won’t be out of pocket? £150? £200?
up to the landlord but you get the idea.

lodgers and tenants are expected to return the property in the condition it was before, minus wear tear (that doesn’t include mould).
they should keep the place well ventilated, clean and treat any mould at an earlier stage.
wiping down is a good option, turning on extractor fan or opening windows should be done for ventilation (whatever is available) and mould remover when it first appears should nip it in the bud.
as a tenant/lodger I would fix everything DIY and that’s always been a good enough standard for the landlord in my experience.
my experience is that they will settle for less than perfection if they don’t get any hassle (like this).
its the hassle that gives them the most grief.

when I’ve smashed a glass or dish I’ve replaced it with at least the same.
sometimes that means non matching stuff but I’ve saved the landlord doing it and non matching cereal dishes should be ok if it’s not the ritz. I bleached the tiles slightly removing the mould, but it was barely noticeable.

Is it reasonable to expect a shower to be wiped dry after every use? (Who does this?!). 

I squeegee daily after showering, yes.  It's come as news to me that others don't! But no, I'm not actually going to wipe it dry.  

Bendy_House

kdotdotdotdot said:

Is it reasonable to expect a shower to be wiped dry after every use? (Who does this?!). 

I squeegee daily after showering, yes.  It's come as news to me that others don't! But no, I'm not actually going to wipe it dry.  

Yes, but do you squeegee the shower?

Bendy_House

breaking_free said:

Yes same lodger - good spotting!
I managed to clean all of the mould off his shower last time by soaking toilet paper in bleach and leaving it on overnight - it was spotless afterwards. I hoped he would have kept it mould-free after that but instead it was allowed to come back and bury itself into the silicone.

Never got any replies from handymen so it's taken me around an hour to razor the damned silicone out and clean up properly (it never comes off in one tidy strip) so that's time I won't get back. Now I'll have to spend more time buying product to make good and more time again to re-silicone it. If this were you guys and gals what would you charge? I just want to cover my expenses and time.

On the basis that you are unlikely to get someone to do this job for less than, ooh, £100?, then I think that would be a fair sum. But that is largely a plucked-out-of-t'air figure.

For someone to do this from scratch, there is the cost of the silicone removal tool/chemical, a Fugi-type finishing-tool, and the tube of good quality sili itself. So, materials, £20-25, I'd have thought. And the best part of 2 hours for a thorough job - getting old sili off is a 'mare.

If it's as you say, tho' - you have refunded everything other than £50, and would contact the person regarding any outstanding amount - I think I'd personally just leave it at that. Is a further £50 worth the hassle? But entirely your call. Have they otherwise been an ok lodger?