The mystery of other peoples standards

So this week I settled on a two bedroom unit. Exciting right? It is amazing though, how disappointing these sort of things can be. On Monday I had an appointment for the pre-settlement inspection, and I was shocked by the condition of the place. It had been rented out, and the tenants clearly hadn't bothered to clean anything when they left. Also, their standards were obviously way under par by most peoples standards (I hope anyway).

The two bedrooms were heavily infested with mould. The window frames were absolutely covered in thick black slime and the walls peppered with grey-black haze. The carpets hadn't been cleaned and the mould was clearly evident around the edges of the floor.

The bathroom hadn't been cleaned either, more mould, specks of toothpaste, soup scum on the shower screen that clearly hadn't even been wiped.

The rest of the place wasn't much better, the floor clearly hadn't been mopped, and in the kitchen, it was obvious that they hadn't been cleaned properly for some time. While the top of the stove was clean, all the surrounding surfaces hadn't been touched. There were oil spatters and food spots all over the cupboards wall beside and the splashback and adjacent bench. The floor around the stove was covered with a thick layer of grease with dirt and grime set into it.

The windows and balcony sliding door hadn't been cleaned, and the surrounds were full of dirt and grime, with more mould and general filth.

Its disappointing on a number of fronts. First, that people can live with that without noticing. Second, that tenants leaving a property can walk away from it like that. Third, that the vendors response was not to take the tenants bond and get a professional cleaner in, but to pop in that night and wipe away the more obvious mould from the bedroom walls but otherwise do nothing.

My solicitor was less than impressed - the standard for selling a home is 'clean and tidy', and as the agent commented - it was 'way below par'. But with the options being, delay settlement and hope that the vendors managed to get it to just acceptable by the end of the week or accept it and clean it myself (which lets face it, I was going to do anyway having seen the state it was in!). I expressed my disappointment through the solicitor and took it on the chin.

I have since ripped up the bedroom carpets exposing the bare concrete beneath, used 4 bottles of mould treatment, 2 cans of Glen 20 (also an effective mould killer according to the government factsheets) a large packet of chux clothes, and half a bottle of sugar soup. The walls are now paint coloured, the window frames almost look ok, and my hands are peeling and sore. But I managed to get in yesterday as planned.

Thanks to the boys who provided muscle, and the girls who provided food. Special mention to the man who knows how to tie knots, whose expertise meant that we could haul the vast majority of the stuff over the balcony and not have to carry it up 4 flights of narrow stairs. Watching your microwave float up through the air is a little disturbing, but everything made it up unscathed and we managed not to take out the downstairs neighbours on the way up.


Today I am returning to the old place for what should be the last car load of stuff, and to clean up. But not being a grot, that means I need to vacuum, mop and wipe down the flat surfaces, because I actually keep things clean - including regular cleaning of windows and surrounds, all kitchen surfaces and actually opening windows now and then to let the fresh air in and keep things like mould at bay!!!