Lizzie asks…
Syrup and Cinnamon in carpet?
My 4 1/2 year old son managed to dump and entire bottle of pancake syrup and a container of cinnamon onto our living room floor last night. I was on top of it right away and vacuumed the cinnamon that wasnt wet and then got out the steam cleaner and started trying to get it up. Most of the syrup came up but the cinnamon seems to be staining the carpet? Its a tan carpet and this is a rental so any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Thanks
admin answers:
Try vinegar and water for the stain get a scrub brush and scrub the vinegar and water into the stain and rinse well you will be able to see it coming up if you like add alittle naking soada on top of the vinegar and water solution just for an extra boost and scrub it all in.rinse hope this helped.
Carol asks…
What’s the best way to clean carpets; both to get them looking clean and smelling fresh?
I’m moving into a rental this weekend and want to do the carpets first. They’re not super gross or anything, but I like to know they’ve been cleaned before I move in. I’m borrowing a steam cleaner, and am hoping someone can reccomend a product that will not only clean the carpets, but leave them smelling fresh too…?
admin answers:
The Bissel cleaners smell great! They even have a citrus scent….but I like the regular myself.
Sandy asks…
Can someone please advise me regarding water damage?
I have a situation where my apartment was vacant while I’m travelling overseas. The hot water valve was broken and watering the whole aparment for 2 weeks till the body corporate aware and shut down the water in my unit.
Apparently water has escape to below apartment and damage the ceiling, stain on carpet, windows furnishing and wall which The body corporate agree to replace the damage structural but not the content.
Unfortunately the tenant below and myself does not have insurance for the content 
Now the landlord below is asking for reimbursement of damages including replacing carpets (which i noticed only few spots along where the water leaks) and rental reduction to his tenant.
I have offered to cover the cost of steam clean the carpets but he insist want to replace the whole carpets with reason being smell and stain.
Can some one please advise what option do I have and what should i do?
Thanks
admin answers:
Lot of questions here. First, you are responsible for the damage done to the other unit. But you are not responsible for a rental reduction for them. Most professional carpet cleaning companies can and will clean the carpet which will remove any stains caused by water and will prevent mold or mildew. They can then deodorize the carpet and it will be in better shape than before so you are responsible for that also. But you’re not responsible for replacing the carpet. But here’s a thought…In most states if you are responsible for the damage, then the amount that you are responsible for is limited to the actual value of the item damaged, not the replacement cost. Which means that your responsible for what a used carpet would cost to replace. The formula for this is you take the value of the item damaged and divide it by the expected life of the item. In most states, a carpet is 5 years but you can check with any insurance company for this. In other words if the carpet is 4 years old, then you would be responsible for 20% of the cost to replace that one room. If it’s 5 years or more, your free and clear. Again, you can check your local insurance companies to see what it is in your area. Armed with this information, I would approach the landlord with a settlement that you deem fair. If he doesn’t agree, then let him take you to court. Hope this helps.
Robert asks…
Using rental deposit for last months rent?
I was wondering if I can use my rental deposit for my last months rent. I have read other questions regarding this and have come across different answers, now I was under the impression that the deposit is for damages that were done to the rental property and in case the tenant was to leave without paying the last months rent.
I moved into this apartment and it was a mess! I had to do all the cleaning and repainting myself, along with other numerous repairs because the landlady refused, there has been no further damage to the residence and when I leave it will be spotless, even the carpets steam cleaned. (How many renters would leave like that?) I told my landlady that I would be gone before then end of the month and that she isn’t getting rent because of my rental deposit, the reason I told her this is because she had already told me when I moved out she wasn’t going to give it back to me!! After all the work I put into the place! Do I have any kind of legal leg to stand on here?!
By the way I live in Oklahoma and thanks for all the answers!! I am going to go a head and pay her and document the condition of the residence when I leave so she can’t claim any damage was done, in case I have to take her to small claims court to get the deposit back!!THANKS AGAIN!! 
)
admin answers:
In most states/countries [where are you?] –
the legal course is to pay the last month’s rent as usual and then sue the landlady in small claims court if she fails to follow the law and properly return/itemize your deposit.
What you propose to do gives her the right to sue you in small claims court. If she does, she’ll claim damages that you owe and that she can’t take out of the deposit because of the unpaid rent.
***
your legal error is that you did not document the condition of the place when you moved in.
Landlord has a positive duty under the law in most states/countries to provide a place that is clean, in repair, and ready for occupancy. If she fails to do so, tenant has the right to either break the lease immediately and demand full repayment of deposit, or sue, or other remedy as provided by law. [court may allow tenant to do repairs or have them done and deduct their value from rent owed, etc.]
in future, ALWAYS document the condition of a place when you move in. If landlord will not cooperate in doing this, it is a warning sign that they’ll try everything to seize your money and will likely have to be sued. [so learn how to sue in small claims court -- if you win, you get your costs and fees as well].
***
my guess is that your landlord is lazy and/or irresponsible. She’ll probably carp and complain, might even send you a letter claiming damages you owe to her.
And, I doubt she’ll actually sue in small claims court. You would have the affirmative defense that she’d already shown she was unreliable — place wasn’t habitable when you moved in; and she said she was going to take your entire damage deposit no matter what.
It would help if you have one or more witnesses to the condition when you moved both in and out — the person who helped you clean would be ideal.
Under these circumstances, I hope and pray that any small claims examiner or judge would toss her suit and rule that she has to bear her own costs and fees.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
