Summer is finally here! In the summer, there is time to take care of your home, enjoy the outdoors and spend time with family, friends and neighbours.
Let’s go outside!
In the summer best thing to do is spend time outside, and the balcony or yard brings home cozy extra squares. With these tips, you can keep the outdoor areas of your home in good condition so that you can enjoy the outdoors throughout the summer day.
Instructions for taking care of your balcony:
- If your balcony is glazed, clean the glasses regularly if you can do it safely.
- Do not burn outdoor fires on the balcony - they can cause a fire.
- Barbecue on the balcony is only allowed with an electric grill.
- Decorating the balcony with flowers is allowed - even recommended! Place the flower boxes inside the railings so that they cannot fall.
- Parasols and other similar protective equipment must be firmly secured.
- Do not keep wet carpets on the painted balcony floor, as they will damage the paint surface.
- Do not shake or brush clothes and linen outside the railings so that debris and dust fly with the wind to the balconies of the lower floors.
Yard
If apartment has a yard, tenants take care of the related work, such as cleaning, lawn care and other greenery. You can plant summer flowers in the yard. For other plantings, you will need written permission from the regional office. Own plantings are left out when moved into place without compensation.
Read more about the outdoor spaces of Heka's houses
Summer at home
Summer days are more comfortable when the home is clean. Follow these instructions to get your home ready for summer.
Brighten up the windows
Window cleaning is an annual task, but it pays off because dirty windows can reduce the amount of light by up to half. A calm and cloudy summer day is a good time to wash your windows.
Easy instructions for washing windows
It is a good idea to start the window cleaning with the outer glasses, so that any stains that go unnoticed are more clearly visible when washing the inner glasses. After the outer glass, however, it is advisable to change the clean water in the bucket, otherwise the dust and dirt on the outer glass will be transferred to the following glasses.
For other glasses, it is usually enough to wipe once all the way through, but the outermost glass is often the dirtiest and should be wiped a few times. Once the window is wiped with a damp cloth, it is dried by pulling one by one with a spatula. The spatula is dried after each pull on a towel or absorbent cloth, for example. Annoying streaks often result from poor drying of the spatula, so be careful here.
After loading the window pane, dry the edges of the window and the frame with an absorbent gauze or cloth. If baby wipes are found in the home, they are great aids in drying spatulas and frames.
The nicest of chores: Outdoor summer carpet cleaning
One of the most fun chores might be washing carpets outdoors on a summer day. There are 12 carpet piers in Helsinki and one dry land washing place where you can wash the carpets yourself.
Carpet laundries are also found at some Heka-houses. It is forbidden to wash carpets in a regular washing machine in a laundryroom.
Get rid off the pests
Especially in summer, small, uninvited guests may break into your home.
There are home remedies to control pests but still it is always worth notifying Heka of a pest finding.
Doing things together
Summer is the best time to spend time with friends and neighbors. Summer evening goes nicely when are grilling or caring for common cultivation boxes, for example.
Grilling/Barbecueing
To ensure that the summer delicacies are prepared safely and that the neighbor's harmony is preserved, repeat Heka's instructions for grilling in the yard and balcony.
Here are the main ones:
- Barbecue on the balconies is only allowed with an electric grill.
- Smoking food is prohibited on balconies, terraces and in gardens.
- A gas and electric grill can be used on the terrace and in the courtyard.
- In the places designated for grilling in common yards, you can grill with electric, gas, wood and charcoal grills. Barbecues may not be used in common areas outside of designated areas.
More instructions for grilling
Cultivation boxes for common yards
Box farming is a fun summer hobby. If the residents want cultivation boxes in the common yard area, the housing committee must tell the property manager.
Instructions for obtaining cultivation boxes can be found at the bottom of Outdoor facilities -site.
Enjoy the summer time!