Cleaning That Can Pay Off

Q: I am moving out of my apartment soon, and I'm working on a little deep cleaning to avoid move-out costs. I have a gas stove, and the top of it is white. It looks a little burnt around the burners, I think from residue from the gas cooking. Is there a good way to clean this? I tried steel-wool pads, but that started to scratch. I did not pay a security deposit. I worry that management might not consider this normal wear and tear and might charge me for it. Will they be able to do that? I'm moving to a larger unit in the same building, so I'd like to keep things amicable. -- Arlington

A: Ask your landlord to do a walk-through with you before you move out to find out if the stove's condition is a problem. Even if your landlord does not agree to an early walk-through, you are entitled to be present when he or she makes the final inspection of your apartment, according to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

As long as you notify your landlord in writing, you can accompany management personnel as they tally damage. Your landlord is obligated to inspect the apartment during normal business hours within 72 hours of the end of your tenancy and must notify you when it is to happen.

You can initiate a conversation with your landlord in which you offer to fix the damage before he or she bills you, which most leases without security deposits allow.

Or you could just hope that if you clean the stove to the best of your abilities, you don't get billed. Either way, you might as well try to clean it.

According to Mary Findley, a cleaning expert who co-wrote "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cleaning," it is "very difficult if not impossible to remove burn marks" on a stove if the stove itself is burned. However, she suggests trying a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser white cleaning pad. Findley said these do a good job of removing stains in general and may be successful on the stove. If the Mr. Clean pad doesn't work, Findley said, mix a bit of ammonia, liquid dish soap and baking soda to make a gravylike paste. Plaster the mixture on the stove, let it set about 10 minutes, spritz it with water, let it sit for about 30 minutes more, and then scrub gently.

Alternatively, if you determine that your stove stains are burned-on food, Findley advises the following remedy: Mix one part boiling water, a bit of liquid dishwashing detergent and a small amount of borax. Saturate a sponge in the mixture, and lay that on top of the burned-on food. Dampen the sponge in the mixture every five minutes for 15 or 20 minutes. Then scrub with the sponge or a white plastic abrasive scrubbie pad, such as you'd find on the back of some sponges.

Findley warned against using any other sponge color than white because the darker the color, the more abrasive the pad. She said the food should come off with your first treatment, but if it does not, you may need to repeat this method.

If you have scratched the stove with steel-wool pads, Findley suggests getting a mild polishing compound, sold at automotive supply stores, that should remove most of those scratches. Read the directions closely to decide which compound might work on your stove without causing more damage, depending on what the stove is made from. Whatever product you buy, test a small spot before doing a complete cleaning.

And if none of these methods works, you can still argue that the stains are normal wear and tear. The cleanup attempt will increase your odds of avoiding fees and keeping terms amicable with your management.

Plus, if you figure out how to clean the stove, it will definitely help in your next apartment in the same building.

An older couple live next door to me. They are incredibly loud. They play their TV and music very loud, and they're constantly yelling at each other. But worst of all, they set their smoke detector off at least once a day, usually at odd hours. I can't even imagine how loud it is in their apartment because it sounds like the smoke alarm is right next to my head in mine. I've started sleeping at a friend's house on Friday evenings so I can sleep past 6:30 on Saturday morning. I've tried to talk to them about it, but they don't speak English and they just stare at me. I'm afraid that I'm going to lose my sanity and that they're eventually going to burn our building down. Any suggestions? -- Washington

Older people, like people of all ages, come with a variety of habits.

If your noisy neighbors were younger and making all of the same noise, would you care? I would imagine so, especially if you were worried your apartment building was going to burn down.

If you have done your best to communicate with your neighbors about how you regularly hear (and are disturbed by) their noise, then you should take up the issue with management.

Obviously, there is no great way to change how people near you live, which is why calling in your management to help you explain to your neighbor that they are making excessive noise may encourage them to live more quietly. There are also techniques to minimize noise, such as using rugs and big pieces of furniture to absorb sound from one apartment to the next.

But more importantly, talk to your landlord about the frequent smoke alarms. It does seem odd that they would go off at all hours of the night so often. For the safety of you and all your neighbors, you should alert your landlord immediately about this issue.

Apartment fires can be deadly, and while the smoke alarm seems to work, you never know what is going on in that apartment. And your fear about the smoke alarms gives you an obvious opening to discuss with management why your neighbors are living at such a high volume.