Technology and safety in the home

This section contains quick and easy tips about keeping your home safe and keeping domestic appliances in good working order.

Ventilation

Cleaning cooker extractor hoods and replacing the filters regularly are the responsibility of the tenant. Watch a video Cleaning the cooker hood.

Ventilation in your apartment only occurs as intended if the ventilation equipment is working correctly. Obstructive dust (and grease in the kitchen) collects easily between the frame and plate of the ventilation exhaust vents, with the gap in question often only a few millimetres wide. This means that it is very important to clean the vents on a regular basis, using a brush and cleaning fluid, for example. It is recommended to do this a couple times a year. Watch a tutorial on how to clean vents (in Finnish) or a tutorial on how to clean particularly dirty vents (in Finnish). NB: Do not touch the centre cone or change its adjustment as you clean the vent.

At the same time, it is also important to ensure that the apartment’s fresh air ventilation vents are open and clean. Residents must replace the filters regularly at least once a year unless the housing association has undertaken to replace the filters.

With both centralised and apartment-specific ventilation systems, the air pressure is set to help the systems remove air from the apartment by sucking it out. This is why the waste air removed by the ventilation systems will always be replaced by new air entering from wherever it is easiest to do so. If the fresh air ventilation vents are blocked, the replacement air cannot get through clean through the fresh air ventilation vents, but, instead, contaminated air gets into the apartment through the building structures or external door, for example.

Taking care of appliances

Stove

The stove is permanently connected to the electricity. It may only be disconnected by a professional electrician.

The stove and oven must be cleaned regularly to ensure they work efficiently.

Fridge

Ensuring your fridge stays in good working order requires a degree of maintenance on your part. The fridge, chiller, and freezer compartment (where applicable) must be defrosted two to four times a year, unless the appliance has an automatic defrost feature.

Residents must also clean the pipes behind and floor below the fridge/chiller of any dust and dirt. The fridge must be carefully moved for the duration of the cleaning. The fridge must be unplugged from its electric socket for the duration of the cleaning.

On a fridge/chiller, the defrost water removal piping on the back of the device requires regular cleaning, in particular, as it gets easily blocked.

Locks

The front door should be double-locked when the apartment is left empty.

No items of value should be stored in the basement, attic, or outdoor storage spaces. Items that are in good condition and susceptible to moisture or cold should not be stored in unheated attic or outdoor storage spaces.

Auroranlinna recommends that security locks are not fitted on the front doors to apartments. Representatives of the owner of the property and the emergency services must always be able to access the apartment in the event of an emergency.

If there is a security lock on the door, and a door or window has to be broken to gain access to the apartment due to a security lock on a door, the resident will be responsible for repair costs. Providing a key to the security lock to the maintenance company is not an adequate countermeasure here, as there would not be time to go and find this key in an emergency situation. Providing a key to the security lock to the maintenance company is only useful for non-urgent maintenance visits.

If a resident has forgotten their key and needs to order door opening services, they should always contact the place indicated by the housing association. A fee, in accordance with the current price list, will be charged for opening the door. Doors may only be opened for residents listed as a tenant of the apartment.

Heating

In buildings equipped with hot water heating, the thermostatic radiator valves have been set by professionals to automatically regulate the indoor temperature. The surface temperature of the radiator will vary between lukewarm and hot, depending on the signal it receives from the thermostat. Simply put; the radiators will only be hot if the thermostat tells them to heat the room.

So the temperature in a room can be adjusted using the radiator thermostat, by opening it or closing it slightly within the preset limits. If the temperature falls below +19 °C or rises above +23 °C and room-specific adjustments do not rectify the situation, a defect notification must be submitted. Residents cannot adjust the radiator adjustment valve settings.

Do not cover thermostatic valves with large pieces of furniture or curtains. If you do so, the thermostat will stop the heating and the room will cool down. If the thermostat is located close to a ventilation window, which is then kept open, the thermostat will increase the heating to compensate. This will result in the radiator heating up too much and making the room too hot. What’s more, energy will also be wasted.

Research shows that a suitable indoor temperature is around +20–21 °C. A slightly lower temperature, of around +19 °C, is optimal for sleep.

Lowering the indoor temperature by one degree can reduce the energy required for heating by as much as 5–7 per cent.

Fire security

Emergency access routes

Emergency access routes must always be kept clear to ensure emergency vehicles can use them. Fire engines and ambulances must be able to get to their destinations without delay and without having to navigate obstacles.

Fire and carbon monoxide alarms

Common sense and the law both require residents to have a sufficient number of fire alarms fitted in their home, and to ensure that they are in good working order. The regulations state that there must be at least one fire alarm for every 60 square metres of the apartment. So, in practical terms, a 61 square metre apartment must have at least two alarms.

In addition to fire alarms, homes should also be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide is an odourless, tasteless, colourless, and poisonous gas that we, as humans, cannot detect. As carbon monoxide is only slightly lighter than air, special care should be taken over the positioning of the alarm, because carbon monoxide will not necessarily rise straight to the ceiling. A carbon monoxide detector is not a sufficient replacement for a fire alarm, but it is a worthwhile addition to improve safety in the home.

Without working batteries, both a fire alarm and carbon monoxide detector are useless. Moreover, they will not last forever, and should be replaced at least once every ten years. It is always the resident’s obligation to ensure that the apartment has functional alarms and to replace the battery or entire device when necessary. One good way to remember to maintain fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors is to always check/change their batteries on the 112 Day on 11 February.

Watch a video about fire safety.

Naked flames/candles

Taking extra care when dealing with fire is the most important thing you can do to prevent a fire. For this reason, you should always keep an eye on any naked flames, making sure that candles are placed on a non-flammable surface and not left unattended. You must also make sure that pets or small children, for example, cannot accidentally knock over candles or tealights, and that the draught from a window cannot blow curtains into the flame.

Any use of open fires on the balcony are prohibited. This means that candles, outdoor candles, and barbeques are not permitted on balconies. In particular, outdoor candles require plenty of empty space around them due to pool fire and wind risks. This is why outdoor candles are very dangerous when placed near buildings and combustible materials.

Washing machines and dishwashers

Dishwashers and washing machines may only be installed in the spaces designated for them. A resident’s own dishwasher or washing machine may only be connected to the water supply and sewage networks by an installation professional. The resident shall be responsible for compensating for any water damage caused by the installation work. A certificate of installation provided by a HVAC installation professional should be retained in case of potential water damage.

All water pipe connections must be pressure resistant. The washing machine tap must always be fitted with a non-return valve (to prevent backflow). A dishwasher must always have a leak protection tray designed specifically for the purpose.

When moving out, residents must always refit any cabinets removed for the installation of a dishwasher.

The water supply and drainage connections to the dishwasher and washing machine must be plugged appropriately after disconnection.

TV and broadband internet

The properties are connected to either an antenna network or cable TV network. You can check what network your apartment is connected to by contacting your housing association’s property management office or property maintenance company.

Permission for any additional antenna installations, such as a satellite antenna, must be sought from the housing association’s property manager. An antenna may not, under any circumstances, be attached to walls or ceilings.

Residents should get their own broadband internet, unless the housing association has provided a broadband connection to the property.

Water supply and drainage fittings and electrical equipments

The sockets in the bathroom and most of the sockets in the kitchen are earthed. You can only plug earthed devices or those with protective insulation into these sockets. Electrical devices must not be used in wet or outdoor spaces when plugged in to a standard socket in another room or space. For example, electric Christmas lights intended for indoor use, placed on a balcony, can pose a life-threatening hazard, especially if the cord runs inside. No bathroom sockets may be used whilst the bath or shower is in use.

Installation of and repairs to electrical devices may only be carried out by an installation engineer authorised by the relevant authorities. This obligation does not cover lightbulbs or fuses, including lightbulbs in the stove and fridge, that need replacing; the tenant should either replace these themselves or arrange for them to be replaced at their own expense.

Leaking taps or toilets that are constantly running must be reported immediately to the housing association’s defect notification number. Usually, the number is the maintenance company’s telephone service.

Please do not rinse food waste, fat, grease, coffee grounds, medicines or chemicals down the kitchen or bathroom drains. In addition to these, do not flush sanitary towels, nappies, cat litter or any other items down the toilet bowl. In particular, flushing debris and cat litter quickly leads to blocked drains. The tenant will be invoiced for the cost of unblocking the drain in such instances.

Tenants must clean the floor drain in their bathroom. If an unpleasant, drain-type odour occurs in an apartment, the cause may be a dried-out floor drain or disintegrated seal of the toilet bowl outlet. A dried-out drain trap can be restored to working order by flushing water into it. It is recommended to contact a maintenance company to clean the drain trap to avoid any damages.

Watch a video Cleaning the bathroom floor drain.
Video Bathroom fixtures and leakages.

General safety instructions

Click here for some general safety instructions

Click here to read the Home Safety Guide (in Finnish)

Click here to watch videos about living safely (in Finnish)