Your flat

Your key card

What it does Your key card should work on the external sensors, your flat door, and the little slot just inside your room to activate the electric. 

Lock your door behind you Your bedroom door won't lock itself when you leave, so you can't lock your card in your room. However, it means you need to remember to swipe your door when you leave to make sure it is locked. You can, of course, lock yourself out of your main flat door- so be careful!

Losing your key If you lose your key, we have spares located at Clive Booth Student Village reception (John Garne Way, off Marston Road- about 15 mins walk). The staff there should be able to lend you one temporarily (there is a charge for lost keys!) and it is staffed out of hours by wardens.

Your bathroom

Don't turn off the extractor It is set on a timer so will turn off by itself. There is no other ventilation source to your shower, so your room will quickly develop mould if you don't ventilate the steam from your bathroom with the extractor.

Treat limescale Oxford has 'hard' water. This means that limescale will build up fast in your shower, sink and toilet if you don't treat it regularly. You may not notice it creeping up, but if you don't keep on top of it you'll struggle to remove it at the end of the year.

Flush outlets after absence Legionella bacteria can build up in pipework if water is left to stagnate. This can cause illnesses varying from mild to life-threatening. The bacteria can get into your lungs if you breathe in affected droplets. The building is not high-risk for this in general, but if you are away from your room for more than a week, be sure to flush all outlets for two minutes when you return.

Your heating

The radiators are controlled individually using a TRV control (a dial on the side of the radiator). Please use this to adjust the temperature. 

The heating will turn off in the summer when the outside temperature is hot to save energy.

The kitchen

Incuction hobs, like the one in your kitchen, will not work with all pots and pans. Make sure you have the right type.

Careful with the work surfaces, although they are granite, hot pans will damage them. 

Air fryers will damage walls and cupboards if used too close to them. Keep them a distance away when in use

Flat cleaning

Cleaners come every two weeks. They only provide basic cleaning of clear surfaces and are not  expected to move clutter out of the way. If the place is in a bad mess, they will not be expected to clean and we may even have to charge all flatmates for a special clean if it isn't rectified.

Form a rota with your flatmates to keep on top of cleaning. There's nothing like communal mess to make people fall out with each other, so we really recommend getting a shared understanding early on to avoid tensions.

Respect your flatmates

Shut the door The kitchen door is a fire door held open by a magnet that deactivates when the fire alarm sounds. You can manually do this by pressing the little black button on the magnet. This is handy for keeping cooking smells or the sound of voices in the kitchen rather than permeating the rest of the flat.

Communicate about quiet times Many healthcare students make each other aware of their rotas so they know when each other need quiet for sleeping. The whiteboard is handy for this.

Don't use other people's stuff You might be relaxed about people using your things, but it can really upset some people. Be aware of boundaries.

See our section on Household Harmony to read about how to make your flat a more happy place.