"Out, Damned Spot"

It’s looking like we’ll soon be getting a new resident in the quad because, yesterday and this morning, I saw the maintenance guys going in/out of Red Light’s vacant unit.

Cleaning I assume.

What remains to be seen is if paint and new carpeting follows.

As near as I can figure, the unit became vacant in June of 2020, when the resident going by the handle of Nosey on the blog was sent to rehab after a second fall and never made it back.

As an aside, my use of the pseudonym "Nosey" was not to disparage that neighbor. She was a perfectly sweet lady, but I call 'em as I see 'em and with her blinds positioned for her to see what was going on outside without leaving the couch (much like my own, LOL), watching everything that goes on, her getting up, rushing to her patio to eavesdrop on conversations if she heard talking going on outside (which I don't do), what else could I lovingly name her but Nosey.

At any rate, that means Red Light moved in shortly after June 2020, moved out last month, occupied the unit some 4 years.

I don’t know if there’s a law that says a landlord must paint and install new carpeting after a unit becomes vacant before someone else moves in, but it can’t be too much work prepping for another tenant as Red Light didn’t smoke, had no pet, so maybe painting and new carpeting will be replaced with washing the walls and running a carpet cleaner.

We’ll see.

Also remaining to be seen is whether the new resident will come to us from outside or from within the complex, as those who can no longer handle stairs, have been requesting downstairs units.

I fear the level of cleaning won’t be as thorough if it’s a transfer. That management will do the basics and say here you go, take it or leave it.

BTW, why is the responsibility of the maintenance guys to do the cleaning, rather than management engaging a cleaning crew?

I seriously doubt the guys can or will do as good a job of cleaning as professional cleaners.

Speaking of cleaning, over the years, I’ve tried every product known to mankind to clean the kitchen tiles. I’ve got down on my hands and knees to scrub troubling areas, used various hacks suggested by commenters — like a combination of vinegar with Dawn, Bar Keeper’s Friend, straight up vinegar left for an hour or so, Clorox blue gel toilet bowl cleaner as suggested by my former dermatologist’s assistant, Tik Tok’s suggestion to scrub with a degreaser to remove the buildup, et. al., and still the tile ends up clean but with spots that look like dirt.

I’ve given up and pivoted to another solution to my Lady Macbeth's lament to out the damned spot(s) …… a non-slip kitchen rug.

I made a mistake with the first rug by ordering one I thought would closely match the dish drying mat.

Nice, does the job, but not really my aesthetics; so, gave it away and replaced with one that is more like me — rustic.

No more worrying about scrubbing the kitchen tile, plus it feels so nice and warm under my bare feet.

Only problem now is I need a drying mat that more closely matches the new kitchen flooring.