r/ApartmentHacks

Moved into the apartment from Hell in March 2026. I will list below the reasons I want to leave

- Roach infested. Tried everything but can get rid of them. The day I moved in, there were roaches in the refrigerator, under the cabinet, etc. I did not bring them here.
- Washer + dryer never worked and it’s included in the rent.
- Hot water + electricity constantly cuts off
- No AC. Apartment gets hot as hell now that it’s winter.
- High crime. This isn’t really something that the apartment can control, but still an issue.

I have kept track of many of these instances in text and email. I don’t have the money to leave right now, but I will within the next 6 months. I’m tired of living like this. I don’t want to break the lease and be penalized, I want to leave without penalty. Do I need to lawyer up? What can I do? The only thing going for me is that it’s not very expensive to live here 2 bed 1 bath for $1200 in detroit, Mi.

Looking for a small balcony or patio umbrella that can tilt 90 degrees to block direct sunlight.

Any suggestions?

First night alone.. like in my whole life. Idk what to do with myself😂😭 its really an emotional night for me. Seeing my mom and my bestfriend leave i was holding back so manyyyyy tears. A part of me is excited but also i have a weird feeling of grief. How did yall do it?

So my apartment lease ends on July 14th and I wasn’t able to give a 60 day notice due to honestly forgetting due to the fact that I recently bought a house. I called the leasing office and they said I will have to pay 2 more months in order to fulfill the 60 day notice. What will honestly happen if I just don’t pay? I mean I don’t really need renting history anymore since I have my own house, it will just be too much paying my mortgage and then deal with the rent

I just moved into a loft bedroom and unfortunately the loft area is a little separated from the main bedroom square area so the central ac air does not hit it, my room is basically like an L shaped room, so the loft area tends to be very hot, basically like an attic since I don’t think the central air goes through the corner unto the top loft area, is there any recommendations you guys might have ?? I’m really sad and hot especially in the summer 😓

If i lived 10 mins away from my friends apartment and don’t have parking at my dorm, would i be able to get away with him adding me for $10/month as his “second car” and park there throughout the week and go home during the weekend? Are there usually rules in the contract that make sure the resident owns the car, or are there audits that happen to make sure the resident owns the car?

Having a very boring household debate right now, what counts as a reasonable thing to spend money on?

We will spend real money on a couch because guests see it. A mattress because sleep matters. A TV because everyone uses it. A coffee machine because apparently morning happiness is sacred.

But the chair I sit in for work almost every day? Suddenly that is "just a chair."

i get why it sounds silly. Office chairs are not fun. They do not make the room look cooler. Most of them look like corporate sadness with wheels.

But I am sitting in this thing for long stretches, and my current chair is not aging gracefully. Flat cushion, awkward recline, back support that only works if I stay frozen in one position. So I started researching the usual refurbished options, and then newer dynamic chairs too.

one that came up was the Lavenne R9 Pro, which is still on Kickstarter. It is supposed to adjust with you as you move around during the day. That makes sense to me because I do not sit perfectly upright all day. I lean forward, slump, recline between calls, then come back to typing. But it is still pre-launch, so I am not pretending it is proven. I would want warranty info and actual reviews first.

The bigger question is not really that specific chair. It is whether a home office chair should be treated like a serious household item if you use it more than almost anything else you own.

Where do you draw that line? What home office item was actually worth fighting the budget conversation for?

I moved into my apartment on 4/24 of this year. Because I work from home and didn't have internet yet, my first night actually staying there wasn't until the following Monday.

That very first night, I woke up to rain literally splattering on me from the windowsill. Water was coming in from outside. I immediately took photos and sent them to the leasing office.

Since then, they've had multiple professionals come out to inspect it. Eventually they told me they were submitting a repair quote for approval (around 6/10), but I haven't heard anything since. Throughout this whole process, I've had to repeatedly follow up just to get any movement.

I emailed them again today and I'm waiting for a response. The problem is that we're expecting heavy storms this weekend, and with the 4th of July holiday, I don't expect anything will get fixed before then.

At this point, is there anything I can do to get them to move faster? Would it be reasonable to ask for a rent credit or some other compensation since this issue has existed since essentially my first night living here? Has anyone dealt with something similar?

Hi so I’m 19 and this is my first ever apartment and I’m rooming with one of my best friends, overall we have a great time but there’s a couple things that cause friction. Mainly it’s that she’s very serious about locking the door which I 100% get and respect. My problem is I keep forgetting to lock it, it doesn’t happen everyday but it does happen probably at least once a week. I don’t know why, I’ve made a conscious effort to fix this issue but it’s like every now and then I just still forget if something’s on my mind or if something distracts me as I walk through the door. I’ve tried putting reminders on my phones. Even taped a sign on the door. I don’t know what else to do because I know I’m being a pos roommate not doing what she’s asked but I keep trying and I keep failing and I don’t know how to fix it.
Please help I’ll do anything atp.

Here's all tips i used successfully when i lived in a super hot roof apartment and was poor. Sorted by effectiveness, but you can ofc do some of them in parallel to speed things up.

Added bonus at the end: tips for outside/activities/staying happy and sane.

First we need to get the hot air out. Then we need to keep it out. Then we add extra comfort. Let's go.

- wait to night/evening when it's colder outside then inside.

- open all windows/doors

- use big towel or fan etc. to rotate the air around and out as much as possible (do it like sauna people air the sauna before Aufguss) with big windmill movements.

- keep all possible windows super wide open through night, block with furniture or tie them with rope etc. if necessary. Goal is efficient air flow through the apartment. That includes wide open doors everywhere you can, so air moves freely.

- when you wake up in the morning, first thing you do is close everything. If you suffer hard, it can even be worthwile to put an alarm to wake up at 6am or something so you close before things start heating up again outside. Do this process every day diligently.

- meanwhile also block all windows with blackout materials. Cheap examples: bedsheets, thick karton/paper, towels. Rettungsdecken (reflective side pointing to sun), blackout rollos or blackout curtains are even better, if you have some money. You can use painters tape etc. to fix things, or clamp stuff between window+frame when shutting it. Edit - some people mentioned that some windows may struggle if exposed to too much heat - i never had an issue, but maybe keep this in mind. Best may be to block the window from the outside.

- you can use water evaporation to your advantage to cool off additionally. You can also use this during the day. Make a bunch of towels/bedsheets wet, but wring them so you don't get a water mess. You can wrap them around yourself, use as a lap blanket, a shoulder/neck towel, and even use them as a sleep blanket or put between you and bedsheet. Some don't like this, i like it. Just make sure you don't get your matress too wet. You can also hang them around your place, e.g. on clotheslines, chairs etc. Keep in mind this will raise the humidity of the room over time, so it works best if you don't super overdo it, and have regular air circulation as recommended above. You can re-wet all your towels during the day as needed, if they dry quickly.

- You can fill a big bowl/container with cold water and put under your table etc, to put your feet in it. Nice cold foot bath. Feet + wrists + head/neck are where blood circulation is most effective to heat up/cool off. You can also try cold wraps for your arms/wrists or neck. General rule: It's easier to heat/cool a body, than to heat/cool an entire room. Same tip for winter, btw. Just reverse.

- if you have money, investing in a fan or an air conditioning system is the obvious possible addition/upgrade. You can also ask around, sometimes friends/offices have old stuff in their basement to borrow.

Now, basics covered. More tricks.

- you can fill water bottles 2/3rd with water and put them in your freezer. Don't make it too full and check it a few times, because water expands when freezing and can explode the bottle. When frozen, you put cold tap water on top. Now you have super cold water bottle with ice cube inside. Will also last a while, so you can carry it around through the day. Technically, cool water may be better than ice cold for temperature regulation, but i don't care, it's just satisfying.

- you can also freeze watery fruits like watermelon, grapes etc, for healthy cold snack and as replacement for ice cream.

- you are allowed to cold/luke-cold shower several times a day, or to fill your bath tub with cold water and give it a sit while you do other stuff. Nobody will arrest you. The water evaporation will feel good. You are also allowed to exist naked in your place.

- consider wearing clothes that are light colors and allow for good air flow. Yes i'm also a berlin goth person, but when it's 40 degrees you bet i'm wearing a white summer dress and maybe even a summer hat.

If you have the luxury of a balcony, here are some extra cool things you can do for super awesome fun time:

- there are hose attachments for kitchen/bathroom taps, and you can buy a hose+nozzle and make a rad outdoor shower. Also it's a cool hack for watering your plants inside+outside, if you have many plants like me.

- if your balcony is super big and super(!) stable (you want good support structure because this will add a lot of weight), you can consider putting a kiddie pool and filling it with the hose from your kitchen tap. It's awesome but be mindful of water hygiene and slowly adding/removing water, so nobody gets water damage.

- if your balcony is open, you may need an umbrella or a sun sail etc. for shadow. Finding creative ways to put a bit of shadow on your windows/house walls will also help so the sun doesn't blast onto your apartment as hard from the outside.

I am sure people will add cool ideas in the comments, and maybe i also forgot something so i might edit the post with more strategies.

If any of my tips helped you, i would be delighted about some positive feedback and affirmations. I am also happy to provide other guides for other topics, anything you need help with i probably have some good solutions/suggestions. Feel free to ask. If any topic gets a lot of requests, i might make a guide for that. I am autistic and problem solving is my special interest.

Greetings + Love from your friendly neighborhood advice person.

I've been trying to find a pillow that actually stays comfortable every single night, but it's been more frustrating than I expected. The first few nights usually feel great, then it seems like the support starts to disappear, and I end up waking up with a stiff neck or sore shoulders again.

Over the past year I've tried memory foam, down alternative, shredded foam, and even a couple of pillows that had thousands of positive reviews. Some felt too firm, others became flat after a while, and a few just slept much hotter than I expected.

For those who've finally found one that still feels comfortable night after night, what has your experience been like after using it for several months? Did it hold up as well as it did in the beginning, or did the comfort gradually change?

Hi, I was wondering if there were benefits to getting an in unit W/D versus buying my own? I found this:

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/lg-4-5-cu-ft-he-smart-front-load-washer-and-7-4-cu-ft-electric-dryer-washtower-with-steam-and-built-in-intelligence-graphite-steel/J7G564P4V2/sku/6451030?utm_source=feed&extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=14477200735&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14477200735&gbraid=0AAAAAD-ORIiDOlDhkktX_z-3ug8M2HHJS&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr4jSBhCSARIsAOX1E-I9W2HLddQ6VuF0YfqT4qwaeadSEX0YOkMyK3dVVnskTfFQ-R67-DAaAkXcEALw_wcB#tabbed-customerreviews

and figured it’d be great to have this instead. I’m looking for an apartment to move into next year and the extra cost per month will maybe not be worth it. it limits my options as well as I was strictly looking for in unit ones. Then I figured it’s best to just buy my own. I’m a single college student with a 9 month old child so I should be more practical about my priorities. My only issue is it’d be harder to gage the space to check if this can fit and on top of that, if I had the option to not have to hook plugs into the bathroom, that’d be better. What are some suggestions? My budget rent per month was 2500 a month in Brooklyn. I can lower that to 2k if I just buy my own W/D. I’m not working yet, but I plan on getting a job this month and will be saving until next year. I HAVE to get out of my parents house as it’s too toxic and not an environment I can thrive in at all so the option to wait and save isn’t much of an option, I have a year to save if I get a job soon so I’m relying on that. Any suggestions? (I get mandated $150 a week from her sperm donor)

I recently purchased a new 10,000 BTU GE air conditioner, it seems to be working good, but I’ve been using it for about two weeks now and it doesn’t seem to be making my room any less humid, I got a Hydro meter to see if I was just going crazy and the humidity seems to read between 65% and 75% pretty consistently. It’s definitely making the room cold it’s just the humidity. I have it pitched at a good angle and its be draining properly. I am almost afraid that the unit is too big for my room. Because when I do research on my issue, size of room to BTU amount seems to keep coming up. I was recommended to get a higher BTU unit because the room is in direct sunlight and on the second floor underneath an attic. I’m kind of stressing out because I don’t know what to do and I don’t wanna have to purchase a whole new unit after I just purchased this one. But I can’t keep ignoring how wet my room feels.

Would really appreciate any advice.

Hi everyone! I'm moving into a flex room with no closet in Aug, and I'm seeking advice on armoires/wardrobes/hanging rod ideas.

I'll have access to the coat closet in the living room, where I'll be putting coats, luggage, extra sheets, towels, etc. I also have a dresser for workout clothes, pajamas, and hoodies, etc., and under-the-bed storage for other personal items.

For the room itself, what do you recommend as a makeshift closet? I've been looking into armoires and wardrobe units, but they tend to have very little rod space and can be suuuuuper expensive. Does anyone have some they like or have used? There's lot of options on Wayfair, for example, but I wanna make sure I don't buy a piece of crap that'll fall over.

I don't love the look of free-floating rods/racks and think it can make the space look cluttered and small.... but could be convinced otherwise.

Thanks for the help!!

I just moved into a new apartment a few weeks ago and I absolutely love the new neighborhood. It's quiet, I never hear my neighbors, and this neighborhood is so safe that for the first time in a long time I feel like I can relax in my own home. There is only one issue I've had and up until now I've tried to be understanding. I have an elderly neighbor and there is a strong and pungent odor coming from their apartment that smells like urine REALLY bad. It fills the whole hallway and it has even been coming into my apartment. Because I have dogs I already had a large air purifier but even that hasn't helped much with the urine smell coming in. Maintenance came by today to replace the weather strip at the bottom of my front door that had holes in it so I'm hoping that'll reduce any of the smell coming in from the hallway and while they were here they told me the next door had MS. Again, I try to be understanding so I haven't met the neighbors or talked with them about it, I don't want to cause any issues at the new place, and all I want is to not have my apartment smell like urine. What can I do to combat the smell aside from what I already do? I use a heapets air purifier, I sweep/mop every other day, I just put a glade spray dispenser on the wall near the vent, I vacuum my bedroom floor and couch every few days, and so on. I mainly smell it in the kitchen which is near my hallway and sometimes in the living room.