Cleaning Up Student Digs

My daughter Megan is in her final year in University and lives in a shared house in Manchester.  As with most student housing, the landlord is more interested in taking the monthly rent cheque, than ensuring the comfort and safety of his tenants.  The house is old, poorly insulated and damp.  There is no double glazing or ventilation, so every time someone showers, cooks...or even breathes, condensation forms.

Recently I received a phone call from Meg in a state of utter disgust.  She decided to re-arrange her room and was horrified to discover that the wall behind her bed and wardrobe was covered in thick, black mould.  The damp in her room had saturated the wallpaper causing it to be a haven for fungus. Meg is asthmatic and has always been worse after sleeping in her room, clearly lying just inches away from the wall and breathing in mould and mildew spores isn't good for one's lungs.

Once the mould was discovered, Meg was able to don her rubber gloves and scrub at it with a bleach solution until it was virtually gone.  But the underlying problem of the damp room still existed.  The landlord told her to leave her window open all day...not the best advice given that their house has already been burgled through one of her housemate's open windows just a few weeks ago.

I do believe however that we may have a solution to the problem of dampness and condensation in her room.  As if by some cosmic action, timed to perfection, I was contacted to see if I wanted to try a Unibond Humidity Absorber.  I gratefully accepted the offer on behalf of my daughter in need!

Everyday activities can create up to 12 litres of unwanted moisture in the air each day.  In areas with poor circulation, this moisture condenses.  This leads to peeling wallpaper, mould and mildew, damp and increases allergens in the air.  The Unibond Humidity Absorber absorbs up to 30% of the excess moisture, converting it into a salty solution and neutralising odours and combating air borne allergens.  It uses a special 2 in 1 power tab that is placed into the top of the device.  Its active ingredients convert humidity into a solution that collects in the tank below and can be poured away easily.  One tab lasts for 6-8 weeks.

We were sent the large Humidity Absorber which is suitable for a room up to 20 metres squared.  It comes with two 450g power tabs.  A smaller version is available containing two 300g power tabs which is suitable for smaller rooms up to 10 metres squared.

The device itself is not an eye sore and can sit quite discreetly on a window sill doing its job, sucking the moisture out of the room.  It is a surprise to see water droplets forming within 24 hours and every drop in the tank is a drop that isn't causing dampness in Meg's room.  As a parent to a university student, I think this is a very reasonable method of combating the problem of a damp room.  Hopefully Meg will be able to sleep better and breathe easier in her room now.

The Large Humidity Absorber is £19.99, the small one is £13.99 with the refill tabs costing £9.99 and £7.99 respectively.

I received the product in order to do this review, but the opinions are all mine!

University Fees...Are They Worth It??

With University fees set to rise to £9000 a year, I've been thinking about how this will impact on my family.

A study of 500 middle income families taken by Edge, a charity that aims to raise awareness for vocational education, showed that 51% believed they would be unable to afford to send their child to university.  31% believed that higher education was not even worth the investment.

I have a 19 year old daughter who has just completed her second year at the University of Manchester where she studies Business and Marketing. Ian earns too much for her to get any financial help, but she gets a loan for tuition fees.  But we have to support her so she can live, eat, buy books and of course socialise!  It doesn't come cheap.  Ian may earn well on paper but in reality we have a mortgage, two cars, three dependant kids and a 22 year old who still needs financial help too, as he tries to make his own way in the world.  We are bled a little bit dry!  Yes, we are incredibly fortunate that Ian earns enough to support us all, but we are not by any stretch of the imagination 'rolling in it' after all the outgoings have gone out!

We don't get Family Tax Credits and our Child Benefit is going to stop if the government's proposals go ahead.  Our finances will be even tighter.  Yet when daughter number 2 goes to university we will be expected to foot even more cash to facilitate her education.  I hate to think of my kids starting their working life with a £30 grand debt.  What a weight to hang around their necks!

I'm glad that my children are attracted to the academic subjects studied at red brick unis.  If they are going to be saddled with debt I want them to at least get a respected degree that is translatable in the work place.  God help those parents whose kids study Lady Gaga or Klingon studies!  Hopefully with a fair wind behind them, my kids might even be able to get a job when they graduate and begin to pay off their awful debt!!!

To me though, the experience of going to university is about so much more than about getting an education.  I've seen Megan take on student life head on. It hasn't all been plain sailing, in fact there have been times when every fibre of my body has cried out for me to go collect her and bring her back to the safety and comfort of the family home.  Yet every problem she has overcome has equipped her with more coping mechanisms which will help her in the future.  It's been a steep learning curve but she has come through it all brilliantly, stronger, more resourceful and has had an incredible journey on the way.  She has found love...and learned so much about herself as an individual and as part of a couple.  Coming from a small market town in the country, the chance to live in a big city is priceless.  Meeting like-minded people, visiting new places, experiencing a diverse range of opportunities are things that money just can't buy.  University is stepping stone between the childhood home and being an independent grown-up, making the transition easier.

For those reasons, I think the fees are worth every penny.

You can't put a price on love.

Formal Balls at Fabulous Venues

Partying!

So when Megan finishes, Ella will be hot on her heels.  But I won't begrudge a penny of our expense.  My kids make me proud and I'll do everything I can to give them the best life possible...OK, this means no exotic holidays or designer clothes for me and Ian...but what's wrong with Centre Parcs and Primark anyhow!!!