Bad first impression of the UK

 
I have been in the UK for a week and I am wondering if I made a mistake. We moved due to my husbands job relocation. I have mantained a positive attitude during the entire relocation process but now that we are finally here things are not going well. We found a spacious house in the countryside with great access to the motorway. We love the village is beautiful, quiet and there are a lot of stores less than 5 minutes away. Coming from Florida we love the fact that we did not have to sacrifice space. The house looked better the day I visited it for the first time than the day we arrived. There was mold in both bathrooms and even in the closet. The cobwebs were everywhere. When we emquired about the lack of cleanliness they told us that that's the way old houses are. To top the situation the sink is clogged amonsgt other things. We had to hire a cleaning service that charged 150 pounds and stayed around only two hours. When they told me they were finished cleaning I had to walk around the house and asked them to complete the parts that they did not do. All I got was an I am sorry i completely forgot. I found mold in the curtains in the bathroom , washed them as the mold did not come out I discarded them. Having an allergy to mold I felt that was the right thing to do. So today I finally got a hold of the person responsible for the maintenance of the house and I get a telling off for discarding the mouldy curtains. Aparently I have to pay the cost of replacing them as well. I am so dispointed that I feel like thins was the wrong move for my family.Sadly enough I love the house and the garden but I have little tolerance for dirt.

I can totally understand why you were upset and I hope you are feeling better.

Mould and cobwebs are just how things are in the UK I'm afraid.  Especially if no one was in the house for a while.   

It sounds like your house may not have been lived in for a while.  We live in a newly renovated flat which had been empty for a few months before we moved in, and despite the new paint and fixings, we had some trouble with mold in the blinds and condensation on the windows.  Invest in a good dehumidifier, run it steadily for a few days until the house has dried out, then run it intermittently whenever things start to feel a bit damp.  That should keep the mold under control.  Remember that mold is not dirt; clean houses can get it too.  And above all, don't let this put you off living in the UK!  Dampness is just one aspect of this country, there are lots and lots of good things too.  It sounds like you've got a truly enviable situation, try to keep your eye on the positives whilst working out the negatives.  A week is no time at all.  I bet you'll find things you love about the UK really soon! 

Best way to combat mould is to get dehumidifiers & have a good clean with beach does require a bit of elbow grease. Like bookgrl said, it's just a fact of life in the UK especially in older homes.

Also, try to stay focused on the positives.  Not being in Florida= no more cockroaches the size of poodles.

Oh man, I'm sorry about the mould...

Having just lived somewhere with a horrible, horrible, damp and mould problem that didn't go away with anything I did (and it was all the right things) dehumidifier running 24/7, airing, and bleaching- and it was seriously impacting my health-  I say if you're allergic to it - you may wanna look at moving somewhere else.

However, yours may go away with bleaching- and making sure that you try and get the moisture out so that it doesn't linger -  Sometimes its just a lack of people in the place and sometimes, in my case, the property is appalling

You can see we've had lots of discussions on this topic as well!
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=41123.0
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=218.0
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=49404.0
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=53146.0
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=9178.0

Hugs, you're hitting the end of the week and its starting to become reality - and not just- a holiday- sometimes week 2 is the hardest of all after a move. Be kind to yourself

I'm sorry to hear the house is so badly  Is it possible to look at other housing? Moving is a pain but it'd probably be easier to move now from a repacking PoV than in a year. Are things okay otherwise? Where-abouts are you? Maybe someone on here can recommend a cleaning service that can do a better job for a more reasonable rate.

How are things going otherwise? Are you going to do anything touristy this upcoming Bank Holiday Weekend?

Mould is a health hazard and whoever you are renting from should reimburse you for the cost of the professional cleaning.  Old houses are more prone to damp and mould but this should be taken care of by the landlord or their agent unless they want to be sued when their tenants develop asthma as a result.

Hope everything goes more smoothly for you now.

Thanks everyone for the support. The house is feeling a bit better, i have being clening all week. The cleaning of the radiatiors is the most difficult but i think that it will get rid of the dusty smell in the home. The repair man was here all day yesterday and took care of a load of things, so now we are starting to feel more confortable. The bad news is that the moldy curtains that I discarded were made to fit by a company and now they want to charge me $1000 to replace them. They do not have the material in stock so even if I replace them they will not look the same and the owner will probably still be upset. What a terrible feeling...

Thanks everyone for the support. The house is feeling a bit better, i have being clening all week. The cleaning of the radiatiors is the most difficult but i think that it will get rid of the dusty smell in the home. The repair man was here all day yesterday and took care of a load of things, so now we are starting to feel more confortable. The bad news is that the moldy curtains that I discarded were made to fit by a company and now they want to charge me $1000 to replace them. They do not have the material in stock so even if I replace them they will not look the same and the owner will probably still be upset. What a terrible feeling...

I wouldn't worry about it too much, just get good quality curtains that fit the windows and your landlord probably wont care, he just wont want to replace them himself, I've done that before with various things, but yes, expensive lesson learned, never throw out anything on your inventory.
Mouldy curtains can be specially washed, old rugs can be cleaned. If you don't want it in your flat you should speak to your landlord about him putting it into storage.

I'm sorry to hear about the poor condition of the house. It's really hard to feel at home when you can't actually feel relaxed because the place you live is uncomfortable or in your case actively detrimental to your health. Don't let it taint the whole experience of living in the UK though. There are lots of interesting places, kind people and better accommodations when your lease on that place runs out to get involved with. Good luck!

If you have symptoms visit your doctor. Then you have medical records in case things go legal later on. Bargaining chip....