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The Local _ Newcomers _ Moving to Sweden with a cat
Posted by: LightYear 19.Jan.2021, 10:34 AM
Hi everyone,
I have a question about "pet cleaning" cost in Sweden. My husband found a job in Stockholm and the employer will pay for our staying in temporary apartment till we rent something. But the big problem is that we are taking our cat with us. Suddenly a few days before flight they told us that we will have to pay 4000 SEK+25%VAT for "cleaning after the cat" 
I googled cleaning companies in Sweden and I see that prices for "moving out" cleaning are much cheaper than this.
So I wanted to ask, is this the normal price for Sweden? Because we stayed with a cat in different pet-friendly hotels/airbnb in other countries, but no one asked money for the pet (sometimes a small returnable deposit).
So I feel like we are being ripped off, and somehow I think it will not be the last time ...
Posted by: ChocOwl 19.Jan.2021, 10:47 AM
Hard to say if the price is reasonable without knowing how big the flat is... 30 square metres or 200 square metres... Also, is there some kind of supercleaning that removes all cat fluff and costs extra? That could explain the extra cost.
Note that Swedish residents can get a reduction on the price of cleaning via tax, which may included in the price you have seen online but not the price you have been quoted. Check info on RUT on skv.se for info on this. Perhaps you can suggest that you organise the cleaning yourself, and say which company you will use - then hope they agree to it.
Posted by: LightYear 19.Jan.2021, 11:15 AM
Hiring another company seems a good idea, I hope they accept it.
But still such price is strange, because apartment/suite will be definitely small, no more than 40-50 m2, maybe less. I googled about pet cleaning services in general, and it seems there's no special fancy methods for it, just the good vacuum cleaner.
It's just hard to believe that cleaning cat hair costs this much...well, we will see.
Posted by: TheExpatEagle 19.Jan.2021, 11:33 AM
But still such price is strange, because apartment/suite will be definitely small, no more than 40-50 m2, maybe less. I googled about pet cleaning services in general, and it seems there's no special fancy methods for it, just the good vacuum cleaner.
It's just hard to believe that cleaning cat hair costs this much...well, we will see.
It isn't about just cleaning cat hair. If the next tenant has severe allergies then they can get ill so the apartment will be cleaned professionally not just a quick hoovering. These companies professionally clean the entire place.
If that is the conditions the landlord puts in place you have 2 choices. Accept it or don't stay there. It's not your place it's theirs.
I'm a cat owner, I have 3 so I am not unfeeling to your situation I'm just explaining the situation.
You can ask the landlord if you can hire someone and the figure quoted seems about right for a cleaning company, but if they say no what can you do?
Posted by: LightYear 19.Jan.2021, 11:51 AM
I totally agree about allergy, but from another side - if the hotel/airbnb is pet-friendly, then people with severe allergies should avoid renting such places (I definitely would keep myself away). Because it's not possible to clean hotel room like an OR in hospital.
I just feel like I am being punished for having a pet. But I cannot just throw her on the street...
Posted by: Guest 19.Jan.2021, 11:55 AM
It's not just a normal clean, it's a clean deep enough to remove any cat hair, in case the next person is allergic.
Posted by: Guest 19.Jan.2021, 11:56 AM
Many many places do have a total pet ban. Many summer stugas have a cleaning fee of 2000kr even after just a week of use.
Posted by: LightYear 19.Jan.2021, 12:23 PM
yeah I've noticed it on blocket.se
Posted by: Grommet 19.Jan.2021, 12:44 PM
Sounds like a rip-off; quite usual in money-grubbing Sweden. And while the argument is regarding removal of "allergens", I highly doubt they will do anything that would actually be required to remove, say, cat dandruff.
In all likelihood, the cleaner(s) who actually does/do the work, will be underpaid immigrants, probably Thai, who will use the usual bucket of soap/water, broom/dust pan and a vacuum cleaner.
Posted by: ChocOwl 19.Jan.2021, 01:39 PM
If you really can't sort out the issue you could look for a kattpensionat but I suspect that would end up costing more than the cleaning and also be difficult for your cat
Posted by: LightYear 19.Jan.2021, 03:02 PM
In all likelihood, the cleaner(s) who actually does/do the work, will be underpaid immigrants, probably Thai, who will use the usual bucket of soap/water, broom/dust pan and a vacuum cleaner.
Yep, that's exactly my thinking.
It's like, cat hair scares them more than coronavirus and other infections altogether.
Posted by: LightYear 19.Jan.2021, 03:04 PM
True, it would be a huge stress for her. And for our wallets, too.
Posted by: Gamla Hälsingebock 19.Jan.2021, 04:11 PM
Good that you placed the cat...before your wallet...
Posted by: Guest 19.Jan.2021, 04:50 PM
When did you leave sweden? 1995? There are countless other nationalities that have made up the unskilled work force since then.
It's like, cat hair scares them more than coronavirus and other infections altogether.
No, it's just a responsible landlord, you can argue about the price, but they are doing the right thing. You can always rent elsewhere.
Posted by: Grommet 19.Jan.2021, 06:48 PM
Posted by: Guest 19.Jan.2021, 07:08 PM
Posted by: Grommet 19.Jan.2021, 07:15 PM
Oh, you mean those 12,000 undocumented young men that disappeared?
Posted by: TheExpatEagle 19.Jan.2021, 07:57 PM
Posted by: TheExpatEagle 19.Jan.2021, 08:01 PM
I just feel like I am being punished for having a pet. But I cannot just throw her on the street...
You are only being punished if you have no choice. You do have a choice.
On the contrary, it is pretty simple to clean a room to laboratory standards with an Ultraviolet C light and chemicals. After an hour or two all bacteria is killed and nothing will be alive in the room. The downside is if anyone is in the room during the time will will be burnt and blinded. The lamps are fairly cheap to buy but this isn't the point.
Posted by: Gamla Hälsingebock 19.Jan.2021, 08:53 PM
I think any country that has immigrants owes them nothing and being in a country other than your birth country is a privilege bestowed upon you by your new countrymen...it's an immigrants responsibility to become a decent citizen and not expect preferential treatment...
Posted by: Martin565 19.Jan.2021, 09:08 PM
Posted by: TheExpatEagle 20.Jan.2021, 12:22 AM
Posted by: ChocOwl 20.Jan.2021, 09:10 AM
It is potentially easier to clean coronavirus particles (which are thought to be relatively short-lived) than cat allergens. Anyone with a severe cat allergy could be in a very dangerous medical situation if they are told the apartment is allergy-friendly but it is not. You can't expect the outside world to be allergen-free but you should expect an apartment to be allergen-free if you have been told that it is.
Posted by: TheExpatEagle 20.Jan.2021, 05:23 PM
I'm a cat owner and I understand and accept the right of someone to not want animals in their car or property.
I've experienced the same with people who smoke and think if you simply open a window it's okay. This segways to something the OP may not know but the vast majority of people who smoke in Sweden so so outside. They either go onto their balcony or outside their front door to smoke.
The reason being when they come to leave the apartment if there is any smoke damage (yellowing of paint) or smell in the walls it has to be redecorated. The same for oil on the wall from people's heads in the bedroom.
There are very tight regulations on cleanliness unlike, say, the UK where when people move they leave it in a right state.
Posted by: Grommet 20.Jan.2021, 05:56 PM
Another strawman from Count Chockula.
Any person with a severe and dangerous cat allergy, would never ever move into any flat where the last person was a "cat person".
And anyone, with such an allergy, would be a moron not to inquire about the status of pets in the building they are moving into.
Although I could see a Sven or Gun-Britt not bothering to make that effort, to inform themself about the situation, and thereby end up hospitalised.
Posted by: Grommet 20.Jan.2021, 05:59 PM
As far as I understood, those countries you mention, do not parade themselves about as the most equal country in the world, and the world's self-proclaimed god given self-adoring "humanitarian superpower".
The Swedes are evil. A lying bunch of bloatedly self-indulgent robotic na?ve snowflakes.
Posted by: LightYear 20.Jan.2021, 06:45 PM
On the contrary, it is pretty simple to clean a room to laboratory standards with an Ultraviolet C light and chemicals.
Then someone else could have bad allergy for those cleaning chemicals. Happens quite often.
And nope, I don't have a choice.
Posted by: TheExpatEagle 20.Jan.2021, 07:59 PM
The Swedes are evil. A lying bunch of bloatedly self-indulgent robotic na?ve snowflakes.
Really? Thanks for you insight. I've not read those claims anywhere so you must have your own supply of leftover fake news.
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