How to Make an Apartment More Comfortable

Why this happens

Apartments share walls, floors and ceilings with other homes, often have windows on one side only, and pack living, sleeping and working into a few rooms. That makes them prone to five problems: they are too hot or too cold, the air gets stale, noise travels, light is poor, and clutter builds up with nowhere to go. Fix the one that bothers you most first.

Fixes that cost nothing

• Temperature. Close curtains at dusk in winter and during the hottest part of the day in summer. Open windows on opposite sides to pull air through on warm evenings.
• Air. Open windows wide for ten to fifteen minutes morning and evening, and run the extractor fan when you cook and shower.
• Noise. Move the bed away from the wall the noise comes through, and put bookcases or wardrobes against shared walls.
• Light. Move furniture off the windows and move lamps into the dark corners.
• Clutter. Clear every flat surface for one evening and only put back what you use.

Low-cost fixes

• Draught seals on doors and windows: cheap, and they help with noise too.
• Thick or thermal curtains for winter evenings.
• A rug to warm the floor underfoot and cut echo.
• Warm-white bulbs of 2,700K to 3,000K in living areas.
• A heated throw to warm you rather than the room; see electric blanket vs space heater for the costs.

Products that can help

Each of these solves one of the five problems:

For air, an air purifier sized for the room helps once you have dealt with the source and ventilation; how to improve air quality explains, and best air purifiers for small apartments compares models.

When to ask your landlord or a professional

Report damp and mould that keep returning, windows that do not open or close properly, broken extractor fans and heating that does not work. These are usually the landlord's responsibility. If you smell gas, leave and call your gas emergency number at once.

A season-by-season routine

Winter. Close curtains at dusk, open them on sunny days, fit draught seals and heat the person with layers or a heated throw. Air rooms briefly twice a day to keep damp down; short, wide-open bursts lose less heat than a window left cracked all day.

Spring. Clean extractor fan grilles and air purifier filters. Check window seals and report any damp patches that appeared over winter.

Summer. Close curtains and blinds on sunny sides during the day. Open windows on opposite sides in the cool of the evening to pull air through. A fan aimed at you costs far less to run than air conditioning.

Autumn. Test heating early so repairs are done before the cold. Put out rugs and heavier throws, and swap to warm-white bulbs where you have cooler ones.

When one problem causes another

Closing everything to keep warm can trap damp; ventilating to fight damp can make rooms cold. The answer is short, regular airing rather than all or nothing, and extractor fans used every time you cook or shower.

Small comforts that add up

A doormat that actually traps dirt, a hook by the door for your keys, a chair where you can sit to put on shoes, and a lamp you can switch on from the entrance all make coming home easier. None cost much, and all solve a daily irritation.

The bottom line

Pick the one problem that bothers you most, try the free fixes for a week, then buy the one product that solves what is left. The home comfort guide brings all our comfort articles together.