Woman worried after 88 yo grandma’s room becomes ‘dangerously slippery’ due to downstairs neighbour’s aircon

SINGAPORE: A woman shared on social media that her grandmother’s room became ‘dangerously slippery’ because of the air conditioner from the neighbour downstairs.

Posting on Reddit’s ‘Ask Singapore’ forum on Thursday (Nov 14), the woman explained that her 88-year-old grandmother lives in an old HDB flat, and the unit downstairs has had various tenants over the years. 

However, this year, the new tenants have been turning their air conditioner so low that it gets very cold and condensation forms on the floor of her grandmother’s room, making it dangerously slippery. She pointed out that this issue has never occurred before in the decades her grandmother has lived there. 

“My grandma is not very fit and takes a long time to even walk a short distance,” she wrote. “Imagine getting out of the bed, slipping on water and being potentially injured.”

She also mentioned that her aunt tried to talk to the neighbours, but no one was home, and another relative made a complaint to the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

“I am not sure what exactly was communicated, but I heard that they [the HDB] would talk to the neighbour,” she said.

Seeking advice from the Reddit community, she wrote, “I am thinking of preparing a Christmas gift or CNY hamper and go knock on their door and ride on positive festive moods to talk the neighbour nicely. Any suggestions or advice to solve this issue?”

“Being nice is the better way forward”

In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor shared a similar experience. She said, “This happened to me as well a year or two ago. My floor would be so wet and it was truly a hazard as I slipped more than once. I went down to the neighbours to speak to them, but they were insistent it’s not possible and also hostile.”

Because of this, she contacted the HDB, which subsequently checked the neighbor’s unit. The HDB discovered that the air conditioner in the neighbour’s home was blowing directly towards the ceiling, which caused condensation to form and resulted in the wet floors upstairs. 

The HDB then advised her neighbours to adjust the air conditioning so that it blew downward, hoping to resolve the issue.

“Sometimes it worked, other times my floor would still be wet,” she said. “This went on for a year but I’ve realised that this year has been a bit better, probably because my dad had a 1-1 chat with them during a Grab ride by coincidence. I guess being nice is the better way forward.”

Others suggested alternative ways for her to deal with the slippery floor, as the HDB cannot fully solve her problem.

One Redditor said, “Sadly, hdb has no real bite to this. I kena this issue where my neighbour set their aircon at 16 deg and my wall is perpeturally wet 24/7 from the condensation, so bad that mould started growing on it.

“Only thing you can do is to mitigate the risks and clean as much as you can. Please consider getting in-house slippers or grip socks for your ah ma.”

Another commented, “Dehumidifiers, carpets, circulator fans, floor mats. Have encountered this problem for years and tried all sorts of government channels for assistance but it’s useless.”

In related news, another tenant took to social media last month to vent her frustrations about her difficult neighbours. 

In her post on Reddit, she revealed that her neighbours, who moved in three years ago, continuously burn strong incense in the hallway and were caught trimming parts of her mum’s plant.

Read more: Woman feels stressed because her neighbours continuously burn strong incense in the hallway and were caught trimming parts of her mum’s plant

Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)