Do radiators need covers?

[Jennifer1570]

Hi: We are considering becoming Airbnb hosts. We have an antique home, small but nice.

We have a few old-fashioned big metal radiators. Some are fully enclosed in metal covers. But three have no covers at all. Does anyone know if we are required by have radiator covers on them before renting our house? 

Thank you. 

[Mark1412]

I don't know about airbnb but you might also want to check with your insurance company.

If you have a question and think that maybe it would be against the rules, then you probably should address the issue anyway. Always side on the side safety.

How much would it cost to have covers for those three radiators? I don't know much about radiators, but it sounds like an easy fix.

[Jennifer1570]

Thank you Mark. That's good advice.

[Susan151]

I don't have any radiator covers. I really dislike them, and they make it harder for the heat to heat the room! As for insurance? Pshaw.... insurance companies are not concerned in MA. We almost all have radiators. It is how my house has been heated for 115 years, and my house is the "new" one in this neighborhood.

[Jennifer1570]

Thanks Susan, that is good to know! 

[Robin4]

@Jennifer1570 

Jennifer I think the issue you need to consider....if it is breakable or abuseable, a guest will break or abuse it!!

Airbnb will have no policy on how you present items in your property but, it is a fact of life, insurance cover for rental properties is considerably more expensive than for non rentals, and it is that way for a reason.....people are less careful with things they don't own, and the insurance premium must compensate for the claim ratio.

I have made a point of carefully studying everything I supply in my listing cottage and I make every aspect as 'idiot-proof' as possible. I want to make it homely but deliberately remove anything I feel may require a bit of indecision on the part of the guest. The Air conditioining has a tamper-proof temp sensor and an off/on switch and that is it. I control all it's other functions by bluetooth from there. The toaster, the kettle, everything is of the simplest form. The fridge has the temp knob removed, taps are all mixers, the bathroom heater is run by a pnuematic timer switch like you used to see in building stairwells. Each push gives 10 minutes of heat and then you have to push it again. The barbeque gas cylinder is timer operated.

I understand you are proud of your antique environment but I would make a point of either covering or removing un-protected heaters....particularly if they are of the electric resistance element variety. 

There is an old saying, everything is subject to Murphy's Law.....what can go wrong, will! 

Cheers......Rob

[Jennifer1570]

Thank you Rob, that is all great advice and really helpful. Really appreciate the advice from those of you who have done this, it's all new to me. You have reminded me to buy an iron that turns itself off. And other things like that. 

[Susan151]

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@Robin4 wrote:

@Jennifer1570 

I understand you are proud of your antique environment

Cheers......Rob

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This maybe the funniest thing I have read today! Clearly, you are not familiar with steam or water pressure systems from the late 1800's-1940's. This has nothing to do with pride. This is how our houses are built.

Thanks for the giggle!

[Robin4]

@Susan151 

Susan, in different parts of the world we utilise alternate methods of both heating and cooling. 

I wasn't trying to be funny or silly with that comment Susan! Very few properties in Australia use hot water heating convectors of the type you are familiar with. Of course they are toally safe, when travelling overseas I have even used them to heat my backside after a day out.

In this part of the world the demand for 'space' heating is nowhere near as pressing as it is in your part of the world, and when I grew up, a room heater meant something like this...

You will appreciate resistance heating like this is highly dangerous if clothing is draped over it.

Susan, we called these metal radiators!

It was not up to me to interperet exactly what type of heating Jennifer was talking about in her antique fitted out home, just to give an observation based on my experience!

However I am glad you got a laugh out of it!

Cheers.....Rob

[Susan151]

@Robin4 

I didn't have time today to take "fresh" pictures of our radiators, so you are getting the images I used on my listing. The living room radiator does have a top so you can put books or knick-knacks on top, though they do get warm. The bedroom radiator is naked in all of its glory. This is the only radiator in the house that has been painted.

They are actually beautiful. Back in 1903, the castings had designs of vines, fruit, geometric patterns. Most places, they have been painted so often, the designs have been obscured.

To replace this sytem [and with what?] would require removing all of the exterior walls including the lathe, horsehair plaster, and in our case, insultation to run something new. I love the gentle heat of the cast iron radiators. They, well, radiate. No drastic changes of temperature like heat pumps, which I really dislike.

So, it isn't about pride. It is about practicality. How to heat a space in a northern climate that has 9 months of winter and wildly expensive electricity.

The things you posted are called space heaters here, and are only considered to be supplemental heat. They are very dangerous and it is almost impossible to buy something like that today.

And so we end my lesson in New England heat systems!  🙂

living room radiator- see the arrow?

AirBNB bedroom radiator– under the loft stairs

[Helen427]

Oh @Susan151  I couldn't agree more with what you have written about Heat Pumps.

Someone is making a tidy sum world-wide out of these systems.

There's lots of holes in Laws and people should look up what Property Laws that applied for the year and era their homes were built prior to rushing out and buying a heat pump to replace those wonderful practical radiators and Boilers that were designed to be economical and heat up water for showering/ cleaning and laundry use and to heat up one's homes , schools and hospitals.

The other thing to factor into account, is the potential, and likelihood, to develop moisture in the wall cavities when there's drilling of holes into outside walls to install not only Heat Pumps but also Cables and boxes to get the internet as there will now be a gap where those holes have been drilled.

What can and does develop between the walls and indoors is a nightmare to control .

May I suggest to others, keep an eye out on both the inside and outside for any discoloring and mould in and outside where these Modern Conveniences are installed, or where you may be advised to install them.  

@Jennifer1570  Did you end up covering your heaters?

[Mark116]

@Jennifer1570  I wouldn't think it's necessary. 

If you have radiators then it's either forced hot water or forced hot air, so no type of fire hazard or need to be covered for safety reasons.

[Jennifer1570]

Thank you Mark. My concern is someone getting burned if they bump into it. But yes, I had thought about fire too, as unlikely as it is with a radiator. Not sure it's hot enough to get burned if you bump into it but might be uncomforable. I would like to say no children here as it's not suitable for them for a variety of (mostly common) reasons.

[Rebecca181 · Accepted solution]

@Jennifer1570 Another couple of things to consider: Not sure if you are accepting children and/or pets or not at your place, but be aware that 'Infants' must be accepted (for free) at all Airbnb listings, even if you have checked off that your rental is not suitable for children. Also, service and 'emotional support' animals also must be accepted (for free). And the guest does not need to inform you they are bringing said infant or said service or support animal (although there is an 'infant' box that can be checked off when the booking is made - but some guests do not bother to do this, nor do they bother to inform the host they are bringing their little one - There is no box for checking off service or emotional support animal, either, last time I checked).

Now, a host's idea of what an 'infant' might be (unable to crawl; still sleeps in a basinette; still nursing; still wears teeny-tiny baby clothes; pre-verbal,  etc) may be very different from a guest's idea of an infant - especially if said guest is wanting to save a little money (because infant's get to stay for free). The same is true for service animals and 'emotional support' animals. You have to accept them, or you are in violation of Airbnb's (very questionable and controversial) anti-discrimination policy.

So, you might find that that nice couple who booked your place awhile back shows up on their arrival date with a two year old with them (staying for free on your dime) who they insist is still an 'infant'. Or, your guest might show up with a service dog or mini-horse, or an emotional support animal of some kind (dog, cat, chicken, goat, peacock, etc). You then have to decide if you will host them or try and have Airbnb cancel the reservation, which is unlikely to happen, as it will be seen by Airbnb as discrimination on your part. 

Given the above two possible scenarios (and you are likely to face one or both if you host long enough) it is therefore best to ensure your place is as child-proof and animal-proof as possible, (including the radiator) so as to limit any liability issues you might face were you to not do so. And do be aware that you really can't count on Airbnb's Host Protection Guarantee (just do a search on the HPG here in the forums and you'll see why). Therefore, in addition to child and animal proofing your rental, you will likely want to look into acquiring some sort of short term rental insurance coverage to protect yourself and your assets while renting out your home to strangers.

[Mark116]

@Rebecca181 

I thought it was that infants are 'free' as long as the host accepts them, not that you were mandated to take infants if you select that the space is not suitable.  I looked up the airbnb FAQ, which of course are totally contradictory and make no sense, the copy below appears to me to say both that infants are free and not counted as guests, and that sometimes the host count them as guests and charge, sooo typical:

Yes, children can travel on Airbnb, but some hosts have specified that their space may not be safe or suitable for children or infants.

Infants (children under 2 years old) aren't counted as guests when you're booking a reservation and don't incur any extra costs. Some hosts count children as guests, which can add an additional guest fee to the reservation.