4 Questions When Setting Up Your Apartment's Utilities

By Kylie Exline on May 21, 2016

The season has arrived for everyone everywhere to move out of an apartment just to move in somewhere else; or at least for most cases. This calls for packing, moving, boxes, and of course, utility setup. The joys.

Now, it is imperative to be aware of what this consists of for many reasons. There is Sunday football (cue cable), water for your much needed shower, and internet for your vital Netflix sesh later tonight.

To be informed on how to set these necessities up correctly, read some common questions below. But more importantly, take the responses to heart.

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What utilities?

This is an acceptable and commonplace question, so do not feel dumb in the slightest. Like they say, no question is a dumb question … depending.

Utilities usually consist of anything that is a meaningful feature to your apartment. So no, I am not talking about your built-in bar, although super useful and envious might I add.

This will most likely include electricity, water, gas, telephone and cable. If you want a “normal” living space, then I would highly advise for you to include all of the above. And make certain hot water is a thing because if not, guests will surely be rare and super annoyed.

You want to also make sure that you have your dates in order. This way, electricity will be turned on by your move-in date, and you will be aware of where to pick up your cable boxes. Nothing can be worse than having cold water for a solid week because you were unaware that you had to turn the “hot water” pipe on. *Guilty*

How will I know?

This answer is pretty straightforward. If you are moving into an apartment, then the front office should give you a sort of pamphlet of what to expect. This will contain your cable service information, your electric company and anything else that is important to have. So basically everything if keeping it simple.

For instance, some apartments come with a television, proper outlets, and all of the necessary equipment. This then means that your job is about 10 times easier and you should really thank them. Seriously.

Do not feel afraid to ask for some guided assistance or to call in someone whose profession is in utility setup. It is not expected that everyone be informed on how to put together a water heater unit so do not sweat it. May want to offer them an actual water or something though for their dedication and hard work. We appreciate you.

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What should I do?

This is equally as understandable of a question and completely allowed. Sometimes you should not do anything other than call the proper people to do the job for you.

The last thing we want is for someone to get electrocuted or to receive third degree burns while attempting to put hot water on in the shower. Not the best look … or feeling. (However, great story.)

You should prepare for when someone does fix the utilities and pay attention to any instructions being sent your way. You will regret not listening to how to restart your router and then internet users everywhere will be crying for … with you.

Instructions, please?

Most utilities will also provide us with instructions. Key is to actually follow them. No, this does not simply mean act like you read them and then either go with what feels right, or YouTube a “how-to” tutorial. Although double checking can never hurt.

Make sure you have the essentials and actually dedicate some time for the setup. Hate to break it to you, but I highly doubt everything will only take an hour. Better to know now.

Also, if you are trusting a friend to figure everything out for you, make sure they actually know what they are doing. It could turn out that you would have done a better job and then no one is happy. Sometimes paying someone is worth it.

When setting up utilities in an apartment, there is a lot that goes into it. You have to plan, prepare, and pay (sorry for the sad reminder, folks). Plus, you want to make sure you actually know what needs to be done/fixed.

Keep in contact with the apartment complex personnel, and ask any questions that you may have. Better to ask than go into it dark (literally, because you accidentally forgot to set up the electricity). Pretty sure things would not end great in that situation if being honest.

It is very normal to have various questions, concerns, and maybe even doubts. Just voice them. Also, try to do things properly so they are easy fixes. By the end of it, you can relax in a hot bath all while watching Netflix on your I-pad. What a win.

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