Study, student! Top 7 devices worth taking to your first rented apartment or dorm

If you or your suddenly grown-up child are about to study and live away from home, take a look at our selection of essential home appliances. While some items may not be necessary for a particular student, overall this is a carefully compiled list based on both testing and life experience. We'll tell you what appliances are worth choosing for those just starting out in their adult lives.

You wouldn't want to freeze in a new place in the off-season, and it's hard to predict how warm the home will be. We recommend paying attention to a convector, not an oil heater or a fan heater, as this is the most modern and relatively safe option for heaters. We'll cover safety aspects in detail!

The convector draws air through its body, which contains heating elements, and then directs it outward using special grilles. The heated air, according to the laws of physics, rises upward, which promotes natural circulation and ensures a soft and uniform increase in temperature in the room.

There is no point in talking about the efficiency of convectors — this is more of a marketing ploy. The efficiency of any heater directly depends on its power: how much electricity it consumes is the same amount of thermal energy it emits. However, our testing experience has shown important aspects of convector safety.

Modern «hedgehog» type heating elements and monolithic heating elements (as, for example, in the Redmond RCH-4537 and Electrolux ECH/A-1500 M convector heaters we tested) have several advantages over «stitch» type heating elements with nichrome threads, as in the Resanta OK-1500SN model, also tested in our laboratory.

«Any flammable object (paper, matches, cotton wool, etc.) that gets inside the stitch convector and comes into contact with the heating element can ignite in a matter of seconds. In this case, burning particles can fly out of the body along with the flow of warm air or fall through the lower grille of the convector,» our expert notes. «The user will have almost no chance to react to the situation in time. Most likely, he will find out about the problem only after the fire.» If you use a convector with a monolithic heating element, the user will have more time (minutes, not seconds) to react to the threat. He will be able to smell the burning smell and quickly turn off the device. This is especially important for those who are just starting an independent life and are not yet careful enough. In summary: choose a convector with a «hedgehog» type heating element.

If you do not iron your clothes, you can safely skip this step. However, for those who value the neat appearance of their wardrobe, it is worth paying attention to a handheld garment steamer. This compact device can replace an iron and ironing board, as it can be used to iron clothes directly on hangers. For large and complex areas, it is recommended to use a special thermal glove for the steamer, which protects the hand and serves as a mobile «board» for ironing.

With a handheld steamer, the problem of “have I turned off the iron” disappears: most modern models are equipped with a self-switching function and start only when properly fixed or when the steam button is pressed. For example, the Polaris PGS 2277C and Redmond RHS-6802 models we tested allow you to quickly refresh several items of clothing right before leaving the house.

If you don't have a compact vacuum cleaner in your rented accommodation, it's worth getting one: it's much easier to keep a small room tidy with such a device, and it's also easier to store. There are models with self-cleaning stations on the market, which, although they increase the cost of the vacuum cleaner, almost completely eliminate the need for its maintenance. In such devices, dust from the container and filters is automatically removed into a bag located in the base, as, for example, in the Dreame Z10 Station VPV17A and Polaris PVCSDC 2002 models we tested, which are equipped with two batteries.

In models with self-cleaning stations, you only need to change the dust bag in the base about once every two months (we recommend checking the manufacturer's website or marketplaces to see if there are suitable bags for the selected model). Of course, you can launch a robot vacuum cleaner in a dorm, but this will only suit those who are not used to throwing things around on the floor. However, if the robot gets stuck in your socks and prompts you to put things away, that's not bad either!

Most washing upright vacuum cleaners require a certain amount of effort to wash the dirty water container, mops and rotors, as well as general attention to hygiene, despite the presence of self-cleaning and drying systems. Whether the user has the desire and time for all this is a question that depends on their organization and household habits. Perhaps it is more important to be able to use an upright vacuum cleaner in regular and handheld configurations for cleaning furniture or a keyboard, collecting crumbs from a table, and so on. Some mop models, like the Jimmy HW10 Pro we tested, offer the ability to turn a large vacuum cleaner into a compact one.

The choice of a coffee machine depends on the budget and preferences of the user, but a device that can make morning coffee and pour it into a thermos is definitely worth having. It allows you to save money, since coffee from a cafe can be not only more expensive, but also not always tastier than coffee made at home.

For example, we tested the budget coffee machines Polaris PACM 2041SW and De’Longhi Magnifica S (ECAM 22.110.B) and were satisfied with their work. It is also worth paying attention to horn coffee makers, such as Lex LXCM 3502-1, suitable for beginners without strict requirements for coffee quality, or Redmond CM711, designed for more experienced users. We also tested these models and received positive results.

Why should you pay attention to a boiling water dispenser instead of a regular kettle? Firstly, a kettle is usually already present in any home, and we are discussing ways to improve everyday life and add conveniences to an apartment or room. A boiling water dispenser (although it is sometimes incorrectly called a thermos) allows you to boil a strictly defined amount of water and supply it directly to a cup. This is not only convenient, but also saves electricity, since it does not require boiling an excess amount of water. In addition, this eliminates the risk that the kettle will not turn off for some reason and will continue to dry boil.

For example, the Rawmid Modern RMK-01 and Redmond RTP-806 dispenser kettles (or flow heaters) tested in our laboratory with a large water tank can effectively replace traditional electric kettles, providing instant receipt of the required amount of warm or hot water.

These devices often have a built-in filter, and before buying it is worth understanding whether this is an advantage or a disadvantage for our «spherical student in a vacuum». Some will carefully change the filter, while others will simply ignore this task, which depends more on character than on age.

In inexpensive rental housing, it often happens that the stove, oven or hob are in poor condition, which makes their use undesirable or impossible. It is also common for gas appliances to be installed in the apartment, but the person prefers electric ones and does not want to deal with gas.

A single-burner induction cooker can be a great solution: it can be placed in any convenient place, it is compact and relatively safe (only the bottom of the cookware heats up). In addition, some models are equipped with useful automatic programs that make the cooking process easier for beginners. Any induction cooker allows you to set the desired power and cooking time, such as the convenient and compact Gemlux GL-IP20E1, tested in our lab.

Having a blender significantly increases a person's chances of not limiting themselves to sandwiches and occasionally preparing something healthy, be it vegetable sauce for pasta, cream soup or smoothie. In addition, some models come with a hermetically sealed travel cup with a «drinker», which makes it easy to prepare a smoothie and take it with you on a walk, to the university or the gym. A striking example is the Redmond RSB-M3427 model.

Having a blender significantly increases a person's chances of not limiting themselves to sandwiches and occasionally preparing something healthy, be it vegetable sauce for pasta, cream soup or smoothie. In addition, some models come with a hermetically sealed travel cup with a «drinker», which makes it easy to prepare a smoothie and take it with you on a walk, to the university or the gym. A striking example is the Redmond RSB-M3427 model.

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Moving away from your parents and starting an independent life is a significant event, full of joy and stress, so it is important to carefully arrange your life. In a new home, whether it is a rented room or a dormitory, our «candidate minimum» of household appliances will be very useful.