<p>We are starting our dorm shopping and we have some dorm-specific questions:</p>
<p>Do “over the door” hooks, etc. work with the doors in Riverside? </p>
<p>In the bathroom, are there any towel racks or hooks?</p>
<p>Is it true that you can’t use command strips for Riverside dorms? </p>
<p>Are there any shelves in the bedrooms or bedroom closets?</p>
<p>How big is the storage unit outside the dorm room?</p>
<p>Thanks for any information!!!</p>
<p>My D is in Riverside North and I believe they are similar. We were able to view her room/dorm during BB, and I have plenty of pictures. If you pm me your e-mail address I can e-mail you the pictures.<br>
I believe over the door hooks do work.
Couple of hooks in bathroom, but no towel racks. (again use over the door hooks)
No command strips only 4 small nail holes allowed… (hmmm, so silly)
Yes, shelving in bedroom closet. (I have a good picture of that)
No clue about storage unit, should of checked that out.
Good luck!!!</p>
<p>My D lived in Riverside West last year. She and all roomies used command strips. Is that a rule they told you (because apparently we were knew nothing about it). They also had over the door hooks on the bedroom doors and bathroom doors. She thumbed tacked several hockey jerseys to the wall.</p>
<p>JosieP: Sent you a PM. Would really appreciate any pics!</p>
<p>WhitLo: I know I read somewhere on the UA website about the no-Command strips for Riverside, but I was hoping that was very old information since these are very helpful and have come a long way recently with so many styles, sizes, etc. I will pack some thumbtacks, though!</p>
<p>The “no Command Strips” rule is current - it was contained in the newly printed materials that were sent to those living in the suite-style dorms a week or so ago, was mentioned at Bama Bound and is on the website.</p>
<p>Whitlo, did your D have any problem with wall damage when she removed the Command Strips last year?</p>
<p>The no Command Strip rule is new this year. It looks like Command Strips are allowed in the older dorms with cinder block walls, but in the newer dorms with sheet rock walls they would like the residents to stick with small nails.</p>
<p>Last year Command Strips were permitted – and in fact were the required means of hanging pictures in Lakeside. We used them on the walls of my daughter’s room in Lakeside West and when she moved out, removing the Command Strips in the manner that they are intended to be removed also removed the paint from the walls in fairly large chunks. Luckily there was no damage to the wall itself and her RA very kindly marked the room as being within acceptable condition upon check out. Small nail holes would have been far more friendly to the walls. Without question her walls will at least require touch up paint this summer.</p>
<p>The rule against Command Strips isn’t new this year, it’s just that it is more widely known. I remember looking at the “What to Pack” list two years ago and making a run for a large supply of 3M Command Strips. Then I found a bright orange sheet of paper in my D’s BB packet listing different communities where Command Strips were NOT allowed. Riverside, Lakeside, Ridgecrests and others were all on the list; however, the website had conflicting information. We called Housing who told us they weren’t allowed in specific communities although they are allowed in those with block walls. We spoke with the RA who told us they weren’t allowed, but that many people still used them. I also remember posting this information several months back and many responded in such a way that let me know that either they were not aware or chose to use them anyway.</p>
<p>I’ve used these in my home and I’m familiar with how to use them, but once I did have damage to the sheetrock. I’ve seen mixed results in the dorms as well. From what I’ve seen in the dorms the four hole rule seems to be more of a deterrent to keep people from going crazy hanging things and the damage caused by Command Strips seems to be worsened by humidity. I think if you use common sense with how much you hang and what size nails you use you’ll be fine. The point is not to damage the walls. Nail holes are much easier to fill than repairing sheetrock damage.
That’s just an observation and I obviously don’t have any authority to speak for Housing.</p>
<p>Our D is moving to an apartment this year and Command Strips are also prohibited there.</p>
<p>Speaking of humidity, have you experienced any issues with towels not drying quickly enough to avoid mildew?</p>
<p>Yes, bring a fan.</p>
<p>Some suites apparently have more of an issue with humidity than others or some just live with it. If your child has a problem with humidity in his/her suite, have them file a work order. Maintenance will install a small de-humidifier at no charge and hook it up to empty itself. We weren’t aware of this and purchased one at Lowe’s for $100 on our own. She had to manually empty hers and it literally collected several gallons of water every day during the warm season. We noticed a tremendous difference in her suite (no more damp feeling beanbag or stale feeling food). A few of her friends had one installed by maintenance and it worked well.</p>
<p>You will need a fan to avoid having towels sour and to air dry clothes. My daughter installed an over the door rack to hang wet towels and wash cloths before tossing them into her laundry basket. You won’t want to toss wet or damp towels into a laundry basket and leave them for days. Also, the dryers dry using extremely hot temperatures. If you don’t want certain items to shrink you’ll need to have a fan to air dry them. The dehumidifier she had also helped, but some may not find this necessary in their suite.</p>
<p>Thanks…so, they don’t hang wet towels in the bathroom?</p>
<p>Yes, you certainly can do that. The bathrooms in RCS have two towel bars if you choose to do that…just make sure they are hung and not tossed into a basket damp.</p>
<p>No – the command strips came right down with no damage. I had brought Goo Gone in case there was some residue but didn’t use it. But be careful when you pull on the removal strip – the plastic part gives way with a lot of force and I ended up with some bruised fingers.</p>
<p>*Speaking of humidity, have you experienced any issues with towels not drying quickly enough to avoid mildew?
*</p>
<p>I don’t know how things are in the older dorms, but the newer dorms on the north side of campus don’t feel humid at all. However, my kids have always taken their towels back to their room and hung them over their desk chair to dry while they’re in class. </p>
<p>A/c tends to prevent a lot of humidity in rooms.</p>
<p>No issues with humidity in my daughter’s suite in Lakeside West last year and she says she never heard of anyone in Lakeside West having any problems. As M2CK points out air conditioning is a big help in keeping the dorm rooms at a comfortable level humidity wise. She never took any special measures to make sure her towels dried either – they were just dry when she needed them. </p>
<p>We didn’t bring a fan for her room and she never asked for one. She was able to keep the room comfortable with her individual thermostat and the honors dorms are quiet enough that you don’t need a fan for white noise.</p>
<p>As I said, I’m not sure why some rooms in RCS have humidity problems, but they most assuredly did. Beanbags and bedding should’ t feel damp to the touch. I can speak for my D’s suite in the north tower and two other suites (not sure which tower) although I can’t speak for others. Yes, there is air conditioning in the buildings, but for some reason the humidity was in the 70’s without the dehumidifier. If your son/daughter’s suite feel has an issue, I wouldn’t hesitate to have them file a work order and they’ll install it for free.</p>
<p>We found a fan helpful both for drying clothing she didn’t want to machine dry and also for the white noise…just a matter of personal opinion I suppose.</p>
<p>I bought my son an over the door towel rack last year. His rack had two towel bars. I would post a link but I received a warning recently for posting a link to a commercial site.</p>
<p>Do we know what colors are in Riverside West? I’m thinking of the furniture in the common living area.</p>
<p>My daughter’s couch in Riverside West was eggplant purple. It was lovely. But I bet it hid dirt well.</p>
<p>DS 3rd floor suite also had the purple. DH told him he could go with a Lakers theme, son just rolled his eyes. Wonder what other color there may be.</p>
<p>Son’s roommate got to check out their room at Riverside West and it was also purple. I liked the dark brown that was in my room at Ridgecrest at orientation. Not sure what other colors they have but anything has to better than purple.</p>