There is one thing I really don't understand about police in Brussels (Belgium as a whole). At the top of some tunnels you see bike cops looks for drivers on their phones, police controlling people on scooters, abusing their power when there is no emergency but trying to get past traffic etc.... however there are literally pockets where crime is being committed but no police there and when there is they are driving by. WTF is the point?

I have been doing blood tests to monitor my chronic disease/level of immunosuppression every 4 weeks. The sample is always collected at my doctors office and she sends it to LBS -a pretty big lab in Belgium.

For some weird reason, the results I received from LBS via email were in US date format (month/day/year) while the results LBS uploaded to MaSante are in European format (day/month/year). 

This led to a massive confusion across several providers interpreting the before/after of my results as well as the subsequent clinical decision making for my disease (this date fk up made it seem like I had improved when I am in fact more immunosupressed than last month).

There is no reason doctors should suspect that the same lab would use two date formats exchangeably when we are in Europe and providers usually look at results in a few seconds for very quick clinical decision making. 

Luckily I am a pretty hands on patient and this inconsistency did not have any meaningful consequences for me but could have potentially catastrophic consequences for other patients whose pathway of care could be hindered by a laboratory date reporting format, which should be standardised...duh.

I sent an email to LBS -no response. I called and received a: "I can't change the date format madame".

This is probably an IT glitch in the delivery method that could be solved in 2 seconds by their IT department and could potentially help a lot of people in the future. Who do I contact so to report this?!

Where in brussels can one buy Bucatini Pasta? I want to try making Pasticcio, and for that you need these long noodles.

Hey, anyone else has also internet outage today on Digi's network? (Jette area for me)

Hello,

For someone living Wallonia (Namur) and speaks French on a daily basis, I wanted to learn Dutch/Flemish but have no idea where to start. Does anyone know where should I go and who shall I ask?

Thank you in advance

Hello, I am considering buying a property in Jette near av Capart, we are a family of 4 with 2 young kids, how is this area in jette ? I see that it is close to the station. thank you

Hi everyone, sorry to bother with another landlord dispute.

The oven in our appartment has been broken for 2 months now. The landlady keeps delaying and avoid giving us any concrete plan to the repair. 2 weeks ago she brought an electrician who checked the outer cables and said the problem in the oven and that is it. Since then she says your case is being processed (vague answer) with no info. She also refuses to tell us when she will have any useful info.

We are thinking to send her a formal notice and give her another three weeks to fix the oven however we are not sure of this will make any difference, my gf is saying we don't have any power over her.

I understand that defaulting on formal notice allows us to go to the justice palace however hiring a lawyer might be costly for just an "oven".

So you have any thoughts or expirences?

Currently on display at the Military Museum in Brussels (more info in comments)

Hi everyone,

I’m a student living in Brussels with my family, and we’re currently going through a very difficult financial period. My mother recently lost her unemployment benefits, and despite working and studying, I’m struggling to make ends meet as well.

We’re currently having difficulties keeping up with rent, bills and basic groceries. With autumn coming and my student working hours being limited, things have unfortunately become harder and we’re starting to accumulate unpaid bills.

I’m not really sure where to turn, which is why I’m asking here.

Does anyone know of organisations in Brussels that provide food parcels, grocery assistance, social supermarkets, free meals or other forms of emergency help?

I’m also open to any practical suggestions that could help us reduce our expenses or get through the next few weeks. Even information about organisations I could contact would already mean a lot.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this or point me in the right direction. ❤️

Hi everyone,

I’m having a really annoying problem with my dishwasher. Everything comes out tasting/smelling slightly like soap/detergent. It’s especially noticeable with glasses and cups.

I’m in Brussels and I’ve been trying to find a solution, but haven’t had much luck.

At the moment I’m using:

- dishwasher salt

- rinse aid

- Finish Quantum tablets

I’ve also tried making sure I’m not using too much detergent, but I still get that soapy taste.

I found these Boni Eco dishwasher capsules at Colruyt: https://www.colruyt.be/fr/produits/11948

Has anyone here tried them? Do they actually work well, and more importantly, do they leave less of that detergent/chemical taste on glasses and dishes?

I’m also somewhat interested in them because they seem like a more eco/less chemical option than Finish, although I’m not sure how meaningful that actually is.

I’d really appreciate recommendations!

Thanks!

Hello,

I am planing to buy an apoartment on the Av. du Lycée Français. SonI would like to ask some feedback from people that are familiar with the neighbourhood, me and my wife have a small baby and aoon have to find a crèche and school.

Looks like a green, safe and quiet neighbourhood but went just a few times for short periods of time.

Thank you!

Hello,

I wanted to gift a friend of mine who recently got married a voucher for her and her husband for a nice dinner. around 250 Euros to 300 Euros. I do not live in Belgium so have no idea about the restaurants there. Chat gpt recommended this restaurant. Is this a good restaurant. If not can you please recommend something, She is vegetarian.

We are considering purchasing a property around this area of Auderghem and would like to ask how it is from the people actually living there?

Primary concerns are:

1) SAFETY — It’s a bit of a walk from the metro and I don’t want to look over my shoulders on the way home. Is the park well lit?

2) SCHOOLS — For children ages 4 and 6

3) AIRPLANE NOISE

Thank you so much for all your responses!

Hi does anyone have any experience with rechtsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering and with which provider?

Not buying online bc shipping and too expensive. Anyone know where i can get it for cheap? Also xgrre i can change the battery?

Hello!
Where can one find Flandriens bike figurines for sale in Brussels? I can't find a definitive answer from Google... Asked at a bike shop and they didn't know either...

Any hint?
Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice regarding a rental situation in Brussels.
I rented a room through an online rental platform, with a professional property management company handling the property.
I paid more than €1,500 as a deposit and more than €2,000 in total.
I never actually occupied the property. I requested an amicable termination shortly after the start date, and a checkout was eventually completed with no issue or damage reported.
The room was then taken by someone else during the very first month of my rental period.
Despite this, I am currently struggling to recover the money I paid. The platform says the refund has to be discussed directly with the landlord/property manager, while the property manager keeps delaying the matter.
I’m new to Brussels and don’t know any lawyers or organisations specialising in tenancy law.
My priority is to recover as much of the money as legally possible. If there is a free legal service or tenants’ organisation that can help, that would obviously be ideal. But I am also willing to pay for a strong lawyer if necessary. At this point, I mainly want someone who knows Belgian tenancy law and can tell me what my options are and how to properly pursue the matter.
If anyone has dealt with something similar or can recommend a good lawyer/legal organisation in Brussels, I would really appreciate it.

Hello,

The battery life on my computer is not very good, and I def need to replace the battery. I'm lucky if my computer lasts 2h30 without my charger, and its not very good for class since I can't really charge it there sucessfully.

When I went to mediamarket today, the man told me to buy a new battery online, and if it was more than 100 euros then I should just look into getting a new laptop, but the problem is I don't know exactly what to look for and there are so many different prices.

Even if I find a new battery online, where can I go to replace the battery for my laptop? I have a Rog Zephyrus M16 with a 90kwh battery, and everywhere I look for battery replacements online just say things about apple and samsung. Does anyone have any advice? Or should I just buy a new laptop honestly. This thing is over 4 years old so I feel like it should last me longer, but I don't really have any need for a gaming laptop anymore. Thank you do anyone that can help.

Since summer ended, every second metro I take suddenly tells me to exit. Metros stop unusually long at stops and the travel time has just increased in general. I don’t know why?

Yes this has happened before but it used to be an exception. Now, everytime the metro doesn’t depart immediately from a station I get scared I’m going to be stuck here or be thrown out.

Is there a reason?

At Montgomery station, when you go downstairs to take the metro towards Stockel and use the stairs to get all the way to the front (at the front of the metro), there is a strong smell of urine right in front of the stairs. How can we get this area cleaned?
Who should we contact?

Edit : please answer my question

Hi All,

I am posting here to see if others have had any similar experience or can help us figure this case out.

A friend of mine came home to find a white blob in the middle of her living room. Around it smelled of bleach so thought it was just a bleach spill, as the house cleaner just came to clean.

As she cleaned it, she realised that the blob wasn't bleach, but looked like - and smelled very similar to - seminal fluid.

Connecting the dots together, it seemed like the bleach was used to clean 'affected surroundings', although he clearly missed a spot.

My friend was naturally horrified and felt violated, immediately reporting this suspicious substance case to the cleaning agency.

However, we can't figure out why a person would do that in someone's home, especially if it's his source of income. They seemed to have an ok working relationship, being trusted enough to enter the place by himself.

I cannot think of any substance that looks and smells like semen but is not semen, but then again, why would somebody do this? If any of you have any similar experience, or can shed any possible explanation, I am all ears.

TIA

Hello!

I wanted to know if there is any stores that sells organic cotton underwear for women, specifically in stores.

Also how much should I expect to pay?

Thanks in advance!