<p>DD and her friends lived off campus all of Junior year, and things went smoothly for the most part. Now, in their Senior year, in a new apartment, they are having a hard time dealing with the realty management company. One of the 2 bathrooms has flushing issues, and has to be constantly plunged. They have called, and asked for it to be fixed, and a guy has been sent over twice, he comes over, flushes, and says everything looks good, there is nothing to repair. So the 4 girls are essentially using 1 bathroom now. They just cannot get the mgmt. to take any notice. </p>
<p>My D asked me if they can just start sending in $50 less in rent, but that would probably violate the contract and they would then get late fees.</p>
<p>Greatlakes mom’s suggestion is a good one. There was also a thread a few months ago about some students who were facing eviction because the landlord wasn’t paying the mortgage. The thread had a lot of great links to landlord-tenant rights, etc. Its worth looking for.</p>
<p>Delicate question-- are the girls flushing sanitary products down the toilet? Some can’t handle that and they get stopped up. The girls might want to try to use a good, strong drain cleaner type product (one that is ok for use in toilets-- not all are) or get a plumbers snake and clean out the line. They might also check their lease to see if they can call a plumber themselves and subtract the cost of the repair from their rent. Good luck. Yuk. No fun.</p>
<p>I’ve had this problem with some tenants of mine in the past. They complain that the toilets have overflowed. Toilets are pretty simple devices. For the most part, they overflow because of too much toilet paper or throwing things down the toilet that don’t belong there.</p>
<p>My DD bought a good plunger and had to teach all the roommates how to use it and is amazed (she grew up on septic so we were careful) how every one else clogs the toilet and so does any company. Dd is constantly fixing the one and only bathroom- not sure how she got elected, but she is annoyed. I second Jym’s suggestions- they all need to discuss who is flushing what!!!</p>
<p>I’ve got to agree with DocT on this one. Most flushing problems in residential style toilets (other than low-set float resulting in low water level) or restricted vent pipe are the result of user overzealousness or occassionally the cheap 1.5 gallon retrofit toilet.</p>
<p>Have them take off the tank lid, and see if the water level is at or close to the fill line. If it needs adjustment, report it.</p>
<p>Don’t flush sanitary pads, tampons, small towels, roomie’s clothes.</p>
<p>The fluffy papers like Charmin tend to expand exponentially when wet. Large amounts are sure to clog, especially in the 1.5 gallon water saver models.</p>
<p>As they say, s**t happens. Buy a toilet plunger and a closet auger. The $25 expense is easier than waiting for the maintenance guy.</p>
<p>My father was an auto mechanic for years. When mom said there were issues with her vehicle, he’d tell her that the problem “lies with the nut that holds the steering wheel”. </p>
<p>Years ago I had this problem. Finally took the toilet out, and a sponge was wedged partially across the drain pipe. </p>
<p>They need to be more assertive with the plumbing guy when he comes. Or deliberately clog it (clean paper would be my suggestion) just before he comes. </p>
<p>Generally, any toilet will work better if a 5-gallon bucket of extremely hot water with a bit of detergent is poured into the toilet as it flushes. (Plunge first, then flush, then hot water.)</p>
<p>I would call the management company again and speak with someone about the problem. I don’t know if it is a flushing issue if the same girls are using the other toilet and it is fine. Are the two toilets the same kind? In our house we had a fancy toilet in one bathroom and it is the one toilet that gets clogged. But I will also note it only gets clogged when my son uses it. He used too much paper. We switched that toilet for another in the house. A plain jane Toto toilet. The Toto toilet works much better for that son and that bathroom. The fancy toilet has not clogged since it was moved to a bathroom used by another family member.
They might in the meantime try not putting any paper products down that toilet and see if that makes a difference.
My D rented a room in a house that was advertised as having a private bath. The toilet worked but the shower did not drain. She was not able to use it. She complained to the landlord and they kept telling her it would get fixed. They told her the girl who had rented it before her had been bulimic and would vomit in the shower. After 2 1/2 months and the shower not being fixed and having to share the other shower with 5 people my D moved out. She is now happily in another place with 2 baths for 4 people. From what she has heard from one of her old roommates is that the landlord 6 months later has still not fixed that shower.</p>
<p>Ahhh … our former residence, which we now rent to 4 guys has never had a septic issue in the almost two years of them living there.
Coincidence ? I don’t think so.
Having 3 woman and sometimes more in here usually meant a visit from a septic company a least twice a year.</p>
<p>As I did mention, there are 2 toilets, and only one of them has flushing issues. So, all four girls are using the other one. There is no misuse or abuse going on…</p>
<p>They do have a plunger, and have to plunge that particular toilet after every use, which is what is annoying. Landlords and management companies also have some responsibilities…</p>
<p>Interesting - I have a toilet in our house that my daughter is the exclusive user of… and it clogs probably three times a week. I had assumed it was too much paper on her part - but I think I will snake the vent and check the water level and see if that helps…</p>
<p>Intersting that Op mentions a service guy has been over twice, and that everything looks good, needs no repair; then adds that mgmt won’t take notice. What? You just told us a service guy has been there twice and everything was fine.
In Ohio there are specific measures one must take before withholding rent, and once those measures are taken then there are specific ways to withhold rent. Before you look into complaining “higher up” or to legal offices, I strongly urge you to ask tenants to take real care and real notice of what’s going down and how, as others here have said. The problem could very well be the tenants and not the equipment. I urge you to be very certain of eliminating possible tenant causes before going further.</p>
<p>It’s easy to blame landlord and fun; we all picture the cartoons of a guy in black with a long handlebar moustache. But in this case as other posters have pointed out there are far too many other possibilities to eliminate before it can be certain the landlord is to blame.</p>
<p>If you really eliminate the tenants habits’ as a problem perhaps they could call(or better email to get documentation) whoever they call for maintenance and propose hiring a second plumber(of their choosing). They could propose that if he finds a problem in toilet the maint man missed then mgmt company reimburse tenants to pay the bill. If second plumber finds no toilet problem, then tenants pay the bill.</p>
<p>True story- a tenant once called me on July 4 and HAD to have her toilet fixed that day. It had been working poorly for a week but she hadn’t reported it to me, she told me; but this day the family was coming in and she had to have a working toilet. So, giving it my best efforts, I found plumber willing to come to her aid that holiday. He dug out a toy firetruck stuck in the trap. “I wondered where that was” the woman exclaimed. That was a $200 service call, and it was the tenants’ bill not mine because of the cause of the clog.</p>
<p>Yea, people flush the darndest things down the toilet. My younger brother said that since he flushed a rubber duck of his baby daughter’s down the toilet, the toilet hasn’t been the same! Never understood why he did it & still don’t till this day!</p>
<p>Never could get a straight answer from him on that, but it has had me & hubby scratching our heads. He was in his late 30s when he did it a few years back–didn’t inquire as to his sobriety at the time of the flushing.</p>
<p>Yes choc, “Landlords and management companies also have some responsibilities…” (post 11). Generally they are responsible to keep a place habitable. And yes, that usually includes working toilets. Your quote indicates you just aren’t grasping that they are meeting their obligation- that their maint man was there- not once but twice- and found no problem- no need for repair either time. They have taken actions. They have tried. Twice! But found no problem. Do they have a responsibility? Yes. To fix a broken toilet? Yes. But they were there twice and it worked properly both times.
Some toilets work better than others, but that alone doesn’t make a toilet defective. Carefully do the checks others and I have suggested, then complain further if it is warranted. Further complaining about the landlord is not warranted -yet- imo, until further research is done.</p>