Everything IN the kitchen sink!
By Amber
@AmbiePam (91779)
United States
October 22, 2007 6:50pm CST
I think I mentioned a couple times the trouble I had with my kitchen sink, how it would back up and crud from the people upstairs would come down into my sink. The apartment manager supposedly had it fixed once. They even left me a nifty work order to prove it. Today I come home and my kitchen sink was overflowing! Not just into my kitchen, but into my living room. I got a guy from the apartments there fast, and he brought his wet/dry vac with him. He called the plumber and I told him I was leaving, it was way to upsetting to watch. It rained heavy today, so they were tracking mud on my carpet too. I took my dog and left.
When I came back hours later, the water on the kitchen floor was gone. But not the food particles (we aren't supposed to put food down our sinks because there are no garbage disposals, but people do), or the dirt. Food I had in boxes on the kitchen counter were soaked and ruined. My living room carpet was partly soaked, and I was left to clean up the mess. Yes, dear friends, tears did fall. It was just a culmination of other things I guess.
So tell me about your overflowing toilets, kitchen sinks, sewer lines, whatever! I'm more upset because it costs so much to clean it up, what with the ruined food. Looks like I'm going back to Ramen noodles, LOL.
3 people like this
12 responses
@TripleS519 (206)
• United States
23 Oct 07
I lived in an apartment once where everytime you flush the toilet, it would overflow. They sent someone to fix it just so the next time it would do it again. Mold was growing in my carpet and all around the bathroom. It was so gross. They gave us free rent for a month, but it was so bad and they never fixed it that we just left. Wasn't worth the trouble. Now they are trying to get me to pay for carpet damages. LOL I couldn't believe that letter!
2 people like this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
24 Oct 07
Oh I am so sorry to hear about your sink problem. I know all too well about overflowing sinks/toilets/bathtubs.
We had such a bad set up before, that when I did laundry, water would back up into the bathtub and kitchen sink. And the toilet would always overflow out of the bathroom and into my childs closet and into the hall. Yech!!!Problem fixed, but still a memory not forgotten..
The plumbing problems I could tell you would give you nightmares. Then we have the ever popular,pipes under the kitchen sink is not insulated,so if it gets too cold, pipes burst..Fortunately that last one is going to be fixed before it gets that cold..
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
25 Oct 07
My husband did the work and trust me, plumbers earn it..
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (91779)
• United States
23 Oct 07
Thanks Terry. To top it all off, I guess I used too much cleaning agents in that small of a space because I was up all night with a migraine. Perhaps it was also stress. I haven't gotten rid of it yet, but I do feel better after I threw up so hard the blood vessels in my face broke. Sorry, that was probably too much information for this early in the morning. Despite taking my migraine medication that is supposed to be the thing that kicks the pain, nothing is helping. I feel like my head is exploding. I guess that will match the mess my kitchen sink made! I'm glad I can find some humor in this.
@AmbiePam (91779)
• United States
23 Oct 07
My headache is better now. After I had a couple run ins with my head in the toilet, I'm feeling slightly better. I actually fell asleep and it took the edge off of the migraine. I think I can live like this, because I was afraid I would have to go to the ER again. Last time I was there, the doctor insinuated I was faking my trips to the ER for my migraines. Yeah, because I love the shots in the rear, LOL.
@ElicBxn (63568)
• United States
23 Oct 07
A LONG time ago, back when I first moved in, the cable company came & dug up my yard &, it seems, nicked the sewer line.
The Live Oak in my yard discovered this &, in 20 years, grew as much as a normal one would grow in 40.
I had to have the plumbers come & replace the pipe - the root had grown up along the pipe filling it completely. The plumbers were so impressed, they had to take it back to their shop!
That cost a pretty penny.
Then, after the former roomie moved out my shower kept draining slow - like REALLY S-L-O-O-O-O-W.... The plumber came out and asked me if we were peeing in the shower. I told him, that before the former roomie moved out the door was left open & one of the cats peed in it. He said he'd seen urinals that weren't that bad!
Needless to say, that cat is watched & if caught using the drain - better than the floor! - it gets rinsed down afterward!
1 person likes this
@laurika (4532)
• United States
23 Oct 07
I am sorry to hear that Ambie, it had to be terrible.I would cry too.i hope at least there is someone who can help you to clean that mess a little bit.But what really amkes me mad how come they don't fix it for good?And also they should pay for your ruined food.this is just not fair.
Nothing like this happen to me, but to my aunt.She was paiting hear apartman and when she has already everything done and clean all the mess, she was all happy to have it finished.Next day she came from work and all the walls was mess up, becuase the neigbhours upstairs let run the washamchine, when they were not at home and it broke or something and water just started comeing to her apartman.Yes, there were tears too, she had to take another voaction to paind all the walls and not only that plus clean carpets, take all the humididy from the apartman.I was really sorry for her when I hear that.
@kiobug (2250)
• United States
23 Oct 07
I think thats ridiculous. If only someone could fix it all for you and replace your food. Im so sorry. Ive never had a sink or toilet overflow but our washer empties into a sink in our garage and one time that had an overflow and our garage floor was soaked. We, like a lot of people, have to tons of crap in our garage so it was a disaster. And once my dad tried to knock over a port-a-potty while I was in it. (He is a construction worker and I used to go to work with him sometimes and hang out.) But when you gotta pee you gotta pee.
1 person likes this
@Katlady2 (9904)
• United States
23 Oct 07
I think that someone should be held responsible for not only the mess made in your apartment, but for the destroyed food and the dirt all over the place. I'm so sorry you had to go through that hon. I would have cried too if it had been me in your shoes. The landlord needs to do something about his tenants upstairs from you, like tack on cleaning fees for the damage done to your place. I was lucky enough to get out of the apartment I had lived in when I first met my hubby. I had noticed an ever growing spot on the ceiling of the bathroom, right where the tub was in the apartment above mine. After I moved out, I had talked to the maintenance guy that worked there, since he always came in to where I worked. And he said that the tub from upstairs had actually fallen through the floor into my old apartment! Fortunately no one was home. But the upstairs tenants would let their little boy over fill the tub and get water all over the place, and it finally soaked the floor all the way through.
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
23 Oct 07
I have never heard of such a thing happening..it almost sounds like there is a flaw in the way the plumbing is set up. It sounds terrible and if I were you I would have cried too and then got really upset.
It seems the landlord ought to be responsible for cleanup and even reimburse you for some of your losses.
Have you contacted the health department? If this is a chronic problem ..they are not looking in the right place and it could result in medical problems.
You poor thing...wish I could help!
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (91779)
• United States
23 Oct 07
It never occurred to me that I could contact the health department. I'm kind of scared they would kick me out or something, and I have to live at this place until March when I'm allowed to look elsewhere. I had a migraine all night last night and I attribute it not just to stress, but from the smell of the cleaning materials I used. In such a small space the chemicals seemed to have caused me excrutiating pain via a migraine. I was up all night, but I do feel slightly better this morning.
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
23 Oct 07
I am so sorry to hear this. There should be something that your landlord can do to replace the things that you lost. After all, this was not your doing. I think that this is definitely one of those things that you should be praying about. It sounds so horrible. I will say a prayer for you too.
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
23 Oct 07
Hi AmbiePam,
I am so sorry that this happened to you sweetie. I honestly don't see how cleaning up should be your responsibility. I would be calling the Landlord and telling them what happened if it happened to me. I luckily haven't had a problem like that, and I really hope I never do either.
Love & Hugzz, Your Friend, PurpleTeddyBear xx
1 person likes this
@ChaJudLeoBit (1656)
• United States
27 Oct 07
I lived in an apartment once for a year, and in that time, I got flooded out 3 times. One time, the apartment upstairs had a clog in their drain. Somehow, it leaked out of the pipe and soaked my ceiling. Then I guess it just flowed down the wall and bubbled out in my kitchen and in teh bathroom. I told the maint guy and a plumber was called. But when the plumber sent his little snake through the pipe, he poked a hole in it. So the next time they took a shower, the water shot out of their pipe,and soaked the ceiling in my bathroom until it fell through. Dirty shower water went down the inside of the walls and flooded the kitchen, as well as my bathroom. A storage closet next to the bathroom was flooded and all the boxes stacked on the floor were soaked. We had to call and tell them to get out of the shower and they couldn't shower until the pipe was replaced. I had water seeping out in the kitchen and from the tiles in the bathroom wall for a few days!!
1 person likes this
