My Life (Or Something Like It)

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Could Use Legal (Spiffy) and Plumbing (Anyone?) Advice

So, I'm getting really tired of the managment of our apartment complex. We've lived here for about 13 months, and enjoy it. It's relatively quiet, kept up pretty well, etc. However, we've had an ongoing problem with the neighbors downstairs complaining about water leaking down from our bathroom into theirs. Everytime the maintenance guys would come up to see what the problem was, they would just end up re-grouting (I think that's how you spell it, but I'm no handyman) parts of the bathtub tiles. They also replaced our water faucet. Well, that didn't fix the problem, so management decided that we must be splashing a bunch of water out of the tub during our showers and had the maintenance guys install shower guards. Now, my husband and I remained pretty silent through all of this, even though we know for a fact that we are not splashing out of the tub. We are 2 grown people who have figured out how to properly utilize a shower curtain. But now we have started to get pretty upset about the whole thing, because quite a bit of the vinyl flooring in our bathroom has started to turn a rather ugly grayish green, mostly between the toilet and the tub and in front of the sink. Mopping does not clean it, so we can only assume that there is mold growing under the vinyl. And then yesterday, all hell broke loose. When I came home from work, the bathroom floor was a mess. There were actually puddles of brownish water on the floor. Our bathmat was wet, as was the carpet outside of the bathroom. And the toilet, sink, tub, etc. were all acting like the water had been shut off (emitting brown water and spurting at first when we turned them on). We called the front office but it was too late for them to send anyone, so I just mopped the floor. But we made sure to take pictures first! Now I am sure that this water that was on the floor came out of the toilet tank. The towel that we have draped over the top of it was wet. But now the apartment management (who still insists that the whole problem is a result of us splashing out of the tub) says that the water was indeed shut off for a few hours on Friday, and that's probably the cause of the mess. Well, I don't know about any of you, but I've had my water shut off before and it did not cause the toilet tank to explode. There is obviously a bigger problem in our bathroom than they want to face, but today my husband told them that if they didn't send out a plumber (a real plumber, not just their inept maintenance men) then we would be sending a letter to the city about our mold and plumbing problems. Do we sound crazy to you, or do you too think that we are being given the run-around? All I know is, I'm ready to march down to the office and kick somebody's lying ass. And for those of you who know more about this than I, is there anything else we should be doing other than taking pictures and threatening to contact the city? And could there be another problem other than the toilet is screwed up? Just wondering...

Other than that, things are going well. It's Saturday, which is great. It's supposed to be 85 here today, and 90 tomorrow. That's a little warm even for me (one of those people who is always chilly), but at least our air conditioner works. For now. By the way Spiffy, I visited your wedding site. Very impressive! Looking forward to seeing you, Bill, Matt, and everyone else there.

2 Comments:

  • At 4:05 PM, Blogger Harry said…

    As Judge Marilyn Milian on The People's Court would say, "You got to take pictures. If you don't have photographs, how do you expect me to rule in your favor?"

    Now, I am truley sorry to hear about all the crappy wetness you are suffering through. But I can't help but laugh and wonder, is it National Poop Day or something?

    If it was me, I'd at least call a plumber or two, and see if they can offer any ideas over the phone. After working for years as a paint contractor, I doubt they will tell you much unless invited over, but at least it's worth a shot.

     
  • At 8:26 AM, Blogger flannel04 said…

    Thanks, Harry. And it's more like National Poop Year, I'd say! We are having a plumber come over today, actually. We threatened the office manager with the dreaded "m-word" (mold - everybody gets so freaked out about it these days out of fear of getting hit with a lawsuit). Hopefully they'll find something other than just the puddle on the floor that I splashed out of the shower this morning.

    P.S. For other visitors to my blog that would like to read something classy for a change, visit Harry's site. He has real talent.

     

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