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Tenant Peeing in the P-Trap
Okay team, I landlord from afar (I'm in TX and property is in MN). I received a call from my tenant that there was a "strong sewer smell" coming from the upstairs shower drain. I had a plumber go investigate it. He charged me $170 for a 2 hour visit and here are the notes from the invoice...
"------- Plumbing investigated a sewer gas smell in the upstairs bathroom.
We didn't find any smell in the attic or when we removed the trim from
the shower. The sewer smell is very strong in the shower area which may
indicate that someone has used the shower as a rest room."
The smell still exists, I'm out $170, and I'm not sure how to approach the topic with the tenant.
Any thoughts on how best to proceed? Should I do a pass-through on the charge? Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
My leases say tenants are responsible for the first $50 of any service call. Without anything in your lease for guidance, the bill is a toss-up and depends on the relationship you have or want to have with your tenants. I'd probably pay it.
I'd have a conversation with the tenant reading the notes from the plumber. Don't make value judgements but try to understand the information together to ensure the problem doesn't come back.
Raj, thanks for the tip. I love the part about baking in the "$50 clause" into the lease. Something I will have to keep in mind for next time. I also appreciate the advice on approaching the topic with judgment reserved. Thanks!!!
Hire a real plumber to deal with your problem. Sounds like the last jackass took a guess just like youre still doing. Step 1. Find the problem. Step 2. Address the problem.......once you get past step 2, step 3 will be assigning blame.
I would guess someone took a dump that is stuck on something caught in the drain.
Your vent pipe might be clogged. Try snaking the vent pipe and pouring hot water down it or sticking a garden hose in it.
I can't imagine that peeing I'm the shower while taking a shower would cause that. Just my opinion but it doesn't sound like the plumber did a very good job.
The only way peeing in a drain could be a problem is if it was done without running water. If that's the case then the tenant is stupid and should pay the bill.
My lease states tenant is responsible for 100% of any issue or damage they cause.
Pour some baking soda over the drain and chase it down with white vinegar. That will help clean the drain and freshen up the place. Do this on a monthly basis. I can't imagine the problem persisting even if someone peed or pooped in the shower, unless something stuck in the drain line. I would question the skill of the plumber before passing blame on the tenant. But do talk to the tenant about the plumber's report to see if the tenant can shed some light on the matter and help you determine the root cause.
When I was a child, my friends and I made a little "play house" area in the attic and equipped it with a rug, chairs, and other household items. We used a bucket in a large crate as our bathroom. We pooped and peed in the bucket and left it there as we were naturally drawn to play outside when the weather got warmer. Imagine my poor father's surprise while working in his workshop in the room below as the temperatures outside rose into the 90s and our "toilet" baked in the heat. I sure heard about it, learned a lesson, and that was the end of our attic play house! One never knows!
Found another one but it had profanity. It read:
There are two types of people in the world. Those that pee in the shower and those that **** lie about it.
Excellent comments on here! Even a few laughs. Thanks everyone!!
I call shenanigans. There's no way a plumber could determine that someone is peeing while taking a shower by smell.
It's all pipes!
I'm confused here. Even if someone were to pee into a trap, you should not smell it with proper plumbing. The water should be water tight, the p trap stops the odor of sewer gasses, and it all goes down the drain to the same place. As someone who has done some DiY plumbing, I'm not following the explanation of your plumber.
I bet the tenant is married and just figured it was earlier than lifting the toilet seat. :-)
Sounds like possibly some good old junk build up in the shower drain pipe. Soap scum, hair, etc. builds up. The plumber should have fished out the clog. First they should see if the pipe is draining slow or not.
The plumber doesn't sound like they know anything. What did this plumber actually do for 170?? Not much!
