Tennants and plumbing issues

[Lavonn Traylor]

Hello,

I am the owner of a three unit apartment building. And, I have an ongoing issue with the tennants flushing improper items down the toilet (tampons, sanitary napkins, baby wipes ect.). This has caused the main sewer line to back up and flood the basement unit on multiple occasions. I have a pretty good idea of who is causing the issue. So, my question is, what can I do to address this issue with the tennant, is there any way I can pass the cost on to the tennant?

Thank you in advance,

LaVonn

[Karl B.]

Hi, LaVonn, I once asked a roto-rooter guy this question (he worked for a local company and mainly unclogged drains/pipes for a living) and he said he'd be able to figure it out (prior to unclogging it, of course) but he'd need to use his snake camera to locate where the clog is occurring. 

He told me it would cost around $200 or so to get the visual. I went with no (I paid $99 for him to clear the pipe) and haven't had any issues since (I think the clog came when some other guys did some work prior using high pressure water to unclog the washing machine drain pipe as well as the first floor kitchen sink drain which they said was full of years of sludge but I digress).

If this is a reoccurring issue I would find a roto-rooter guy who can get video of where the clog is coming from and have him document the location of the clog to show which unit the clog is coming from. Then pass the bill onto the tenant or evict them. 

You can also tell the tenants up front this is what will happen in the event of another clogged pipe and hopefully that will deter them from flushing things they shouldn't flush as if they think there's a chance you can narrow it down to where it's originating they might stop with the flushing of items.