February - March 2008
Dear RM,
I’ve had some kitchen sink backups at my high rise lately. Boy, are they bad! And the residents say it is my fault. Advice?
Swampfoot
Dear Swampfoot,
By “backups”, do you mean the water backs up when they run their faucet? Or does the water appear from nowhere when the faucet is not in use? The rule of thumb is that if the water does not drain when using the sink, then it is a unit’s line that is clogged. If water suddenly appears in the sink by itself, this generally is a common line blockage.
The first usually isn’t your responsibility (depending on your community’s policy). But a common line backup is your problem (as RM) and its damage becomes your liability.
What causes a common line blockage? It is most often caused by people using the sink as a garbage can. Food stuffs suddenly get lodged, catching more foodstuffs and eventually making a dam in the line. Then, each time someone above the clog uses their water, that water hits the dam and rises until it gets to the first opening: someone’s sink drain.
Water will ooze up from the depths, black as night and as foul as the sulfur pits of Hades! OK... maybe that is a bit overly dramatic but, believe me, that water is nasty! The result is a flood of disgusting water which often goes down into the units below as well.
There are steps you can take to lessen the risk of this occurring:
1) Professionally root your common area drain lines on a regular basis.
Do you have common area cleanouts? If you do, contract with a plumber
or drain cleaner to root your common lines. Make sure they are careful
to not crack the lines while are rooting or leave broken cables in the
line (which will cause, you guessed it, clogs and backups).
2) Educate your residents on proper drain care. Use bulletin board signs,
elevator notices, and newsletter articles to get the message across. Tell
them to use paper towels to absorb cooled oil from cookware in place of
pouring grease and oil down the sink. Have them throw food away in the
garbage, instead of always using their garbage disposal. Make sure they
run plenty of water before, during, and after grinding food in their disposal.
And get the point across to never put anything down the sink except water
and nothing in the toilet except toilet paper (this includes Kleenex!).
One more thing about backups: beware of plumbers and drain cleaners that
say they ran 25 feet of cable so it had to be a common line backup. Sometimes
a resident will get their gunky lines rooted and talk the plumber into
saying it was a common line problem (thus sticking you with the inflated
bill).
Remember the rule of thumb: if it backed up on its own and the water is
evil, it probably is a blocked common line. But if the water is relatively
clear and just won’t drain, then it most likely is their responsibility
to pay for drain line clearing.
Dear RM,
It seems that all I do is work! Sometimes I can’t take a decent lunch break and emergencies happen in my off time. Is this normal?
Weary and Resentful
Dear WAR,
You get to have lunch!?! And what do you mean by the expression, “off time”? That concept just does not compute with me.
If you want to have an easy job, this is not it! I’ve given a lot of thought about the stress and constant demands of being an RM. Let’s face it: at any moment an emergency can erupt.
Everyday there are a multitude of tasks that have to be completed. Every condo out there hungers for improvement.
Residents can be like vampires, sucking your life’s blood out of you. And your need for the education to progress in this field will never end.
I’ve often said that the difference between an employee and a manager is that, at work, the employee thinks about what he is going to do when he gets home. The manager, when home, thinks about what she needs to do at work.
You have to manage your time or you will burn out. Organize yourself once and you’ll never have to do it again. Go into each day with a plan of action for the items still hanging in the air.
Keep calm under pressure and your composure when under attack. And always regard your position with the utmost respect. You have a sacred duty to protect the lives and property of your residents. It will not be easy and it will require a heck of a lot of effort. Are you up for it?
