Not A Good Day...
By Jennifer
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
Valdosta, Georgia
February 3, 2013 10:33pm CST
My husband and I came home from picking up the kids from their grandma's house and there was water all over our bathroom and kitchen floors! We have been having problems with the drains and tonight was the last straw. We called a plumber at 8:30pm tonight to come out and empty the septic since it was way too full!
Unfortunately, we had to pay for it (almost my husband's whole darn paycheck) even though that is the landlords job but we will send him the bill and he can either pay us back or take it off the rent next month...The last time something went wrong in this house (the AC unit) we waited 3 weeks maybe more for him to actually get someone out here. We could NOT wait that long with this problem! I have not been able to wash dishes for the last couple days because the water would not go down, it has been terrible!
So, hopefully we will get the money back but we spent hours getting up all of the water that was flooded here tonight. 
Not the way we wanted to spend the night but oh well...such is life I suppose.
I am just glad I can do dishes tomorrow, the laundry, flush the toilets on a normal basis without it all over flowing again! 
Not the way we wanted to spend the night but oh well...such is life I suppose.
I am just glad I can do dishes tomorrow, the laundry, flush the toilets on a normal basis without it all over flowing again! 6 people like this
19 responses
@AJ1952Chats (2331)
• Anderson, Indiana
4 Feb 13
I don't want to pass judgment on your landlord without walking a mile in his shoes or, at least, knowing more of his personal situation. These are rough times, and many of us are struggling just to make ends meet.
However, he sounds quite a bit like a slumlord to me.
Either he's a slumlord who is taking advantage of others while driving around in a Cadillac, going out for steak and lobster at least once per week, being into a timeshare program, going on cruises, etc. or else he's struggling, too.
If he's struggling, too, perhaps the two of you can put your heads together and try to get help for both of you.
However, if he's a slumlord, I think it's time to take him into court and make him cough up the money he owes you!!!
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
He owns 30+ properties so trust me he is NOT struggling for money in this economy like the rest of us. He has plenty of money, living in a beautiful house with no money struggles at all...
He is very much a slumlord! He does not care about his properties or his tenants and that is awful!!
I'm hoping we don't have to take him to court but if we do...we will do it.
@AmbiePam (120533)
• United States
5 Feb 13
Oh, that has got to be a devastating feeling when you see the mess and have to think about cleaning it up. I remember coming home to my apartment one day and seeing a flow of water coming out of my kitchen into my living room. I had asked the complex multiple times to fix my kitchen sink. At random throughout the day my kitchen sink would back up and other people's food was come up the drain and overflow my sink. This time it went over my sink, all over the kitchen floor, and into my living room on my carpet. I was so angry.
1 person likes this
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
4 Feb 13
Yuk, that sounds awful! I hate when that stuff happens, although I never had a septic tank. I did have a small flood in my kitchen once and the landlord came out within 1/2 hour to fix it.
Did you guys let the landlord know this was happening before this so HE would have had to call the plumber?
I hope you get your money back soon.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
It was awful! Not what we wanted to come home to that is for sure... Ugh, your lucky to have a good landlord then. Ours is NOT good like that at all!
We did, but he said it would take weeks for anything to be done, just like with the AC unit. We did not want to wait that long so we just handled it ourselves. We could not live without showering, doing laundry, doing dishes, etc for weeks!
I hope we get our money back soon too! Thank you. =)
@bluerubymoon53 (3286)
• United States
4 Feb 13
That is an unacceptable condition for anyone to live in. Since that would be the responsibility of the landlord, I would have told the person you called out to bill it to the landlord. Make a copy of the bill, subtract it from the rent, and send the bill and difference to him.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
It is very unacceptable. We made a copy of the bill and we are keeping a copy and sending him the other one...
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
4 Feb 13
We own our house now.. so those types of things have to be covered by us.. and we don't always have the funds for it. Lucky you can still charge your landlord when things go wrong.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
I wish we owned our own home. Yes we can charge him for things like this BUT we also have had many problems with renting. This guy does not care about his property or his tenants. It took weeks to get our AC unit fixed in 100 degrees wtih 3 young kids! And if we did not pay for this it would have taken weeks as well to get it done!
@allknowing (153544)
• India
4 Feb 13
May be the saying:
"After the storm comes the calm, after the calm comes the sunshine"
aptly suits this situation?
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
4 Feb 13
If the landlord actually pays us back all will be better with this situation and if the plumber indeed emptied the septic tank than yes all will be well. =)
@allknowing (153544)
• India
4 Feb 13
Because you said:
I am just glad I can do dishes tomorrow, the laundry, flush the toilets on a normal basis without it all over flowing again!
and responded that way!
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
4 Feb 13
Haha! I get it now... Sorry getting really tired, went right over my head. 
Time for bed, I see that now...
Time for bed, I see that now...
@scorpiobabes (7225)
• United States
4 Feb 13
Oh that sounds nasty! That's terrible that your landlord is so cheap, but he would legally have been obligated to handle your problem immediately since plumbing takes precedent over air conditioning! I hope he doesn't give you a hard time about paying you back either!
At my family's last home, we had a septic tank and field. It was hard getting used to at first-we had to watch how often we used the bathroom, or how much water we used in the home. Plus you have to have it pumped periodically or else have a new tank installed every time it was full like my FIL did!
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
4 Feb 13
It was terrible! And nasty! We have not been able to flush (disgusting) for days, not been able to do dishes or laundry, not been able to take more than a 2 minute shower (or else it would overflow), it has been horrible! I could NOT imagine living with this for 3 weeks or more...
Well yeah the plumbing is more important but this landlord doesn't really care. And with the AC unit it was 100+ degrees and we have 3 young children so it was pretty important and he told us to sweat it out. Those were his exact words! Nice landlord, huh? Even the electric company cannot shut your electric off in summer and winter months with young kids in the house because they can get really sick either way being too hot or cold and our landlord just did not care at all!
So, we are just hoping he pays us back or takes it off the rent... Either way, we had to get it done because we know the landlord would not have done anything about it. Or he would have waited forever, we would have reported him and he would have kicked us out because he is a spiteful person like that...
Even the electric company cannot shut your electric off in summer and winter months with young kids in the house because they can get really sick either way being too hot or cold and our landlord just did not care at all!
So, we are just hoping he pays us back or takes it off the rent... Either way, we had to get it done because we know the landlord would not have done anything about it. Or he would have waited forever, we would have reported him and he would have kicked us out because he is a spiteful person like that...
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
4 Feb 13
Quite the mess...
That is part of the reason why I hate renting. You end up having to spend time and money on things that you wouldn't otherwise spend them on if you owned the place and had everything fixed up the way it should be. Yes, you can deduct it off the rent, but it can be a fight dealing with landlords who don't think that certain things need to be done.
I hate giving money to people to support their lifestyles--dining out every night, going on trips. None of the money goes into the upkeep of this place, despite the sizable rent checks we write every month.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
It was a huge mess! Not fun at all that's for sure.
I absolutely hate renting too, especially when we have a slumlord here! He does not care about his property or his tenants. All he cares about is the money. Most landlords are that way I guess...
Oh he will put up a fight but there is nothing we can do as long as we are in the financial status that we are in. Buying with our credit scores is not going to happen...
@angelkarah050182 (4980)
• Philippines
4 Feb 13
Let's hope that you'll get your money back. Well, getting up all the water from your kitchen and bathroom was really a hard work. Let's just be glad that your problem was over already. Just think that you won't have any problem washing the dishes, your laundry and flushing your toilets. It's a big relief.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
Yeah I really hope we can get our money back. It was hard work! It took us hours...Not fun at all.
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
4 Feb 13
I think those are the kind of problems that can ruin your day and temper
. I hope your landlord takes care of the bill although he can`t pay you for all the problems. I would have taken a picture of the "before" and "after" the plumber. I have had the experience that a photo does more than words many times as you have a proof of what happenened.
. I hope your landlord takes care of the bill although he can`t pay you for all the problems. I would have taken a picture of the "before" and "after" the plumber. I have had the experience that a photo does more than words many times as you have a proof of what happenened.@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
Yes my day was not a good one after coming home to a flood!! It was really bad and I am just hoping we get the money back... We should have taken pictures, never thought of it.
@jenny1015 (13359)
• Philippines
4 Feb 13
Now at least the trouble has been solved. It is also one problem that we encounter at my in laws' apartments. Tenants would be really calling us non stop for all the necessary fixing be done ASAP. Well, we would really want to help them right away, but sometimes, the help is not available right away. But we never let them wait that long. We always managed to pay whatever needs to be paid.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
Yes I am glad that is all over with! It was a huge mess. Our landlord is a horrible one, he does not care about his property or his tenants. We have called him for 3 things in a year's time, the stove went out, the AC unit and now the septic. All 3 things he has not wanted to fix! I cannot wait until we can get out of here!!
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
4 Feb 13
I'm sorry you have those problems. We had those problems at out other house. We had to have the septic guy come out 3 times in one year. Our landlady was and still is (with our new home) is SIL's mom. She paid $500 the first time and $300 the other two times. It was awful, so I can appreciate your feelings here.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
5 Feb 13
Thank you PQ. It was a MESS that is for sure! We paid $200 and that was more than enough. We were going to try to buy this place but more things keep breaking so it is not worth it!
@911Ricki (13588)
• Canada
8 Feb 13
We have this issue with our septic here, during the thaw out, or spring time. The downstairs toilet (mine), will bubble, and not go down. Sometimes we have to stop using it all together. Our septic is supposeable something wrong, but my parents would be in charge of paying it. They think they ahve to replace the entire septic system would would be about $50,000, so they pretend like there is no issues.
@randomarts09 (1405)
• Indonesia
28 Feb 13
Good to know all is well in the end. I hope something like that won’t happen again. It’s kind of a tiring way to spend a night. Well at least you can get your money back and all will be well, just hope it won’t happen again.
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
5 Feb 13
I hate plumbing problems. When they are all fixed though, it feels good. I hope the Landlord gets it in gear to pay you guys for having this done. I am so glad I do not rent, so if something gets delayed it is my fault. My daughter had her mainline back up from two directions two summers ago, while she was here on a visit. they ended up replacing flooring in one room.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
7 Feb 13
We have had something similar that happened at our house a couple years ago. Only in our situation it was that there was a huge clog in our plumbing between our drains and the sewer line that runs in front of our house.
I had gotten into the shower and took a nice, hot shower, then when I opened up the shower curtain, I was shocked to see that the bathroom floor was flooded. It was terrible to not be able to use the bathroom, shower or even wash our hands until we were able to get it straightened out, so I can definitely sympathize with you.
@bounce58 (17380)
• Canada
6 Feb 13
I think my neighbor must have gone through something similar. Or maybe even something worse!
When I came home yesterday, there was a restoration truck parked outside with a hose going up their house, and the machine turned on. It must have been sucking all of the water in their house too.
I'm glad that you had yours fixed!
@inertia4 (27978)
• United States
7 Feb 13
I am so glad I live here in the city. No septic tanks. Just a sewer system. I had no problems with any leaks except for the roof once. It came through and being I live on the top floor it was dripping into my apartment. It was not that bad. But I understand your frustration.
