Main line clogging
My brownstone main line gets backed up when paper towels or diapers or tampons goes down the toilet and then my main line gets backed up should my mainline be better at handling this or is there nothing I can do, and all brownstoners have this issue because main lines cannot handle these things
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
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xchx | 5 years and 11 months ago
mine is the same, i just ask the tenants not to flush anything other than TP and then we don’t have problems
dorkofwindsor | 5 years and 11 months ago
I just flushed a small Vespa successfully an hour ago so clearly its your pipes.
brucef | 5 years and 11 months ago
Waste line is blocked partially, or contains a section without proper slope. A four or five inch waste line should pass all the above with no problem. Tree roots, broken pipes, something way too large partially blocking? It’s hard to know what the particular problem is, but it shouldn’t be that temperamental. Oftentimes a spalding ball comes down a downspout, it’s usually something stupid, but eventually it will clog worse, and at that point you will have to scope or replace, or fix whatever is the “root” cause.
camp6ell | 5 years and 11 months ago
I should also say I managed 16 used tampons one time, so if you’re feeling lucky, go for it.
camp6ell | 5 years and 11 months ago
I use the below rules of thumb and never have any problems:
3 diapers or less at a time;
12 used tampons or less at a time;
No more than half a carton or 3/4 of a roll of paper towels at time.
Follow the above and you’ll be good!
broker | 5 years and 11 months ago
Put it in a Rider, discuss it at the Lease signing with the new Tenants, discuss it with the current Tenants and let them know the next time/s it happens they will be charged for it. You’ll get initial pushback, but this has worked well for our apartments. All non-stabilized. If it continues and you can determine the problem apartment – don’t renew their lease. It’s also helpful to let the Tenant/s know their lease will not be renewed if it does not stop. Generally it’s a specific apartment which is causing the problem.
mozeeatupu | 5 years and 11 months ago
> addendum to their lease and….whatever cost of the plumber will be passed onto the tenants as additional rent.
Not allowed to do either with stabilized tenants.
BKALLDAY | 5 years and 11 months ago
Send a straight forward but clear letter citing the problem along with an addendum to their lease and tell them if the line has to be cleared again whatever cost of the plumber will be passed onto the tenants as additional rent. Make sure they know it is in their best interests to keep the lines free of such debris.
calion | 5 years and 11 months ago
A while
ago we allowed a film shoot for a week in our 4 story brownstone. during the shoot they agreed to not use the toilets, but the wrap crew was a bit rough around the edges and flushed paper towels into them. After the basement cleanup (paid for by the production company) a plumber pointed out that the towels had backed up in the trap in the main line, just before it exits to the street. He showed me that the interior of that pipe was very rusty and pitted, and that had made it easier for the towels to catch. He recommended replacing the U-pipe (trap). Of course, even with a smooth trap, coarse material like towels, wipes etc. may get caught. But a rusty trap can definitely make things worse.
stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago
thank you Maggie O. that was my point about the story I told about the medical staff flushing the towels. until I put a stopper in the waste overflow and made it their problem, they did not care. its funny how these things work.
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
> @no-permitz
> Everyone knows not to flush any of these items
“know” and “care” don’t necessarily go together.
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
> @no-permitz
> Everyone knows not to flush any of these items
“know” and “care” don’t necessarily go together.
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
there are other countries where you can’t even flush toilet paper down the toilet… other things that you can’t put down the toilet – “FLUSHABLE” WIPES. seriously. don’t do it.
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
there are other countries where you can’t even flush toilet paper down the toilet… other things that you can’t put down the toilet – “FLUSHABLE” WIPES. seriously. don’t do it.
stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago
my wife tells me that in the country she comes from, some of those things mentioned can go down the commode. one of her petty complaints about living here.
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
@no-permitz I too thought it was a joke till I read about the nyc fat bergs https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/nyc-sewers-fight-against-fatbergs-psa
yudashasom | 5 years and 11 months ago
This has to be a joke. Everyone knows not to flush any of these items.
stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago
this reminds me of a story. we had a back up in a commercial building i managed. the clog caused the water to back up out the over flow, that pipe set just below floor level so if there was a clog it would not back up in the building. i myself clean the trap and found paper towels in the line from a medical facility located just above the pipes involved. when i spoke to the staff in the medical facility, they all denied throwing paper towels in the toilet. again, the pipe clogged and again they all denied putting the paper towels down the toilet. so i bought an expandable rubber pipe cap (not a “cap” as it sits inside) and i installed it, blocking off the overflow. the next time the clogged the line, the water rose up and through the floor drains and into the medical facility. I cleaned the trap and we had no more problems with clogging.
mistakes like this are the best way to learn.
Arkady | 5 years and 11 months ago
Those are all things that shouldn’t go in a toilet except the tampons. Even Kleenex isn’t good – it doesn’t flush the way toilet paper does.