The sewer system is clogged in an apartment building: what to do and who is to blame?

If you have a clogged sewer in an apartment building, then this problem must be solved quickly, otherwise the consequences can be disastrous. We will tell you who is to blame for this situation and what measures need to be taken, for example, to prevent the first floor from flooding. If such an unpleasant situation happened to you as flooding of an apartment with a sewer, then of course it is necessary to involve a responsible person in compensating for the damage, and you are obliged to compensate for the damage, in this article we will tell you how to proceed in order, how to assess the damage and defend your rights in court

Signs of clogged sewer pipes

The first sign of a clogged sewer pipe is the slow flow of water into the system. If you drain clean water and the situation does not change, this is a sure sign that it is necessary to take measures to clean the sewer.

The second sign is the spread of an unpleasant odor throughout the house. If you do not attach importance to this circumstance, you will soon be unable to do without calling the emergency housing and communal services service or the management company.

Does the housing office have the right to turn off water?

Read how to file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor against the management company here.

What to do if you are flooded by your neighbors, read the link:

Basic methods for clearing sewer clogs

Knowing the reasons why the sewer system becomes clogged facilitates the use of measures to eliminate them.

The most common ones are:

systematic audit of the sewer system. As a drastic solution, reconstruction of the sewerage system should be applied. It should be used in case of frequent blockages of the drainage system;
mechanical removal of blockage when a solid source forms in the sewer pipe;
cleaning sewer pipes with chemical solutions that destroy layers on the inner surface of the pipe.

How does clogged sewer pipes manifest?

Sewage in an apartment or house in the private sector is an important utility system. For residents of the house, it is important that the toilet works properly and that water drains quickly and without leaks from the bathtub or washing machine. If the riser or pipe in the apartment is clogged, the first signs of a problem will quickly appear.

Residents of the house will feel an unpleasant, pungent odor in the toilet area. This will indicate problems with the patency of the riser.
The fact that the toilet is clogged or the hydraulic valve is not working properly will be indicated by the cloudy water remaining in the toilet after flushing.
There may be an air lock or a buildup of fecal sediment inside the drain pipe connected to the toilet. In this case, the water from the tank will flow into the drain very slowly.

ATTENTION! When a drain is clogged, you cannot expect the blockage to go away on its own. The accumulations in the pipe will only increase, which will ultimately lead to flooding of your apartment and the premises underneath it.

When cloudy water appears in the toilet bowl,
it is necessary to clean the drain pipe .
In apartment buildings, it can be done by a home craftsman. To do this, he needs to remove the head of the fan pipe and remove the cover of the lower revision of the riser. Then, using a plumbing cable, you should break through the fan riser, removing all the debris from the audit. The next step is to restore the tightness of the sewer system section - to do this, you need to tighten the inspection cover tightly.

The work must be done with long rubber gloves to avoid getting dirty.

Problems in apartment sewerage wiring

If the apartment smells like sewage, then you need to determine whether the smell is present throughout the entire area, or just in the bathroom.
In the latter case, the cause of the stench lies in the plumbing of the apartment:

The appearance of leaks. If the bathroom drainage system is made of cast iron pipes, then perhaps a crack or fistula has formed in some place. This damage can occur in pipes embedded in the floor or wall, so it is often difficult to detect the location of the leak. Such invisible leaks are also possible in plastic pipes.
If the smell from the sewer in the apartment comes from the bathroom or kitchen, then it is necessary to check the connections of sinks, sinks and other plumbing fixtures for leaks (read also: “Why does the sewer smell in the bathroom, how to get rid of the smell”).
If it was not possible to find the leak, then the cause of the odor may lie in the siphons. There must be water present in their knee. If the device has not been used for a long time, the liquid may have dried out. If a drain plug was previously installed for debtors, the likelihood of drying out increases.
A common cause of sewer smell is improper operation of the ventilation system. For example, if the drain pipe is blocked, then the operation of the water seals is disrupted. Therefore, when a significant amount of water is discharged (for example, when flushing a toilet), a vacuum is formed, causing water to leave the siphons. In the absence of water plugs, unpleasant odors can easily penetrate into the room.
Clogged siphons can also cause a stench. Hair, grease, and soap particles can accumulate in the knee. This garbage begins to decompose and smell unpleasant.

Having found out why the unpleasant odor appeared, you can move on to eliminating it. So, what to do if your apartment smells like sewage?

The sewer is clogged: what to do?

If an emergency occurs, be sure to turn off the water and notify other residents that it is impossible to use the water supply and sewerage for some time until the problem is eliminated.

The most important thing is not to panic, but to calmly and rationally take steps to eliminate it. In order to avoid accidents in the house, residents must follow the rules for using sewer systems, and housing and communal services must maintain the system in working order.

How to present your demands?

First of all, you need to notify the emergency service about the fact of an emergency and the provision of services of inadequate quality. Call the emergency dispatch service and report the accident. According to paragraph 106 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354, the consumer must report to the emergency service about the fact of a violation of the quality of the utility service, while the dispatcher is obliged to register your appeal in the log, tell him the reason for the appeal, your address and full name, also ask under what number it was registered your request and specify the name of the dispatcher, write down this data, indicate the date and be sure to save it, they may be useful to you.

Next, we record everything on a photo and video camera, all the damage, the very cause of the damage, we invite witnesses, neighbors from the lower floor so that they can see the reason, we do not remove anything, and then you need to write an application to your management organization, with a requirement to draw up certificate of damage caused by poor-quality utility services.

Write an application in 2 copies, come to your management organization and give both copies to the employee receiving incoming requests so that he can familiarize himself with them. Your copy must be marked with the incoming number, the date of acceptance, or another mark of acceptance and the signature of the receiving person, a seal is required since the Criminal Code is a legal entity. Pick up your copy and save it.

Such a statement is written in free form, the header indicates to whom and from whom, indicate your telephone number for contact, describe the situation below and invite a representative of the management organization to draw up a report on the damage caused, put a date and signature on both copies.

Based on subparagraph “K”, paragraph 31 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354, the management organization is obliged to keep records of applications, complaints and other claims from consumers regarding the quality of public services. The management organization is obliged, within 3 days from the date of receipt of the complaint, to respond to the consumer and inform about the satisfaction of the requirements or refusal to satisfy them.

A representative of the management organization should contact you and agree on a time for conducting an inspection and drawing up a report on the damage caused.

On the appointed day, a representative of your management organization will come to you and together with him you will draw up a report, which will indicate the date and time of the inspection, the reason and the violations identified, and the report will also indicate all damage resulting from flooding, be very careful to the damaged things and indicate everything and do not leave out anything; for things that are not indicated in the first act, you will not be able to receive compensation, since the court most likely will not take them into account, since it will consider that you intentionally added them to the second act, for increasing the amount of damage. It’s just that sometimes it’s necessary to draw up a second act, since after a flood, traces can appear and shortcomings can be revealed for about 1 month.

If a representative of the management organization refuses to enter something, write down these things in your list, and when signing the act, write an addition to the act, write that the representative of the management organization refused to enter this list of things and you do not agree with this and list all the things that were not included . You see, if you do not enter these things and sign the act, then in court you will no longer prove anything, because there was no pressure on you and it turns out that you signed an act in which some things were not included voluntarily, which means you agree with this document. In a word, be careful and persistent, no one limits you in your rights.

Upon completion of drawing up the act, you sign it and a representative of the management organization also signs and gives you a signed copy with dates. If they give you some other papers to sign, read them carefully and do not sign any agreements, you must sign only the act.

An act is a document confirming that a specific case of violation of the quality of utility services occurred in your apartment, resulting in damage to your property. This is the main document you need, but now you need to assess the damage from flooding!

The smell of sewage throughout the entrance. The Criminal Code is inactive. What to do

1. Contact the Criminal Code in writing.

In your application, describe the reason for your request (there is a sewer smell in the entrance). Next, write the legal justification

By virtue of paragraph 2 and subparagraph “a” of paragraph 16 of the Rules and Standards for the Technical Operation of the Housing Stock No. 491, approved by Resolution of the State Construction Committee of the Russian Federation dated September 27, 2003 N 170 “On approval of the Rules and Standards for the Technical Operation of the Housing Stock” (hereinafter referred to as the Rules), proper maintenance of common property , including common areas, roofs, inter-apartment landings, stairs, load-bearing walls, floor slabs, basements, is provided by the owners of the premises by concluding a management agreement for an apartment building with a management organization - in accordance with Part 5 of Article 161 and Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

According to paragraph 10 of Rules No. 491, in an apartment building, the common property of the apartment building must be maintained in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, including legislation on technical regulation, which are enshrined in the Rules and Standards for the Technical Operation of the Housing Stock.

These Rules list what exactly should be included in the maintenance and maintenance of a house, regardless of the wishes of the owners of its individual premises and their inclusion of the relevant work and services in the contract with the management organization.

Clause 1.8 of the said Rules No. 170 establishes that the technical operation of the housing stock includes maintenance and repair of building structures and engineering systems of buildings, their inspections, preparation for seasonal operation, current and major repairs.

In accordance with subparagraph “c” of paragraph 5.8.3 of Rules N 170, housing maintenance organizations must ensure the elimination of leaks, leaks, blockages, blockages, defects due to sedimentary deformations of parts of the building or poor installation of sanitary systems and their shut-off and control valves , failures of hydraulic valves, hydraulic shocks (when air penetrates pipelines), burrs at pipe joints, defects in hydraulic valves of sanitary fixtures and leaks of joints in sewerage systems, freezing of sewer hoods, etc. on time.

According to clause 9.2. SanPiN 2.1.2.2645-10, 9.2. When operating residential premises, it is necessary to take timely measures to eliminate malfunctions of engineering and other equipment located in the residential premises (water supply, sewerage, ventilation, heating, waste disposal, elevator systems and others) that violate the sanitary and hygienic living conditions;

Based on the above, I request that the sewer leak be repaired IMMEDIATELY.”

Make the application in 2 copies: on one, let them put a mark of acceptance. the second one will remain with them.

2. Contact the administration (housing and communal services department) with a complaint about the inaction of the Criminal Code.

Attach a copy of the application to the Criminal Code with an acceptance mark.

3. Contact the Rospotrebnadzor office. Let them draw up a report stating that there is a sewer leak in your entrance.

What to do for prevention

Attention! To ensure that the sewer system in an apartment building does not become clogged, all apartment owners must adhere to the following rules:

Special meshes must be installed on the outlets of bathtubs, washbasins, shower stalls, and kitchen sinks. They prevent foreign objects from human activity from entering the sewer;
Sewerage should be used according to its intended purpose, and not as a garbage chute. Collect food waste and garbage in a special container (bucket with a lid);
Wash greasy dishes in hot water. This will prevent the formation of fatty plugs in the sewer riser;
Install the washing machine drain as far as possible from the riser. With each drain from the machine, soapy water will flush the entire sewer system installed inside the apartment;
When installing sewerage yourself inside an apartment, lay the pipes with a constant slope. Places with a counter-slope guarantee constant blockages.

What to do if your apartment is flooded by sewerage?

First of all, let's figure out who is responsible for the sewage system?

According to paragraph 5 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated N 491, the common property in an apartment building includes the in-house engineering drainage system, which consists of sewer outlets, fittings such as transitions, pipes, revisions, tees, crosses, risers, plugs, exhaust pipes, etc. P. The meaning here is clear, sewerage belongs to common property.

But why am I doing this?

Besides, someone must bear responsibility for the common property; all owners cannot now bear responsibility for it and everyone chip in a little to compensate for the damage, that would be absurd.

How to draw up an apartment flood report correctly?

If the neighbors flooded the apartment (a complete guide to action)

It all depends on the form of house management. Since, according to paragraph 42 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 491, responsibility for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building lies with the management organizations directly managing the apartment building.

That is, we come to the conclusion that if your apartment was flooded due to a clogged sewer, and this means only one thing, the management organization was negligent in its responsibilities for maintaining the common property in proper condition, then we make all claims against the management company, that is, with the organization, This is usually a legal entity that maintains your home. This can be either a standard management organization or an HOA or housing cooperative.

What if the apartment was flooded due to the fault of the management company?

The sewage system in your apartment is constantly clogged, are you tired of it?

10/09/2011 22:52 #4 Alexander Georgievich, Alexander An, thank you for the answers. Please specify what actions the “management company” should take if the yard sewerage system is clogged. They should solve this problem with “utility systems” by filing claims, contacting housing inspectorate, or, as a last resort, to court (after all, there have been 11 blockages since the beginning of the year)? The management company claims that the maximum “good” that can be done for us, in the event of a clogged yard sewer, is to drain the sewer into the basement so that the first apartments do not flood floors. The problem of drainage is divided into two parts: the area of responsibility of the management company (within the building), and then the area of responsibility of the “utility systems”? Reply with quotation
10.10.2011 00:52 #5 Message from the consumer + what actions should the “management company” take if the yard sewer is clogged.

of the Rules Management organizations and persons providing services and performing work in the direct management of an apartment building are responsible to the owners of the premises for violation of their obligations and are responsible for the proper maintenance of common property in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and the contract; - in accordance with clause 4.1.15 Decree of the State Construction Committee of the Russian Federation dated September 27, 2003 N 170 “On approval of the Rules and Standards for the Technical Operation of Housing Stock” Flooding of basements and technical subfloors due to malfunctions and leaks from engineering equipment is not allowed. At that time, the basement was not flooded, but the soil was saturated with dampness, there was a vile smell, and in places the sandy floor was covered in areas of up to several square meters with a thick layer of swarming worms. However, we need to work. At that time, we were no longer beginners—the quality of the plumbing fixtures installed by our craftsmen significantly exceeded the national average. However, we certainly didn’t have the kind of experience we have now; we also didn’t really delve into theory - we tried to do the job a little better than others, and that suited us (as well as our clients) quite well. After a few days, the basement was unrecognizable - everything was clean and tidy, the unpleasant smell had disappeared, new communications had been laid. And just as we finished re-routing the sewer, another emergency blockage occurred (later it turned out that one of the residents had stuffed a hefty plastic bag into the toilet, and it’s more than likely that this was done on purpose).

Causes of blockage in the public sewer system

The reasons can be very different, they can be grouped according to the following characteristics:

wear of pipes or the use of unacceptably small diameters. Everything here is more or less clear. In this case, blockages will occur very often until the communication system is brought to working condition;
violation of laying technology. In particular, incorrect installation of pipe slopes. If the slope was small - simple, then blockages will occur periodically. The optimal degree of slope is considered to be raising the pipe by 2 cm for each meter of pipe;
Improper installation of the toilet can also increase the incidence of blockages. The use of cement during installation provokes a decrease in the diameter of the pipe, which will certainly lead to blockage;
leaky sewerage system. The entire system is designed to be self-cleaning. When a large object, say a rag, gets in, the following actions occur: it passes along the vertical riser unhindered, but as soon as it hits the horizontal pipes, its movement slows down and it blocks all passages. But immediately the water pressure begins to increase, under its action the ill-fated rag will jump out of the pipe like a cork from a champagne bottle, performing the function of a brush (collecting debris along the way). All this happens if the sewer system is well sealed. Otherwise, the rag will get stuck in the pipe for a long time;
The most common cause of blockages is residents’ careless attitude towards communications. As a result, solid household waste, rags, cellophane, papers, etc. enter the system. Which accordingly leads to an accident.

How to remove a blockage

So, the sewer riser is clogged, what should you do? You can resolve the issue yourself, or contact the management company. There will most likely be a fee for contacting the management company, although different situations are possible. There are two types of self-cleaning:

mechanical;
chemical.

You need to break through the blockage with your own hands using special tools:

plunger;
plumbing cable.

A plunger is effective only when there is a blockage in the water seal of sinks, bathtubs or toilets. If the problem lies in horizontal pipes, a cable should be used. Mechanical cleaning methods are no less effective than chemical ones, but you have to work with a cable blindly and at random, and chemical agents fill the entire internal volume of the pipe right up to the blockage and dissolve it. Some people use various “folk” remedies - vinegar, etc. This should not be done as the harsh chemicals can destroy the cast iron riser or basement line pipes. You need to use certified products, which are abundant in stores. Typically, the cleaning composition is poured into the sink or toilet and left for a certain period of time to act on the clog.

You may also find it useful: How to clean a drain and clear a blockage with your own hands

If it turns out that the problem lies in the vertical riser, it is best to contact the management company to receive qualified assistance.

Preventive measures

To reduce the need to contact a plumber, you should follow simple rules for using the toilet.

You cannot throw paper (except toilet paper) or construction waste into it.
Food waste, which can swell in water and create an obstacle to the drainage flow, is also prohibited.
The toilet must be installed by a competent and experienced plumber who knows at what angle the pipes are attached and how long they should be. Water from the toilet should drain freely and quickly.
An experienced, competent plumber should clean the sewer not only in the basement, entrance, but also in the apartment, if the blockage is complex. The result of improper cleaning work can be an accident that affects the entire entrance and even the house. Specialists have professional equipment that will clean the pipes from the inside, ensuring they have the necessary permeability.

Most often, the cause of a sewerage break is a careless, irresponsible attitude towards it on the part of the residents of an apartment building.

To avoid the problems described above, you should be careful and use plumbing fixtures only for their intended purpose .

How to assess damage from flooding in an apartment?

You need to involve an expert who specializes in assessing damage after floods and fires, as well as housing assessments and housing inspections.

Such a specialist has the necessary qualifications and must have a diploma, a license to conduct appraisals, and such an expert must also be on the register of appraisers. Check everything differently, if he does not have documents, then the court will not accept such an examination.

The appraiser will set a date for the inspection, also invite a representative of the management organization to the date of the inspection by telegram 3 days before the inspection, this is a mandatory condition, neglect of which may have a bad effect on the results of your examination in court, it may be challenged, and this is the appointment of a forensic examination which is very expensive worth it and the costs may fall on you.

The most important thing is to notify the management organization by telegram with a notification. As a result, you should have in your hands a notification that the telegram has been delivered to the addressee, a receipt for payment for the telegram and a copy of the telegram. You notified the defendant, and whether he comes or not is his business.

On the appointed day, the expert will arrive at your apartment and draw up a report that will include all repair damage and damaged items, furniture, appliances, etc. The expert will definitely take photographs of everything, you will sign the report and then the expert will go to prepare a conclusion, the so-called report, which will contain the total amount that will be needed to bring your apartment to the condition it was in before the flood, as well as the cost of all damaged things.

Next, this examination is transferred to you in paper and electronic form and you can already begin actions to recover the amount of damage from the management organization.

It will not be possible to go to court right away; the pre-trial procedure for resolving the dispute, the so-called claim procedure, must be followed; it consists of sending a claim to the management organization with a demand for compensation for damage and a copy of the examination is attached to the claim to justify the amount of damage you require.

You can submit the claim in person to the management organization; your copy must be marked with acceptance and the date; keep your copy with the marks.

Or you can send your claim to the management organization by registered mail with a list of attachments and acknowledgment of receipt. We also attach a copy of the report to the claim and indicate in the inventory that the envelope contains the claim and the report. Later, you will receive a notification in the mail that the claim has been served on the management company.

If within 10 days from the receipt of your claim you have not been contacted and offered a solution to the problem, then you have the right to sue the management organization and recover from it the amount of damage in court, as well as a fine of 50% of the amount that the court will award in your favor, as well as a penalty for all days of delay in fulfilling your demand.

You can draw up a statement of claim yourself, attach to it all copies of statements and claims that you sent to the management organization, attach all checks confirming the sending of telegrams and mail, attach notifications and inventory, attach all checks confirming the costs of preparing for the case, attach a copy of the examination , an act drawn up by the management organization and other evidence of the fact of damage, including photos and video materials.

Of course, your chances of winning are very good, but if you do not understand the legal intricacies of the issue, then it is best to seek help from a lawyer, of course this is not free, but the lawyer has experience in handling cases in court and will help you avoid mistakes that could affect for the total amount of damage, besides, you will not need to appear in court, a lawyer will do everything for you.

I hope the article was useful to you and you learned a lot of useful things for yourself, and I wish you good luck!

Types of sewer blockages

Important! Before you begin to eliminate a sewer pipe failure in an apartment building, you should understand what types of blockages there are:

operational. Appear as a result of long-term operation of the sewer system. The causes of clogging are the accumulation of microscopic particles on the walls of the pipe. A sign is the slow flow of wastewater from the toilet, bathroom, kitchen into the sewer pipe;
mechanical. They appear as a result of foreign objects entering the sewer pipe. They create an obstacle to the movement of wastewater through the drainage system. Elimination is possible by dismantling the old pipe and installing a new one;
technological. The first is violations during construction. Pipes of smaller diameter than necessary were installed. The second is the wear and tear of sewer pipes;
siphon. The sewer system is equipped in such a way that there is always water in the siphons, which prevents odors from the system from entering the home. For various reasons, these elements of the sewer system become clogged and stop passing wastewater. Cleaning or replacing the siphon will clear the clogged sewer pipe.

Thus, having established the cause of a sewer blockage in an apartment building, you can begin to eliminate the emergency situation.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

Where to go and who is to blame

applications to the Prosecutor's Office against the management company due to frequent sewer blockages free of charge in word format

Depending on the emergency situation in the sewer system of an apartment building, you should seek help from the appropriate services:

the toilet is clogged, the drain pipe has burst, the interfloor sewer riser does not allow waste water to pass through, waste is flooding the basement or the first floors of a residential building - you should immediately contact the housing maintenance office or management company to dispatch a locksmith on duty;
if wastewater begins to pour onto the surface through sewer wells, you should call Vodokanal, since this is their service area;
If sewage floods the floor of a residential building, emergency services of utility companies should be called. Telephone numbers are indicated on utility bills.

You should know that passively waiting for a team of specialists to arrive is not welcome. An accident can cause more damage if you don’t do anything yourself.

Therefore, each apartment owner who has discovered signs of an emergency with the sewerage system is obliged to warn other residents about the danger that has arisen and take measures to stop the water supply.

If the sewer is constantly clogged, the reason for this is:

negligent attitude of utility services to inspections and cleaning of sewer pipes;
the use of sewerage as a garbage chute by individual residents of a residential building.

Finding the culprits and conducting investigations into the causes of sewer blockage in an apartment building can take a long time.

ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application to the Prosecutor's Office against the management company due to frequent sewer blockages:

Watch the video. The sewer is clogged, how to clear it:

How to write an application to the Criminal Code

Good afternoon. Our entrance smells like sewerage, how do I write an application to the Criminal Code?

Where is the State Housing Inspectorate?

"Housing and Communal Services and Energy Management"

“Prosecutor’s office” - (select the desired institution)

Zip code, city, street, house, apartment

under Article 7.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses “Violation of standards for providing the population with public utilities”

In accordance with paragraph 31 of the Rules for the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings adopted by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on May 23, 2006 No. 307, an organization providing utility services to consumers is obliged, independently or with the involvement of other persons, to carry out maintenance of in-house engineering systems , with the use of which utility services are provided to the consumer, as well as recalculate the amount of payment for utility services, including in connection with the provision of utility services of inadequate quality and (or) with interruptions exceeding the permissible duration.

In accordance with Article 154 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, payment for residential premises includes payment for the maintenance and current repairs of common property in an apartment building, as well as payment for utilities.

In this regard, the implementation of work to eliminate this violation does not require additional financing from the owner.

Article 5 of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 26, 1994 No. 1086 “On the state housing inspection in the Russian Federation” states: “state housing inspection bodies monitor compliance with the standard level and regime for providing the population with utilities (heating, electricity, water, gas supply etc.)".

In addition, in accordance with Article 28.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor's Office has the right to initiate proceedings for any administrative offense.

Clause 149 of the Rules establishes that the contractor, the organization providing utility services, bears responsibility for violations of the quality of provision of utility services to the consumer, including administrative responsibility.

Violation by persons responsible for the provision of utility services of the standards for providing the population with utility services constitutes an administrative offense, liability for which is provided for in Article 7.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

In connection with the above, on the basis of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 26, 1994 No. 1086 “On the State Housing Inspectorate in the Russian Federation”, the Federal Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation”, the Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation”, I ask:

— organize an on-site verification of the stated facts;

— eliminate the cause of the malfunction;

— issue an order to carry out the necessary measures and work to eliminate the violation and carry out recalculation, set deadlines for their implementation;

— initiate administrative proceedings under Article 7.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, identify the perpetrators and bring them to administrative responsibility.

This is a rough guide and you will need to adjust it to suit your situation. The last points can be removed (as well as some in the text of the complaint itself) and only elimination can be left if the complaint is sent only to the Criminal Code.

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Where to go if you have problems with sewerage?

It is important to know who to contact if there are breaks or clogged sewer pipes or toilets.

If there is a clog in the toilet or a pipe in the bathroom has burst and the first floor is flooding, you should call the plumbing installers of the housing department or another management organization.
Sewage wells are serviced by the city water utility. Its specialists must service the yard drainage system.
There are also emergency services. You can turn to them when you manage to clog your neighbor’s pipe and he floods several apartments. Such services respond to calls in case of emergency.
Telephone numbers of dispatch services that carry out sewer repairs and cleaning must be on receipts for utility bills.

ATTENTION! If in an emergency it is difficult to find the dispatcher’s phone number, you can dial the hotline number operating under the city administration or the rescue service. There you should provide the contact information you are interested in.

Before the arrival of the masters, you should also follow a certain algorithm. If liquid appears on the ground floor from sewer pipes or in the apartments above, in the basement, it is advisable to warn other residents and turn off the water for a while.

Topic: regular flooding of the basement with sewerage.

It is YOU who have no interest in this. YOU can only be interested in one thing: that services are provided to YOU with high quality, in this particular case, so that the basement does not flood. HOW exactly the Contractor will do this is not of interest to YOU at all. Will he agree with the “utility systems”, or the entire composition of the management organization, headed by the general director, will quickly begin to scoop up crap from the basement - you don’t care... You still read the article. 401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - there will be less unnecessary worries. Message from consumer+ The management company states that the maximum “good” that can be done for us, in the event of a clogged yard sewer, is to drain the sewer into the basement so that the first floor apartments do not flood. HOW exactly does it state? If the UO declares such nonsense in writing, then they will get themselves another fine - already under Art. 14.8 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. This is in addition to the fine under Art. 7.22 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Causes of blockage and their consequences

Attention! The following causes clogging of the sewer system:

during the construction process, the requirements for installing sewer pipes of the required diameter were violated. That is, the system was installed from pipes of smaller diameter than provided for in the project;
ordinary wear of pipes as a result of long-term use;
horizontal sections of the sewer main were laid in violation of technology. That is, the slope at the rate of two centimeters for each meter of pipe was not observed;
During the installation of the toilet, the solution narrowed the drain, as a result of which the passage of wastewater will be difficult. And this, in turn, will contribute to the systematic clogging of the sewerage system in the apartment;
violation of the installation of sewer pipes, as a result of which the requirements for tightness of connections are not met. As a result, various debris can enter the sewer system, which will clog the pipe;
the formation of build-up and deposits as a result of the discharge of fats from dishwashers and kitchen sinks into the drain. Over a long period of operation, such waste constantly accumulates on the walls of the pipes, solidifies and crystallizes. The diameter of the sewer pipe constantly narrows and at a certain time stops passing discharges.

The main reason why sewer clogs occur in an apartment building is the negligence of the residents. The sewer system is designed in such a way that wastewater is discharged through risers from each apartment to the lower part of the house. Subsequently, they move into large-diameter pipelines, which are pumped to treatment plants.

The use of the sewer system as a garbage chute by individual careless residents leads to the fact that it becomes clogged with various rags, household waste, and personal hygiene products.

If the blockage is minor, utility services will deal with it quickly enough. However, it happens that sewage floods the basements of houses and then overflows into the local area. In such cases, the residents of the first floor suffer the most.

If a sewer blockage occurs in an apartment, the wastewater will begin to rise up the riser. As a result, it will begin to flow out of toilets, bathtubs, washbasins and flood the surface of the floors of the apartment.

It will take some time to clear the blockage. However, this will be enough for the wastewater to fill the entire apartment with an unpleasant odor and render the flooring and furniture unusable. And as a result, there is a need for a major renovation of the apartment, replacement of furniture and other unforeseen expenses.

Cleaning methods

When your drain becomes clogged, you should call utility services immediately. Among them there are private, paid ones, which guarantee a high speed of solving the problem. If the blockage is small, you can remove it yourself using several methods:

Hydrodynamic cleaning is one of the most effective, in which deposits are washed away with high pressure of water. For this purpose, special units are used that create pressure up to 200 bar. This installation is capable of removing even old fat layers, firmly stuck debris, scale and dirt.
Mechanical cleaning - the use of various tools to remove blockages, such as steel wire, cable, spirals.
Pneumatic cleaning is a blow of compressed air at high speed, as a result of which the garbage plug is torn into small particles and washed out of the sewer.
Chemical cleaning is carried out by using various chemicals to break down dirt. You can do it at home by pouring or pouring the product into the clogged pipe.
You can prepare cleaning products yourself from available ingredients. These can be saline, soda solutions, citric acid, Coca-Cola and more. In serious cases, when wastewater is gushing out of the toilet or washbasin at exorbitant rates, they may turn out to be ineffective, but they will cope with minor contaminants.

How to clear the blockage yourself?

It can take a long time to decide when a sewer blockage occurs in an apartment building, who is to blame? But in some cases, you can try to solve the problem yourself.

First of all, you should carefully check whether something has gotten into the pipe drain that is blocking the passage of water.
Subsequently, mechanical or chemical cleaning is carried out. The work is carried out in several stages. First, all drain holes in the apartment are closed. Then a plunger is inserted into the toilet drain, with the suction cup facing down. The next step is to fill the toilet with water (up to 5 liters). Then you need to push the plunger up and down, also performing rotational movements with the handle.

ATTENTION! Before cleaning procedures, it is recommended to pour up to 5 liters of hot water into the toilet hole; it will soften the paper and food waste that clog the pipe.

The cleaning rules are not complicated; it is only important to carry out the process on time, without bringing the situation to a critical point. Mechanical cleaning is an effective method, as is chemical cleaning.

Plumbing service experts recommend pouring a quality cleaning product into the toilet every few months . In this case, problems with the sewerage system will occur very rarely.

Causes of clogging

There are several reasons for clogged toilets or sewer pipes.

The most common is throwing leftover food, even small ones, down the toilet. Food may not dissolve in the water and may become stuck in the drain hole. A trash can should be used for leftover food.
Another bad habit of apartment owners is pouring cat litter into the toilet. There are especially many problems with sand and clay fillers.
Gradually, hair and cat fur can accumulate in sewer pipes. A pipe clogged with them can create many problems for the resident of the house.

In an apartment building, the sewer system may become clogged due to improper pipe laying or wear and tear of the pipeline system . Pipes of small diameters that are not suitable for sewerage can also be installed.

ATTENTION! Sometimes houses do not have background risers installed. In this case, a check valve is required in the sewer system. Thanks to it, the air lock will come out when draining the water. If there is no air valve near the toilet, water will flow through the pipes very slowly, resulting in deposits on the walls of the pipes that block the flow.

If the apartment is flooded with sewage, you should find out exactly the cause of the accident. When it happened due to the fault of the builders, it will be possible to obtain compensation for damaged property in court.

As judicial practice shows, the injured party must have documented evidence that the sewerage break occurred through no fault of its own.

Whose property is the sewer riser

Legislative documents

If pipes leak outside the apartment, utility workers must repair them, without charging additional fees.

The term “common property” is contained in Art. No. 36 Housing Code of Russia. In addition, in the “Rules for the maintenance of common household property”, which were introduced by the Government of the Russian Federation by its Resolution No. 491 of 08/13/06.

Paragraph 5 of this document indicates that cold and hot water supply risers are part of the common property of the copyright holders of apartments in a residential building.

As for the sewerage system, its property ownership is determined by paragraph No. 5 of Russian Government Decree No. 354. Below is a quote from this document.

“The common property of apartment owners in a residential building means the building’s drainage engineering infrastructure. It includes sewer outlets, shaped elements, plugs, risers, waste and exhaust pipes, branches of risers to butt joints in apartments.”

Note! Since sewer pipes are common property, they must be maintained and repaired by the company that services your home. Funds for this are taken from the monthly utility bills of apartment owners

In other words, the instructions clearly say that you do not have to pay anything extra to your utility companies if a sewer pipe that is located outside your apartment leaks.

What to do in case of an accident

If your apartment is flooded, write a request to the management company. When there is an emergency, call the emergency service.

Sample Leak Report.

Employees of these bodies, in the presence of witnesses and interested parties, will draw up a “Leak Report”.
The document will record which apartments were flooded, indicate the cause of the problem, describe the damaged property, etc.
This act is extremely important because it names the culprit of the situation.

For example, if it is proven that homes were flooded due to a rotten riser, then the blame will fall on the utility workers. Then the question: “the sewer riser is leaking - who should repair it” should not arise.

When experts determine that the owner of the apartment changed equipment without obtaining permission, or caused mechanical damage to the system, he will be to blame.

Sewerage clogged in an apartment building: consequences

The consequences of a blockage in the sewer of an apartment building can be disastrous not only for the owners of the apartment in which the accident occurred. This could be a broken toilet or burst pipes.

Water from the sewer system may flow into the basement, causing the odor to spread throughout the house. Stagnation of sewer water in the basement will lead to the destruction of the foundation and damage to other communication structures.

In addition, in a putrefactive environment, various bacteria will multiply, which negatively affect human health.

Consequences of a clogged riser

The consequences of a clogged riser can affect a separate group of apartments, all apartments connected to the riser, the entire entrance or the entire house. It all depends on what stage the emergency situation is at, how the sewerage is installed inside the house and where exactly the system is clogged.

Partial or complete shutdown of sewer networks in each apartment.
In apartments, characteristic signs of blockages may appear - water will stop leaving the sinks, bathtub and toilet, a
sewer smell
, only the reason will lie not in the apartment's wiring, but in the common riser. The problem may appear immediately for all residents of the house or only for those whose apartments are located above the place where the pollution is located. Incorrect pressure distribution inside the pipe due to a mud plug can cause a stench in apartments and around the house.
Receipt of wastewater back into apartments.
Residents of the first floors usually face this problem. It occurs due to the fact that the sunbed is clogged - the horizontal part of the pipe, which follows immediately after the vertical riser and is located in the basement. If the wastewater cannot pass further along the bed into the common well, it begins to move in the other direction, that is, back to the riser, gradually rising up it. The liquid is looking for any outlet, so it gradually begins to pour back out of the sinks, bathtubs and especially toilets located on the lower floors, flooding the apartments.
Rupture and damage to the integrity of the riser.
Improperly distributed air and liquid pressure in the pipes when clogged can rupture the riser. Particularly vulnerable in this case are the areas where pipeline parts are somehow fastened together.
Basement flooding.
Burst sewer pipes lead to basement flooding.
Complete shutdown of sewerage throughout the entire house.
All the consequences of a blockage in the riser of an apartment building are connected with each other. If the problem is not eliminated in time, all of the above will sooner or later begin to happen simultaneously and a clogged sewer riser will turn into a real natural disaster for the entire house.

When the sink or toilet stops draining water and a characteristic sewer smell appears in the bathroom, it can be difficult to immediately determine where the blockage has occurred - in your apartment or in a common drain. The main indications that an accident is happening in the house, and not in your apartment, can be two factors:

Water does not drain immediately in all drains in the apartment - in the bathroom, sink, kitchen sink, toilet.
Water and waste flow directly over the surface of the drain pipe that runs right behind your toilet.

You can see the second sign if a pipe rupture occurs on the nearest floors above you. This determination method is only suitable for houses where the entire sewerage system of one apartment is a single system and leads to a common riser. Only an emergency service specialist can determine exactly what the problem is.

Sewer pipe cleaning

One of the complex processes is cleaning sewer pipes. For this work you need to have a special hose that is connected to a powerful compressor.

Plumbers also use plumbing cable. The pipe must be cleaned thoroughly and efficiently; if it is constantly clogged, the causes of the blockage should be identified.

IMPORTANT! If the toilet is characterized by constant blockages, it is better to replace independent actions to eliminate the problem with professional help. Perhaps the problem is more complex and requires a qualified approach.

When using a cable for cleaning, you need to open the revision, insert a plug into the riser, which closes the higher section of the pipe. Then the hose is inserted using reciprocating and rotating movements. Using the same movements, the toilet drain hole is also cleaned. After cleaning, carefully wipe the hose pipe.