I could be wrong, but if the OP doesn't have a shower curtain yet, this is probably their first apartment. I doubt any of this is intentional mistreatment of the space, just "young person out on their own for the first time without Mom to take care of all the stuff they didn't know needed taking care of on the daily."
Fair enough, but it's time to grow up and take responsibility. Hire the cleaning company you said you would weeks ago or roll up your sleeves and get to work. Deadline is tomorrow.
Edit: to clarify, my "hard ass" position here is directly related to the OP asking two questions and neither of them being about fixing the problem.
I could be wrong, but if the OP doesn't have a shower curtain yet, this is probably their first apartment. I doubt any of this is intentional mistreatment of the space, just "young person out on their own for the first time without Mom to take care of all the stuff they didn't know needed taking care of on the daily."
Fair enough, but it's time to grow up and take responsibility. Hire the cleaning company you said you would weeks ago or roll up your sleeves and get to work. Deadline is tomorrow.
Edit: to clarify, my "hard ass" position here is directly related to the OP asking two questions and neither of them being about fixing the problem.
Speaking as somebody who willingly started the process of eviction on a roommate, mostly due to the mess, you likely have the more accurate interpretation of things.
Because my ex roommate had ALL SORTS of excuses for why the mess was okay. I had an abnormally high standard of cleanliness. Most of the trash pile engulfing the coffee table was just papers. The dishes weren't that old. She knew "from experience that candy wrappers don't attract bugs."
The fact is, OP has bottles in their space. Probably from beverages with sugars/sweeteners. That will attract vermin. Cigarette butts on the floor are a fire hazard. No shower curtain will cause water damage, quickly. Landlords usually don't comment on bags unless they've started to smell, or are obstructing movement through the living space, indicating one of these things is the case for the OP. (My lease has a clause specifically about not letting trash obstruct movement in the apartment.)
But if the OP gets cracking, they may not get evicted. My ex-roommate was not. (Which is what I intended, I only started the eviction process because if I didn't, I'd be responsible for the damage she was causing, and she was screwing me over by not getting a subletter.)
So, @ANTVGM64 to answer your questions, yes, the landlord can do this. And no, you shouldn't be concerned. My apartment complex staff people pop in every other month for bug prevention and stuff, they sure as hell would say something if my apartment was a mess. These are normal things and not indications they are at fault for you getting evicted. That's on you.
You are being evicted because your apartment is filthy. This will seriously hurt your chances of getting a decent apartment in the future, and cost a ton of money. You need to get moving.
Get ALL the trash out of your apartment. Bottles, bags, cigarette butts, EVERYTHING.
Then buy a shower curtain and rod. It's like $25 for the two on amazon, which is WAY cheaper than a down-payment on a new apartment, which you will struggle to get because you aren't getting a good reference now.
Then start cleaning. Top to bottom. Dust/scrub/vacuum. If you don't know how to do something, look it up on the internet. Cleaning's not that hard.
@ANTVGM64 Has the bathroom floor area been caulked? It would have a silicone seal where tile meets tile/skirts throughout the bathroom.
If not then there is an excellent chance that's going to be how water is getting down below. Keep your bathroom aired and open when you can after showers to make sure that it has a chance to dry out and cut down the risk of mold.
As others have said you want a shower curtain if it's set inside a tub or an open space.
It's something you would want to discuss with your landlord, but it the bathroom hasn't been caulked it really should be, either by yourself or a professional. In addition to waterproofing areas it also helps cut down on mold build up by preventing water from resting underneath tiles and running directly down into the drain and makes it easier to clean in general. This applies to all wet areas of the house.
It's also worth noting if you use soap or body wash. Body wash washes away cleaner than soap, which due to it's properties will leave soap scum that allows for easier mold build up.
You really want to be cleaning your bathroom once a fortnight at least. It doesn't need to be major, but it's not as big a job as it sounds and it prevents some pretty disgusting things from happening to both yourself, your neighbours and your landlord.
Get in the habit of throwing things in the bin when you're done with them. Don't eat in your room, eat at the dining table, then wash the dishes immediately afterwards along with whatever pots and pans you cooked with.
If you want more information about or how to caulk let me know, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for little effort.
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EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
@ANTVGM64 Has the bathroom floor area been caulked? It would have a silicone seal where tile meets tile/skirts throughout the bathroom.
If not then there is an excellent chance that's going to be how water is getting down below. Keep your bathroom aired and open when you can after showers to make sure that it has a chance to dry out and cut down the risk of mold.
As others have said you want a shower curtain if it's set inside a tub or an open space.
It's something you would want to discuss with your landlord, but it the bathroom hasn't been caulked it really should be, either by yourself or a professional. In addition to waterproofing areas it also helps cut down on mold build up by preventing water from resting underneath tiles and running directly down into the drain and makes it easier to clean in general. This applies to all wet areas of the house.
It's also worth noting if you use soap or body wash. Body wash washes away cleaner than soap, which due to it's properties will leave soap scum that allows for easier mold build up.
You really want to be cleaning your bathroom once a fortnight at least. It doesn't need to be major, but it's not as big a job as it sounds and it prevents some pretty disgusting things from happening to both yourself, your neighbours and your landlord.
Get in the habit of throwing things in the bin when you're done with them. Don't eat in your room, eat at the dining table, then wash the dishes immediately afterwards along with whatever pots and pans you cooked with.
If you want more information about or how to caulk let me know, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for little effort.
Caulking won't stop sustained water on wooden baseboards or drywall.
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Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
That is insane. We get TLC in Turkey as well and I am always amazed about these hoarders. Don't think I have seen anything similar around here. Must be a first world problem.
i live in a country with a batshit crazy president and no, english is not my first language
If you watch enough of these, it's actually a partial psychological condition. Someone experienced a major loss or traumatic event, so they began hoarding as a coping mechanism. It's not universal, but that's typically the problem when you dig into extreme cases. Something triggered them to place sentimental value in junk and so they just let it pile up as a result.
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kaliyamaLeft to find less-moderated foraRegistered Userregular
Yeah, you left out the fact that there are other units in your building. Considering the state your apartment is apparently in it more than justifies them entering your space. Having rented properties out before, you wouldn't believe the money I've seen spent on needing to clean up after a messy tenant - to the point of needing to tear down walls and replace floors. If you're attracting bugs that will impact other units too.
Please PLEASE take this as a lesson that even though it is "your" space it does have the capacity to impact others.
Also: it actually isn't "your space" but more one you are borrowing and have to give back exactly as you received it. If you are smoking in a non-smoking room, that is damage that requires replacing the carpets and (potentially) the drywall if the smoke ash is thick enough. If your trash bags cause a tile stain, that means they have to replace that tile. Your security deposit rarely goes far enough to cover the costs of such damage.
Respect the property and your landlord (should) respect you as a tenant and leave you alone. Abuse the property and the landlord will harass you until their losses are so significant that they evict you and (depending upon your state) send collections after your/get a lien against you for property damage.
You are not obligated to return the place in the same condition you received it. You return it in the same condition minus reasonable wear and tear. For an apartment with cheap tile or carpet that's going to get replaced every 5 years, if OP was there for a long time landlord should not be trying to chase him down.
If smoking is permitted smoking damage would be reasonable wear and tear.
Nothing about OP's apartment justified entering it without notice - I don't know of a state in which landlords aren't not required to give at least 24 hours written notice before entering your apartment. Landlord's excuse - the leak - is a good one if true but seems likelier that landlord is just upset at OP being a messy tenant.
What? The OP was showing without a shower curtain of any kind. It seems pretty fucking likely they were the source of the water damage.
My unstated assumption was that there would have to be water damage visible to OP that he would have noticed and brought up if that was truly an issue but given the descriptions of the rest of the place being such a disaster I'm probably wrong.
Knowingly creating water damage is also kind of an asshole thing to do, honestly. You're inducing a very real risk that the ceiling in the unit below you will collapse and possibly harm your downstairs neighbors.
My dad's bathroom ceiling collapsed in the apartment he had while dating my mom. It was bad. He was lucky he wasn't hurt. And that was caused by a pipe leak. Not somebody who for whatever reason wouldn't spend $25 bucks on basic shower hygene equipment.
in the places that aren't shitholes, they will only waterproof the shower stall area
in places that are shitholes, you'll be lucky if they even attempted to caulk it properly
in places that give a shit and have tons of money, the entire bathroom will be waterproof
Even a "waterproof" bathroom, isn't 100% waterproof. It's good for splashing, but if you flood it out every day and there is standing water consistently, it'll get in there and cause some damage.
I've only seen a few rooms that were truly waterproof and they weren't residential.
@ANTVGM64 Has the bathroom floor area been caulked? It would have a silicone seal where tile meets tile/skirts throughout the bathroom.
If not then there is an excellent chance that's going to be how water is getting down below. Keep your bathroom aired and open when you can after showers to make sure that it has a chance to dry out and cut down the risk of mold.
As others have said you want a shower curtain if it's set inside a tub or an open space.
It's something you would want to discuss with your landlord, but it the bathroom hasn't been caulked it really should be, either by yourself or a professional. In addition to waterproofing areas it also helps cut down on mold build up by preventing water from resting underneath tiles and running directly down into the drain and makes it easier to clean in general. This applies to all wet areas of the house.
It's also worth noting if you use soap or body wash. Body wash washes away cleaner than soap, which due to it's properties will leave soap scum that allows for easier mold build up.
You really want to be cleaning your bathroom once a fortnight at least. It doesn't need to be major, but it's not as big a job as it sounds and it prevents some pretty disgusting things from happening to both yourself, your neighbours and your landlord.
Get in the habit of throwing things in the bin when you're done with them. Don't eat in your room, eat at the dining table, then wash the dishes immediately afterwards along with whatever pots and pans you cooked with.
If you want more information about or how to caulk let me know, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for little effort.
Caulking won't stop sustained water on wooden baseboards or drywall.
Right, but from what I read there was no mention of floorboards so I assumed tiles.
Maybe it isn't as common a thing outside of Australia, the majority of bathrooms here are tiled.
As Zepherin said though pooling water is going to get through eventually, whether it be tile or boards.
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EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
edited March 2017
In the US, at least, most bathrooms will have tiled floors with the cheapest wooden baseboards and no tiled outside of the three walls around tub itself.
The bathroom may be tiled (typically older apartments, 15+ years since construction or renovation), but with increasing frequency is just vinyl "wood" covered along with the rest of the apartment for cheapness of materials straight up to the tub. When you have tile, it almost never had the reccomended 6 inch lip going up the bottom of the walls in the states.
Houses frequently have full tiled floors and 6 inch to 1 foot tile wall gutters for this purpose, at least in newer Florida construction, but it really isn't common in construction after the 1960s. In the 1970s carpeted bathrooms were really popular (which is super gross) and when the craze died down in the late 80s most people would just cheaply convert by laying vinyl tile and calling it a day without thinking of the water lock-in needs.
In fact, most common apartments have little to no water mitigation and assume the tenant is going to keep the water managed with shower curtains and liners.
My apartment has tile everywhere. Not even the nice indoor tile either, it's all those big stone outdoor tiles they use for patios. First month here the management company made sure to remind everyone not to actually mop the floors because the stone was porous and we'd be liable for water damages.
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EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
My apartment has tile everywhere. Not even the nice indoor tile either, it's all those big stone outdoor tiles they use for patios. First month here the management company made sure to remind everyone not to actually mop the floors because the stone was porous and we'd be liable for water damages.
Oh man, if they did large ceramic tile they are supposed to put like a 1/2cm layer of sealant over them before letting people live in it. If they didn't you might as well be living on unfinished foundation health wise.
My apartment has tile everywhere. Not even the nice indoor tile either, it's all those big stone outdoor tiles they use for patios. First month here the management company made sure to remind everyone not to actually mop the floors because the stone was porous and we'd be liable for water damages.
Oh man, if they did large ceramic tile they are supposed to put like a 1/2cm layer of sealant over them before letting people live in it. If they didn't you might as well be living on unfinished foundation health wise.
Judging by the general state of the apartment when I moved in I'm going to lean towards the idea that they did not do this. The apartment itself is basically a hole in the ground, except on the second story. Luckily my lease is up in one more month and I know what to watch out for in the next one.
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FiggyFighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered Userregular
@ANTVGM64 Has the bathroom floor area been caulked? It would have a silicone seal where tile meets tile/skirts throughout the bathroom.
If not then there is an excellent chance that's going to be how water is getting down below. Keep your bathroom aired and open when you can after showers to make sure that it has a chance to dry out and cut down the risk of mold.
As others have said you want a shower curtain if it's set inside a tub or an open space.
It's something you would want to discuss with your landlord, but it the bathroom hasn't been caulked it really should be, either by yourself or a professional. In addition to waterproofing areas it also helps cut down on mold build up by preventing water from resting underneath tiles and running directly down into the drain and makes it easier to clean in general. This applies to all wet areas of the house.
It's also worth noting if you use soap or body wash. Body wash washes away cleaner than soap, which due to it's properties will leave soap scum that allows for easier mold build up.
You really want to be cleaning your bathroom once a fortnight at least. It doesn't need to be major, but it's not as big a job as it sounds and it prevents some pretty disgusting things from happening to both yourself, your neighbours and your landlord.
Get in the habit of throwing things in the bin when you're done with them. Don't eat in your room, eat at the dining table, then wash the dishes immediately afterwards along with whatever pots and pans you cooked with.
If you want more information about or how to caulk let me know, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for little effort.
Caulking won't stop sustained water on wooden baseboards or drywall.
Right, but from what I read there was no mention of floorboards so I assumed tiles.
Maybe it isn't as common a thing outside of Australia, the majority of bathrooms here are tiled.
As Zepherin said though pooling water is going to get through eventually, whether it be tile or boards.
He means wooden trim. Tile trim around the bottom of the walls is common in hotels and commercial properties, but not residential.
In residential, you're expected to not have a fountain of water spraying out of your tub. It's important to note that the OP almost definitely has a tub shower, not a stall. The only water on the floor should be whatever drips off you as you get out of the shower, and even then stand on a bath matt.
Posts
Fair enough, but it's time to grow up and take responsibility. Hire the cleaning company you said you would weeks ago or roll up your sleeves and get to work. Deadline is tomorrow.
Edit: to clarify, my "hard ass" position here is directly related to the OP asking two questions and neither of them being about fixing the problem.
Speaking as somebody who willingly started the process of eviction on a roommate, mostly due to the mess, you likely have the more accurate interpretation of things.
Because my ex roommate had ALL SORTS of excuses for why the mess was okay. I had an abnormally high standard of cleanliness. Most of the trash pile engulfing the coffee table was just papers. The dishes weren't that old. She knew "from experience that candy wrappers don't attract bugs."
The fact is, OP has bottles in their space. Probably from beverages with sugars/sweeteners. That will attract vermin. Cigarette butts on the floor are a fire hazard. No shower curtain will cause water damage, quickly. Landlords usually don't comment on bags unless they've started to smell, or are obstructing movement through the living space, indicating one of these things is the case for the OP. (My lease has a clause specifically about not letting trash obstruct movement in the apartment.)
But if the OP gets cracking, they may not get evicted. My ex-roommate was not. (Which is what I intended, I only started the eviction process because if I didn't, I'd be responsible for the damage she was causing, and she was screwing me over by not getting a subletter.)
So, @ANTVGM64 to answer your questions, yes, the landlord can do this. And no, you shouldn't be concerned. My apartment complex staff people pop in every other month for bug prevention and stuff, they sure as hell would say something if my apartment was a mess. These are normal things and not indications they are at fault for you getting evicted. That's on you.
You are being evicted because your apartment is filthy. This will seriously hurt your chances of getting a decent apartment in the future, and cost a ton of money. You need to get moving.
Get ALL the trash out of your apartment. Bottles, bags, cigarette butts, EVERYTHING.
Then buy a shower curtain and rod. It's like $25 for the two on amazon, which is WAY cheaper than a down-payment on a new apartment, which you will struggle to get because you aren't getting a good reference now.
Then start cleaning. Top to bottom. Dust/scrub/vacuum. If you don't know how to do something, look it up on the internet. Cleaning's not that hard.
If not then there is an excellent chance that's going to be how water is getting down below. Keep your bathroom aired and open when you can after showers to make sure that it has a chance to dry out and cut down the risk of mold.
As others have said you want a shower curtain if it's set inside a tub or an open space.
It's something you would want to discuss with your landlord, but it the bathroom hasn't been caulked it really should be, either by yourself or a professional. In addition to waterproofing areas it also helps cut down on mold build up by preventing water from resting underneath tiles and running directly down into the drain and makes it easier to clean in general. This applies to all wet areas of the house.
It's also worth noting if you use soap or body wash. Body wash washes away cleaner than soap, which due to it's properties will leave soap scum that allows for easier mold build up.
You really want to be cleaning your bathroom once a fortnight at least. It doesn't need to be major, but it's not as big a job as it sounds and it prevents some pretty disgusting things from happening to both yourself, your neighbours and your landlord.
Get in the habit of throwing things in the bin when you're done with them. Don't eat in your room, eat at the dining table, then wash the dishes immediately afterwards along with whatever pots and pans you cooked with.
If you want more information about or how to caulk let me know, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for little effort.
Caulking won't stop sustained water on wooden baseboards or drywall.
I was thinking more in general, mostly something like this episode, that sticks out in my mind:
That is insane. We get TLC in Turkey as well and I am always amazed about these hoarders. Don't think I have seen anything similar around here. Must be a first world problem.
My unstated assumption was that there would have to be water damage visible to OP that he would have noticed and brought up if that was truly an issue but given the descriptions of the rest of the place being such a disaster I'm probably wrong.
in the places that aren't shitholes, they will only waterproof the shower stall area
in places that are shitholes, you'll be lucky if they even attempted to caulk it properly
in places that give a shit and have tons of money, the entire bathroom will be waterproof
My dad's bathroom ceiling collapsed in the apartment he had while dating my mom. It was bad. He was lucky he wasn't hurt. And that was caused by a pipe leak. Not somebody who for whatever reason wouldn't spend $25 bucks on basic shower hygene equipment.
I'm guessing at this point they either got the advice they need or they're looking for a new place to live.
Either way linking Hoarders vids prolly isn't helpful.
I've only seen a few rooms that were truly waterproof and they weren't residential.
Right, but from what I read there was no mention of floorboards so I assumed tiles.
Maybe it isn't as common a thing outside of Australia, the majority of bathrooms here are tiled.
As Zepherin said though pooling water is going to get through eventually, whether it be tile or boards.
The bathroom may be tiled (typically older apartments, 15+ years since construction or renovation), but with increasing frequency is just vinyl "wood" covered along with the rest of the apartment for cheapness of materials straight up to the tub. When you have tile, it almost never had the reccomended 6 inch lip going up the bottom of the walls in the states.
Houses frequently have full tiled floors and 6 inch to 1 foot tile wall gutters for this purpose, at least in newer Florida construction, but it really isn't common in construction after the 1960s. In the 1970s carpeted bathrooms were really popular (which is super gross) and when the craze died down in the late 80s most people would just cheaply convert by laying vinyl tile and calling it a day without thinking of the water lock-in needs.
In fact, most common apartments have little to no water mitigation and assume the tenant is going to keep the water managed with shower curtains and liners.
Oh man, if they did large ceramic tile they are supposed to put like a 1/2cm layer of sealant over them before letting people live in it. If they didn't you might as well be living on unfinished foundation health wise.
Judging by the general state of the apartment when I moved in I'm going to lean towards the idea that they did not do this. The apartment itself is basically a hole in the ground, except on the second story. Luckily my lease is up in one more month and I know what to watch out for in the next one.
He means wooden trim. Tile trim around the bottom of the walls is common in hotels and commercial properties, but not residential.
In residential, you're expected to not have a fountain of water spraying out of your tub. It's important to note that the OP almost definitely has a tub shower, not a stall. The only water on the floor should be whatever drips off you as you get out of the shower, and even then stand on a bath matt.