landlord doesnt want to pay for sewer problem

[claw]

i live in an old farm house with old clay tile sewer system that gets infiltrated with tree roots we had heavy rain that backed the sewer up into basement i had the londlord send a guy to clean it out that guy told him baby wipes clogged the sewer, so the landlord wants me to pay bill. i have no baby or baby wipes and the pile of stuff from the sewer looks like more tree roots than paper.AM I RESPONSIBLE FOR BILL , WHEN IF THERE WAS A PROPER SEWER WITH NO TREE ROOTS THERE WOULD BE NO PLOG!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

There's a big visual difference between tree roots and baby wipes.

Baby wipes are quite notorious for clogging up sewer lines.

Gail

 

[army judge]

They probably aren't baby wipes.

They might be personal wipes, normally used by adults.

They are biodegradable and flushable.

Plumbers and people who do not use them often get them confused with baby wipes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ctryder]

i live in an old farm house with old clay tile sewer system that gets infiltrated with tree roots we had heavy rain that backed the sewer up into basement i had the londlord send a guy to clean it out that guy told him baby wipes clogged the sewer, so the landlord wants me to pay bill. i have no baby or baby wipes and the pile of stuff from the sewer looks like more tree roots than paper.AM I RESPONSIBLE FOR BILL , WHEN IF THERE WAS A PROPER SEWER WITH NO TREE ROOTS THERE WOULD BE NO PLOG!

Why would the plumber lie? If the plumber said it was baby wipes, you will have to pay. Every tenant wants to blame tree roots, so they don't have to pay. As far as a proper sewer, you knew when you sign the lease and accepted it as it was. How can you avoid a tree from having roots? Do you know that a tree can be a mile away and still have parts of their root in that distance? Amazing! All this suggest that you knew it was baby wipes.

 

[claw]

your question was why would the plumber lie? because he is on the landlords crew of subcontractors the landlord uses for all his projects,so if the landlord dosn't want to pay, he'll make it happen. secondly there was no wipes,i pulled apart the tangled mess and found 1 sheet of paper toweling and aproximately 3 pounds of tree roots. the paper toweling is biodegradeable and should have passed through, if it wasn't for the roots it would have. thirdly i never signed a lease,i moved in as month to month,and i didn't know about the sewer problems. i've been here 9 years ,this is the fifth or sixth time this has happened with roots and this time when i called the landlord he sick of paying for sewer problems.that is why i believe he told the plumber to say it was wipes,when there were none there. lastly your comment about tree roots from a mile away is strange because most sewer codes require clean outs within 100 feet of residences, so roots from a mile away should have little affect on residences.

 

[Theresagail]

Get a second opinion from a different plumber then-- and tell the landlord he will need to sue you once he sues you then bring in the independent plumber to testify this was roots not wipes

 

[MorgansDaddy]

Get a second opinion from a different plumber then-- and tell the landlord he will need to sue you once he sues you then bring in the independent plumber to testify this was roots not wipes

Great Advice!

To address the other comment, people lie all the time, especially if it is for a friend, which they could be, no one knows either way. If tree roots are the problem, then wouldn't your landlord realize that there are holes in the pipe the roots busted through which will lead to other problems if not fixed? A simple clog can be fixed for around $100-$200, it is far more expensive to dig up the area and replace the broken section of pipe that the roots caused. The price should be a good indication of what is really wrong. I do believe however, that if you say it is roots and not wipes of any kind(rather baby or adult), then it is tree roots.

 

[dancleg]

Why would the plumber lie? If the plumber said it was baby wipes, you will have to pay. Every tenant wants to blame tree roots, so they don't have to pay. As far as a proper sewer, you knew when you sign the lease and accepted it as it was. How can you avoid a tree from having roots? Do you know that a tree can be a mile away and still have parts of their root in that distance? Amazing! All this suggest that you knew it was baby wipes.

First of all, my landlord lied to me about the condition of the septic system here and the electrical on my lot before we moved in...landlords lie plain and simple. Second, the plumber could have been mistaken about what it was. Even if he found a clog, it doesn't mean it was caused by whatever was in there...it still could be a larger problem. Also, if any other tenant/residence has access to that section of the sewer line...there is no proof the clog came from you.