At what point should I report an apartment maintenance issue to the city?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Getting a little frustrated here. I moved into a new apartment earlier this month, and I immediately noticed a foul odor emitting from my kitchen sink drain. Several times a day, the drain makes a horrible sucking sound, followed quickly by the smell.

A little online research showed that there’s most likely a partial blockage in the main sewer stack, and when people upstairs from me use their plumbing, water is sucked from my sink’s trap, and sewer gases waft into my apartment.

I reported the issue to my super immediately, and it took a week before a plumber came to check it out. They basically came to the same conclusion I did, and the super told me he’d let me know what the next step was. He said it would either involve cleaning the stack from above, or opening up the wall in someone’s apartment (probably not mine) to get to the blockage. The super mentioned something about it not being cleaned in 80 years (yes, my building’s that old, and then some).

I’ve been bugging the super every few days since, and each time he tells me they plan to do something about it, but gives me no ETA. I’m a non-confrontational guy (it pains me to be this persistent, even though I do it with a smile), and whenever I talk to him, I tend to mirror his nonchalance and say, “ok, great, just keep me posted. Have a good day.” But, he never contacts me, and as I sit in my new place, wishing I could enjoy it, I get angry that he can’t be more empathetic. If sewer gases were filling his apartment, how quickly would he want it fixed? For health reasons alone?

Then again, he’s the superintendent for 300 units, and for all I know he’s got much bigger repairs on his plate. And I’ve been keeping the smell out by leaving the drain plugged with a little water on top.

But eventually, I’d like to enjoy my home like a normal person. It’s been 3 weeks; is it time to take this over the super’s head? Would calling the management company help? Should I report it to the city, or would that just cause me more headaches? Or should I just be patient, continue bugging him politely, and summon up some optimism?

2

I think I’d probably call the management company at this point. You’ve been pretty patient, and as far as I know, sewer gases are not something you want in your apartment.

3

You could leave your tap on halfway.

4

For a second, I read this as, “You could leave your **top **on halfway.”

"Hi there, super. I’ve got a little… problem I though you could… help me out with. Care to come take a look at my… plumbing?

5

Definitely time to call the management company. I’m sure they’d like to know about this- these sorts of problems tend to compound if not fixed promptly.