I don’t know what to tell my landlord about the toilet?

[SONOFBILLMURRAY]

Hello everyone.

I am solo tenant living in a flat. The bathroom is a horror show. Black mould on tiles. Water has previously come in from the flat above, requiring the ceiling to be replastrered. The fixtures and fittings are very old. But I have made do.

The toilet is starting to worry me. The metal waste pipe has become corroded and black with mould.

The cistern is an old fashioned one, sitting up high, near the ceiling. The plastic pipe, where it attaches to the toilet bowl, had previously leaked so the landlord put some putty/gum around it. That is now black with mould also.

Not sure if the waste pipe corrosio/mould has come from the water that has forced its way through the gum. Or if a seal had degraded.

I think I may try and clean it up myself with baking soda and a wire brush, first.

Any advice/thoughts on what it is and what I can do would be helpful. It’s getting me down now.

Hope you’re all well.

Cheers

 

[Deleted member 120897]

If it’s just mould then I doubt your landlord will be bothered, unless they’re a good landlord? I would just clean it without telling them.

 

[SONOFBILLMURRAY]

If it’s just mould then I doubt your landlord will be bothered, unless they’re a good landlord? I would just clean it without telling them.

Thanks for your reply, appreciate it. The truth is that the flat is old and slowly falling apart - if he had the money to renovate it he would have.

I bought some wire brushes and last night I got down on my hands and knees and scraped away the flaking paint, corroded metal and rust (whilst listening to the Champion’s League). Pictures attached show the progress.

I have removed the putty/gum and have a plastic dish there to catch the drips that are coming from the cistern pipe.

Do you have any advice on how I can resell this?

 

[Ric2013]

The plastic flush pipe needs cleaning up and you need a new one of something similar to this: Flush Pipe Connector White Internal | Toolstation - https://www.toolstation.com/flush-pipe-connector/p54652 (can't say it's exactly the right one, but probably is). Shouldn't need sealant.

Might also be leaking from the top end and running down the flush pipe?

Your landlord has a responsibility that is not based on affordability, but that's another story.

 

[SONOFBILLMURRAY]

Thanks for this. It confirms what I was thinking, after watching a video on youtube

Trouble is that the plastic cistern pipe is sealed and cut into a piece of tiling. Very strange. Pictures attached that show the pipe travelling down and bending into the tiles.

My guess is that the the toilet wasn’t moved, some tiling was done and then there was little room to manoeuvre the pipes?

I expect this is why he went for the putty instead of replacing the connector…..

 

[SONOFBILLMURRAY]

The plastic flush pipe needs cleaning up and you need a new one of something similar to this (link) can't say it's exactly the right one, but probably is). Shouldn't need sealant.

Might also be leaking from the top end and running down the flush pipe?

Your landlord has a responsibility that is not based on affordability, but that's another story.

Thanks for this. It confirms what I was thinking, after watching a video on youtube

Trouble is that the plastic cistern pipe is sealed and cut into a piece of tiling. Very strange. Pictures attached that show the pipe travelling down and bending into the tiles.

My guess is that the the toilet wasn’t moved, some tiling was done and then there was little room to manoeuvre the pipes?

I expect this is why he went for the putty instead of replacing the connector…..

 

[Ric2013]

He went for the putty because he doesn't know what he's doing. That pipe can be disconnected from the cistern at the top, or, possibly, the pan can simply be moved out. As any decent plumber will know.

I actually used to be a landlord and my attitude was that whatever the house needed (unless it was an obvious tenant breakage issue), the tenants were, in effect paying for it with their rent and it just got done. If that meant a complete new toilet, that was what it got. For the sake of a week or two's rent the cost of repair, unlikely to be as much as a week's rent, I think the landlord should put his hand in his pocket. He's charging rent and has no sympathy from me as I consider the like of his ilk unfair competition to those landlords who don't buy houses they cannot afford to maintain and aren't willing to learn how to deal with this sort of task themself. But I mention how this could be mended anyway, as I don't want you to suffer.