Renter desperate for solution in bathroom sewage leak

SYLVANIA, Ohio (WTVG) - A local renter is speaking out after she says sewage and feces found its way into her Twin Oaks apartment in Sylvania. She says it has been several days and property management still has not fixed the problem.

Toledo nursing student, Emma Mikols, says her apartment feels unsafe to live in right now after a minor toilet leak on Thursday turned into something much bigger when property management did not address it right away.

“I was like literally like scooping water into the tub Friday just trying to figure out what to do, and I called my dad and he was like, stop touching that, that’s human feces,” said Mikols. “It took somebody about an hour to get here in the first place and then the poor maintenance guy who, they all had to come back here multiple times because it was like, they were cleaning it up just for it to happen again.”

Now, several days later, and she says she’s still dealing with the problem.

“Makes me have, I don’t know, like I lost my dignity. Like they’re looking at me like some 22-year-old that’s never rented before,” said Mikols.

We reached out to property management through email and by phone. They replied with “no comment”.

In the short amount of time 13 Action News was in Mikol’s apartment though, a plumber showed up with carpet cleaners, and she got a call back from management.

“Yeah, she emailed me offering me a hotel now and this is the property manager that I’ve kind of been more in contact with,” Mikols said.

She said she is not the only one in her complex dealing with this mess.

“Yesterday I had spoken with two women who live here and they had come out while I was walking out of my apartment to mention that they also had some flooding.”

Mikols says she just wants whatever is going on to be fixed as soon as possible.

We also reached out to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department for more information.

“If there is a back up or an overflow of a toilet/tub we recommend to clean the hard surfaces with bleach water. If carpet was involved, to clean and use fans to help dry the area quickly, especially with the humidity we are having right now. “Also to contact a plumber/maintenance person to correct any issue with the plumbing as it could be caused by a root or clog down the line,” said TLCHD. “This is the same recommendation we provide to homeowners if they call and want to know how to clean up a back up in the home. We tend to get these types of calls after heavy rains.”

This is a developing story.

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