I live in a high-rise condo building that was completed 2-3 years ago. It is a Bosa Development and the toilets are low-flow toilets (I do not know the brand off the top of my head).

There have been many floodings in the building however I can't say just how many. Unfortunately, I was the victim of the most recent one. I am perplexed by the situation.

I woke up at 4:45 am to take the dog out. At that time, I used the toilet, placed nothing in it (except two sheets of paper!). Nothing was amiss when I flushed it. I turned off the light and went to bed.
At 5:00 am there was a knock on my door and the guard said there had been a report of water leaking. When he walked into my unit and turned the light on in the bathroom, we saw water all over the floor. It was estimated after the fact that there were 40-50 gallons of water that originated in my bathroom.

When we walked into the bathroom there was a loud noise coming from the toilet and the bowl was spinning. The water level for the bowl was at a normal level, but the tank only had about 1/2 - 1" of water in it. When the guard turned off the water to the toilet the noise stopped. There was never any water spotted coming from anywhere. It was just all over the floor.

Also, when I checked the bowl to see if the toilet had overflown there was no water around the bowl. There was no water on the outside of the tank either. When the remediation crew came in to check for water, they said there was no water on the wall behind the tank either. They also said the water on the floor was completely clean with no "organic" matter in it.
Since then I have not had any other trouble. However I do not use that toilet very much because I am afraid it will happen again.

Now I am being sued by my neighbor below me for water damage and my landlord (the personal owner ot the condo unit)is asking me to pay for all of the damages in the unit. They say that is my responsibility because I was irresponsible and had an overflowing toilet.

I do not believe I am liable for this because I do not believe the toilet overflowed! There was no explanation for the water therefore they said it could only be a toilet overflow.

Do you have any idea what could have caused this? (there were no other appliances in use but there is a washer and dryer and sink in the bathroom. There was no water on the sides of these appliances either).

Thank you for any expertise or advise you can supply.
Thanks!!!
Leslie Schultz
leslieannschultz2@yahoo.com

• Re: Need Expert Advice on Toilet/Plumbing Issue hj 22:52:50 12/19/03(0)