Water and drainage
Here’s how to clean your drain trap
Tenants are responsible for cleaning the drain traps in the bathroom, and it should be done regularly. A drain trap that needs cleaning will start to smell and water will not drain properly.
- Place a bucket under the drain trap, as dirty water may leak out of the pipes when you open the drain trap.
- Unscrew the cap on the drain trap and make sure you put the seal aside to keep it safe. There are different kinds of drain traps but normally you can open them by rotating the cap.
- Remove any loose dirt from the pipes with a drain snake or with your fingers, if possible.
- Put the seal back in place and twist the cap back on.
- Run some water into the drain and check that the drain trap doesn’t leak.
Very old drain traps may be brittle and difficult to open, or they may break when you try to replace them. Old seals can also crumble when you clean the drain trap. In such cases, please submit a fault report and describe what happened.
Clogged kitchen sink
Try to open the clogged kitchen drain using chemicals sold for this purpose (like Kodinputkimies or Mr Muscle). Do not open the kitchen drain trap by yourself. If the chemicals don’t open the block, please fill in a fault report.
Never dispose any household waste to the drains as over time this may cause serious damages to the draining system. If the maintenance company finds out that the problem with the kitchen drain was caused for example by food, you may be charged for the service visit.
Cleaning the floor drain
Tenants are responsible for cleaning the floor drain, and it should be done regularly. A floor drain left uncleaned for a long time may smell bad and get blocked. Damp, warm places are an ideal environment for microbes – you should use rubber gloves when you clean the floor drains. To make cleaning easier, you can add a filter net under the drain cover to gather any loose dirt.
Here’s how to clean your floor drain:
- Remove the floor drain cover.
- Remove any hair and foreign items from the floor drain. Wash the side walls of the drain with an old dishwashing brush and detergent. Remove any loose dirt coming off the walls.
- Clean the drain cover and replace it.
- The floor drain may smell during the cleaning or after it. You can neutralise the smells with vinegar. First pour a few litres of clean water into the drain and wait a moment. Then pour a few decilitres of vinegar into the drain and let it sit for a while or even overnight. The smell of vinegar may linger in the bathroom for a while, but it will disappear eventually.
If cleaning doesn’t help and the blockage is further inside the drain, please submit a fault report. Tell us in the fault report what you have already done to solve the problem.
Any items that you put in the toilet bowl will end up on a dump, unless it gets stuck in the pipes. Blocked pipes can cause the sewage water to rise into your apartment or a neighbour’s apartment.
Fat does not belong in drains. Pouring fat into the drains will clog them over time. Due to the clogging, water cannot drain away like it’s supposed to, and may flow back up to the property and, in the worst case, cause serious water damage. Fat in the drains may attract rodents.
Soak up small amounts of cooking fat in kitchen paper and throw the paper in the biodegradable waste bin. Larger amounts can be poured into an empty container, like a milk carton, and thrown in the mixed waste bin. Any food scraps left in the sink should be mopped up with kitchen paper and put in the biodegradable waste bin.
Washing machine in a new apartment
Hoas’ apartments don’t ever contain a dishwasher or washing machine provided by Hoas. If there is one of these appliances in your apartment when you move in, it has been left there by a previous tenant. If you want to keep the appliance, make sure that the connections are secure and that you have a valid home insurance. In addition, when you move out you will need to remove the appliance from the apartment and ensure that the inlet and outlet hoses have been plugged appropriately. Hoas is also not responsible for the maintenance of the washing machine if it breaks down. If you do not want to keep the appliance, please notify Hoas so that we can arrange for the maintenance department to collect it.
Some of Hoas’ new properties have a dishwasher already installed.
Installing washing machine
If the appropriate connections are present in the apartment, you may choose to install a washing machine or a dishwasher. Hoas will not add the connections if they are not there.
Using a personal washing machine, you must get a home insurance policy. Broken washing machines, connections and hoses often cause water damage. This is why washing machines and dishwashers should always be installed by a professional. A water collection basin must always be placed underneath a dishwasher. Please remember to never leave a washing machine running if you are not home. Always close the washing machine tap after use.
Water inlet and outlet plugs
Remember to re-insert the water inlet and outlet plugs when you move out. The apartment inspector will leave plugs in the apartment on the first inspection, but if they do not fit, you must get fitting plugs yourself. The safest thing to do is to keep the original plugs that were removed when the machine was installed.