A Property Manager’s Guide to Catching Plumbing, Septic & Lift Station Problems Early
Property managers develop a sixth sense about their buildings.
You walk onto a property and notice the landscaping. You notice a light that's out. You notice when something isn't as clean as it should be. And sometimes, before a tenant ever submits a work order, you know something just isn't right.
Plumbing and wastewater systems give clues, too.
A strange odor near a lift station. A drain that suddenly sounds different. An area of unusually wet ground. A lift station alarm that wasn't on yesterday.
Those little clues can be your property's way of telling you something needs attention.
The trick is knowing what to look — and listen — for.
What Do You See?
Start with what is visible.
During routine property walks, look beyond the obvious maintenance items.
- Standing water where the ground is normally dry
- Water pooling around a drain
- Sewage or wastewater near a lift station
- A lift station warning light illuminated
- Sinks or toilets draining more slowly than usual
- An area of grass that has suddenly become unusually green or wet
For a property manager, these aren't necessarily diagnoses. They're signals.
You don't have to determine what's wrong. Your job is to recognize that something has changed and have the appropriate professional evaluate it.
A small visual clue caught during a Tuesday morning property walk is much easier to deal with than an overflow discovered by a tenant Saturday night.
What Do You Smell?
Sometimes your nose notices a wastewater problem before your eyes do.
Persistent sewage or sulfur-like odors around drains, restrooms, exterior wastewater areas or lift stations deserve attention — particularly when the smell is new or becoming stronger.
Don't simply assume that a wastewater odor is “normal.”
Ask yourself: Was this smell here last week? Is it stronger in one particular location? Does it disappear and return?
A new odor doesn't automatically mean there's a serious failure. But it can be an early reason to investigate. And early investigation is exactly what property managers want.
What Do You Hear?
Buildings talk. You just have to know when a sound is worth noticing.
Gurgling toilets and drains can indicate drainage issues. A pump that suddenly sounds different may deserve attention. Repeated cycling from equipment can be another clue.
And then there's one sound no property manager wants to hear: the lift station alarm.
An alarm is there for a reason. Don't silence it and assume everything is fine.
A lift station alarm may indicate a problem involving pumps, floats, controls, electrical components or wastewater levels. The system should be evaluated to determine the cause.
What Do Your Tenants Tell You?
Your tenants can be another early-warning system.
One tenant saying a sink is slow may be an isolated clog. Several tenants reporting slow drains, toilets backing up or unusual odors? Now you have a pattern.
Property managers overseeing large commercial properties, shopping centers, offices, restaurants, medical facilities, HOAs and multifamily communities should pay particular attention when similar complaints begin coming from different areas of the property.
Patterns matter. Keeping a simple record of recurring plumbing complaints can sometimes reveal a developing problem before it becomes an emergency.
What Does Your Maintenance History Tell You?
There's another “sense” every property manager should use: your records.
- When was the lift station last serviced?
- When was the septic tank last pumped?
- How often has the same drain required service?
- Was a pump repaired recently?
- Do you have photographs of the previous condition?
- Was a recommendation made during the last service call that still needs attention?
This is one reason documentation matters.
At Seacoast Septic & Plumbing, we document our work with before-and-after photographs when appropriate and can provide video documentation when warranted.
For a property manager reporting to an owner, board or corporate office, those records can be extremely valuable.
Trust Your Property-Manager Instinct
After managing properties long enough, you learn what “normal” looks, sounds and smells like at your buildings.
Pay attention when something changes.
You don't need to know whether the problem is a pump, control panel, drain line, septic system or something else. That's what your service company is for.
Your advantage is recognizing the warning sign before it becomes the emergency.
At Seacoast Septic & Plumbing, we've spent more than 60 years working with plumbing, septic and wastewater systems in South Florida.
We provide commercial plumbing, septic pumping, lift station maintenance and repair, hydro-jetting, drain service, grease trap service, storm drain service, backflow services and emergency response throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.
If something on your property doesn't look right, smell right or sound right, don't wait for a small warning sign to become a major disruption.
SEACOAST SEPTIC & PLUMBING
561-478-7878
Serving property managers throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.