Has anyone had a spill in an apartment?

[krisjoseph]

47 minutes ago, Shane33 said:

If I lost about 10 gallons and got it cleaned up pretty quickly what are the chances of it making it to the downstairs apartment beneath me??

 

I had a 120 gallon on a 14th floor. Never had problems with the tank BUT having an RO system that I constantly had to attach to sinks (due to space/facility restrictions) was risky. I DID have flooding trouble due to container overflows, and one time the effluent tube from the system flopped out of the sink and it liberally covered the bathroom floor before I caught it. In my case the apartment had concrete floors BUT there was a seam/joint that ran along the length of the apartment, under the flooring. The water got in there and some of it leaked into the apartment below. This resulted in a panicked call from the landlord, some sloppy cleanup, and ultimately a "first strike out of three" warning from the property manager. 

 

Even with a spill of 5-10 gallons.... the water will run to the lowest place it can find and if it gets under flooring/carpet/walls there's not much you can do to mop it up. I learned the hard way to make sure I was only making up water when I could monitor it, to put containers in larger tubs (or the bathtub!) in case of overfilling. I ALSO started using leak detectors and water detector alarms to make sure I'd be notified if something went wrong.

[mcarroll]

12 hours ago, krisjoseph said:

I ALSO started using leak detectors and water detector alarms to make sure I'd be notified if something went wrong.

Great idea!  There are EXCELLENT flow shut-off's and leak detection kits out there.

 

A life saver for your product water line:

Don't leave home without it!!

 

 

There are several options available to reduce "risk of escape" on your waste line as well...

 

...from drain saddle valves

...to more rustic solutions

 

I don't personally know anyone who HASN'T flooded out when they neglected to use theses or similar prevention tools.   Self very-damply included!  😉 

[mcarroll]

On 10/12/2010 at 1:40 AM, pimp4cheddar said:

what happens if my tank cracks????

If that's a foremost concern then that's a good sign you should at least reconsider having a tank (which you are!).  😄 

 

You can't say your tank won't crack.

😟

 

It might. 

😨

 

It does happen.

😱

 

But the reality is that there's no problem with holding water inside an all glass tank that's bonded with silicone.

 

There are millions and billions of tanks out there NOT cracking as proof (if we need it).

 

The problem, such as it is, is tanks that are mis-installed or otherwise mishandled.   

 

Actual tank defects are extremely rare due to the simplicity and literal transparency of the thing, the quality of materials and maturity of the product.  Any defects in the glass or seals (both transparent) would be obvious/unhidden, so they generally all get caught in QC.

 

Use of a manufacturer designed and built stand is required for many tank warranties for a very very good reason.

 

So as long as your apartment is a safe environment for a glass tank...(is this you??? 😄)

....it's VERY unlikely there will be a problem.  VERY.

 

But it's still possible.  😉

 

You might be able to install a pan under the tank like they use for dishwashers, etc:

You can locate a leak detector there and/or plumb the rim or bottom of the pan to a floor drain. 

 

Or even install a mini-sump pump on a sensor to drain the pan to a higher-level drain.

 

Not bad ideas, especially if you need to do something....but in reality almost nobody goes this far with the worry.....in fact I'm not sure I've heard of anyone using one of these catch pans like this on a tank before.  (Plenty of folks have installed dedicated floor drains when possible though.)

[Ratvan]

21 hours ago, Shane33 said:

If I lost about 10 gallons and got it cleaned up pretty quickly what are the chances of it making it to the downstairs apartment beneath me??

I lost a 5 Gallon container of RODI water in my office's 1st floor (2nd floor USA) flooded the office below me badly. 

 

[mcarroll]

3 hours ago, Ratvan said:

I lost a 5 Gallon container of RODI water in my office's 1st floor (2nd floor USA) flooded the office below me badly. 

 

It can be quite amazing to see how much area a few gallons of water can cover when it spreads out to only a millimeter or two thick!

[Ratvan]

2 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

It can be quite amazing to see how much area a few gallons of water can cover when it spreads out to only a millimeter or two thick!

 

It sure can lmao