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No Water in an Apartment? Most Common Problems and How Best to Act as a Landlord or Property Manager

As a landlord in New York City, you are legally obligated to provide water for your tenants. Otherwise, you may be subject to citations, fines, and even lawsuits. If an occupant comes to you or the property manager complaining about no water in an apartment, they may already be in a state of panic. Loss of water means no bathing, cooking, cleaning, or drinking – essential needs – which is why providing water is regulated for property owners in the city.

Here are the things to check in this situation so you can figure out the cause of the problem and get it fixed as quickly as possible.

Check Whether It’s a Neighborhood, Building, or Unit Problem

Isolate the issue

First, you need to see if the lack of water is limited to one apartment, or if it’s a larger problem. Check other taps near the unit as well as the water supply in other spots of the building. If no one has water, the problem is obviously larger than one apartment. In this case, it’s most likely one of four things:

• The water has been shut off in the entire neighborhood or is at very low pressure due to a fire, construction, accident, or similar reason. You might see the reason for no water by walking out your front door, or you may have to chat with nearby property managers.
• The water utility has shut off water supply to your building due to unpaid bills or citations regarding sanitation, safety, etc. You need to work this out with the city ASAP to avoid further complications regarding your legal requirements to tenants.
• You have a major blockage in your water supply line entering the building. This needs to be cleared. Then a filter should be placed to prevent sediment, rust, mineral scale, and other undesirable elements from blocking your line.
• A main water distribution pump that supplies your building isn’t working right. See the end of this post for more information about pump failure.

Make Sure Local Valves Are Open

Can water flow freely?

If you determine that the problem is limited to one apartment or perhaps a small cluster of apartments, the next step is to see if a simple fix can remedy the problem. Maybe a valve supplying the unit or area was accidentally shut off during routine maintenance or other work. It’s possible too that a valve isn’t working properly due to being broken or encrusted with hard water mineral scale or sediment. In this instance, the valve needs to be cleaned or replaced.

If only one unit has no water, check to make sure all the valves beneath sinks and behind toilets are open. Occasionally, curious kids like to play with these and can unwittingly shut off water throughout the apartment. If a single fixture has no water and the valve is adjusted correctly, it means the fixture has to be cleaned or replaced due to malfunction or years of scale buildup.

Sometimes, just the aerator on a tap is covered with lime. This can be removed by soaking it in lemon juice or vinegar for at least a few hours. You can fill a small plastic bag with the dissolving liquid, place it over the faucet to cover the aerator, and secure it with a rubber band or tape to let it soak for a while.

Look for Pipe Blockages or Leaks

Watch for clogs, frozen pipes, and water loss

The next thing to check is that the pipes supplying the apartment without water are fully functional. There can be a number of reasons why water isn’t making it to its destination, including clogs, frozen pipes, and leaks.

If your pipes are very old, they may have become caked with buildup on the inside, so much so that water can no longer reach certain areas. A professional plumber can advise you about replacing them.

Frozen pipes also provide a barrier to water distribution. This is a common occurrence in New York City in the colder months, particularly on north-facing walls or parts of the building that are exposed to constant wind. As well as blockages during wintertime, you may see frost or water beading on these pipes. Previous freezing may have caused leaks along the length of a pipe. Long-term, these conduits and the area around them need to be insulated against freezing.

A frozen pipe will rarely thaw on its own and can burst, causing massive water damage. Therefore, you need to deal with the frozen pipe immediately. It needs to be gradually warmed to prevent bursting. Again, this is something a licensed plumber can assist with, like our partners at Sanitary Plumbing.

Evaluate Pump Operation

Are pumps distributing water properly?

As pump experts, we at Antler Pumps often find no water in an apartment or an area of a building to be due to pump malfunction, including the aforementioned main distribution pump, if you have one. If the water loss is in an upper story, it could be that your pressure booster pump isn’t working (or that you need one to begin with). A pressure booster pump ensures water distribution reaches all levels of the building when the force of gravity doesn’t help.

If your water loss is only related to hot water taps, it could be a pump related to your boiler system being broken or stuck. Perhaps the pump supplying hot water isn’t working, or even the boiler feeder pump that supplies fresh water to your boiler as needed (be sure it’s not just that the float sensor is stuck).

Signs a pump isn’t working include:

• Pump won’t turn on or stay on when it should
• Worn or broken electrical wires or plugs
• Pump turning on triggers circuit breaker to shut off power
• Pump extremely hot to the touch (overheated)
• Excessive or unusual noise or vibration
• Pump runs constantly (but still may not move water)
• Pump seems to be operating correctly, but little to no water is moving (problem with internal elements of the pump)
• Leaking water
• Hardened or cracked seals, gaskets, or O-rings
• Gauges or controllers indicate a problem, such as lack of pressure

Call in the Experts

Rely on Antler Pumps for professional service

Sometimes the solutions to the pump problems raised above are obvious and something you can fix on your own. But when you have no water in an apartment or any other part of your building and you need professional help, Antler Pumps are the experts to rely on. Call us at 212-534-2500 or reach out online to schedule an appointment.