Most of us know what to do in an emergency situation, call 9-1-1, but when you’re in an unusual apartment living situation do you know what’s NOT considered an emergency?

In other words, do you know when to disturb your apartment manager and when it’s up to you to put on your adulting hat and troubleshoot? The following scenarios should be insightful for you!

1.  Weird smell

If there’s a weird smell in your apartment, chances are it’s not an emergency. Start by cleaning out your refrigerator, taking out the trash, and evaluating the size of your laundry pile to determine the last time you actually did a load.

It might be an emergency if: you smell gas or smoke.

2.  Malfunctioning dishwasher

It's definitely an inconvenience when your dishwasher is on the fritz, but it's not an emergency. Of course, if it’s smoking or flooding out into your kitchen you be the judge. Go old school and wash and dry your dishes by hand.

Solution: put in a maintenance request with your apartment manager the next day.

3.  Spider in my living room

Eight-legged surprise guests are not welcome in your living room, especially if you suffer from arachnophobia. Unless you faint from fear, you should either run the other direction and phone a friend, suck it up with the vacuum, or give it a good ole’ fashion stomp.

Solution: if you do notice an infestation of spiders or other bugs, notify your apartment manager.

4.  Refrigerator is buzzing

“Aw, the gentle humming of a malfunctioning refrigerator,” said no one ever. The constant buzzing is enough to make you unplug the fridge – except that you just went grocery shopping and can’t risk that weird smell scenario above. As annoying as it may be, it’s not an emergency.

Solution: Turn on some music or earplugs work.

5.  Noisy neighbors

Loud, unruly, obnoxious neighbors are the worst! They do kickboxing in their living room above you, blast their rap music just for fun, and feel the need to re-decorate their walls with a hammer at 1 a.m. You’ve tried to tactfully tell them to keep it down multiple times, but they don’t. Try again, and this time bake them cookies. Seriously.

It might be an emergency if: the noise is sounding like a violent fight, in which case, call the police. Otherwise, submit a noise complaint to your apartment manager the next day.

6.  Locked myself out of the bedroom

You locked yourself out of your bedroom? Bummer. Even so, it’s not an emergency and also not a reason to break the door down. Grab a blanket from the hall closet and snuggle up on the couch for the night.

Solution: Call a locksmith.

7.  Someone stole my parking space

Okay, that’s just mean and inconsiderate! Hopefully, it was just a guest who has no clue about assigned parking spaces in apartment complexes, but if it’s continually happening then let your apartment manager know.

Solution: You could leave a nice, friendly note on the car informing that person they are in the wrong spot.

8.  My pet escaped

If you’re in an apartment living situation that allows you to have fluffy or fido as a companion, make sure you follow all the pet rules for your specific apartment complex. If your beloved furry friend spots a squirrel or mailman and decides to take-off, run after them! If you can’t catch up to them, consider using the fitness center at your complex more often.

Solution: If your pet disappeared, start a search party or alert animal control, but it’s not an apartment emergency.  

9.  Skinny dipping in the pool

Some things you just. can’t. unsee. Like your neighbor, Mr. 65-year-old ex-hippie, who still lives freely on occasion in his birthday suit in the apartment swimming pool that you can clearly seeing from your apartment living room window.

Solution: While this isn’t an emergency, it definitely warrants a call during business hours to alert your apartment manager.

10. Clogged garbage disposal

You won’t know how much you appreciate your garbage disposal until it’s not working. If yours is clogged or making a horrid grinding noise and you put potato peels down the disposal, it’s time to troubleshoot. But that doesn’t mean it’s an emergency.

Solution: Make sure you look under the sink and unplug your disposal before you do anything else, then search on YouTube for “how to unclog a garbage disposal” – it’s super helpful!

You can’t make this stuff up! While there’s no doubt there are many more unusual apartment living situations we haven’t covered, we hope these help you decide what’s an emergency and what’s not the next time you’re faced with a unique situation. Remember, your apartment manager is there to help you, just try to contact them during business hours unless it’s an absolute emergency.