A bonus to apartment living is that you have the option of calling maintenance when something stops working. The best part is that you don’t have to pay extra for asking them to switch out a broken burner or unclog a toilet.

The downside is that depending on how fast you get your request in and how fast the amount of other pending requests, it might not happen right away. If you select the option to only have them enter your apartment when you're home then that could extend the wait time as opposed to allowing them in whenever they have a free moment.

Sometimes the issues you're experiencing are simple fixes that even you can do! Why wait a few days to get that toilet unclogged when you can do it now and have the freedom to use the bathroom whenever?

Here are some troubleshooting tips you can do yourself instead of relying on maintenance to have a slot free in their schedule.

1. Clogged Toilet

You aren’t the first person to have one, and you certainly won’t be the last. Since this is a common issue it’s important to know how you can unclog it without the help of maintenance staff. The HuffPost has great step-by-step instructions that tell you what products can be used to break up the toilet paper without using a plunger, along with a video on how to unclog it with a plunger. If neither of these tricks does the job it’s probably time to bite the bullet and put in that request to maintenance.  

2. Toilet Seat Cover Loose

Have you ever sat on the toilet and just felt like it was going to throw you off again? Going to the bathroom should not require the ability to balance like a pro gymnast. Don’t worry though, it's a super simple fix and doesn’t require a degree in plumbing. All you need is a screwdriver. There are two plastic bolts located on the back of your toilet seat that will have a cover on them. Pop the cover off and turn the bolt clockwise. If it just keeps spinning then check out what other tool you’ll need in order to lock it down!

3. New Shower Head*

Is the water pressure too much or too little on your current shower head? Go out to the hardware store and get yourself a new one! Make sure to buy an adjustable wrench and plumber tape if you don’t have those handy - you'll need them to complete the switch to a nice new shower head. Click here for the full instructions on how to replace your shower head and finally start to enjoy those showers. *Before installing we recommend checking with your manager first to ensure the type of shower head you buy is okay to install in your particular apartment.

4. Clogged Garbage Disposal

Did you forget what could and couldn’t go into the garbage disposal in and now it’s clogged? It’s alright, it happens. You can easily call maintenance and wait for them to fix it or you could give the Unclog Garbage Disposal for Dummies a try and fix it all on your own. Just make sure to read the list of scraps that can go down the garbage disposal and the list of foods you should never stick in your garbage disposal.

5. Squeaky Doors

Living in an apartment often means roommates, and squeaky doors are never fun to deal with when all you want to do is sleep and your roommate keeps getting up to use the bathroom. The simplest way to fix it is to purchase some WD-40 and spray it on the hinges until the squeaking stops, but be warned that it does have a smell to it for a while. If you don’t feel like dealing with the smell of WD-40 then here are four other ways to stop that squeak!

6. Burner Not Working

Now this one is a bit tricky, but easily doable! Sometimes when a burner isn’t working there could be something wrong with the connection. Locate your breaker and find the one that connects to your stove and flip it off. Wait a few minutes before flipping it on again, then go check to see if your burner turns on. If it still isn’t working, then more than likely it needs to be replaced and it’s best to call maintenance.

7. Light Bulb Out

If you see that a regular light bulb is out in your apartment you can absolutely go get a new one and change it yourself. If you aren’t sure what kind of bulb is the correct kind then take the bulb with you to the hardware store and ask a store representative to help you!

Apartment living means you may have to tackle some light maintenance on your own, but if you don’t want to do any of these by yourself and are willing to wait, then feel free to put in a maintenance request and a member of the maintenance staff will come out when they have an opening.

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