Stinky Drains

[Rerun]

The DaVita I go to has 10 chairs and the drains reek.  I'll be sitting in my chair trying to sleep and when the AC shuts off this putrid smell engulfs me.  I've been complaining for a year at least.  One night the nurse gave me a battery operated little fan on a string to put around my neck.  It is awful.  I shouldn't have to breath that crap.  They try and spray them with bleach and then I smell that.  I like the smell of bleach but it gets overwhelming.  I threatened to call the Health Dept. 

So last night I went in and they fixed the problem by putting Air-Wick air fresheners behind every chair so now there are 10 air fresheners in that room.  OMG 

[monsterman]

Wow nice to know they know how to "fix the problem" I would hate to think what they would do for something like a water leak?

[Rerun]

They throw down towels.

         

[okarol]

GROSS!! 

[jeannea]

So have you called the health department?

[Jean]

At least tell us that the air fresheners are all the same scent? Not making fun of you Rerun, I have such a sensitive nose, sometimes I cant stand it!!

[kit78]

Yes, I would call the health dept. indeed.  The new Davita I go to is about 1 year old and zero infection rate.     When it comes right down to it I think it doesn't matter who owns what as they all have issues.
I would MOVE to another clinic.  I am lucky to know my docs have their own clinic in 2 locations and no lawsuits so if this place doesn't work out I can move there.

[Rerun]

The air fresheners work for now surprisingly.  But, if I had brought some in they would have told me I could NOT do that because too many people have allergies....

I have not called the health department.  The center probably pays them off.

[amanda100wilson]

Do something, don't just complain on here.  Do contact the Health Dept.

[Bill Peckham]

The DaVita I go to has 10 chairs and the drains reek.  I'll be sitting in my chair trying to sleep and when the AC shuts off this putrid smell engulfs me.  I've been complaining for a year at least.  One night the nurse gave me a battery operated little fan on a string to put around my neck.  It is awful.  I shouldn't have to breath that crap.  They try and spray them with bleach and then I smell that.  I like the smell of bleach but it gets overwhelming.  I threatened to call the Health Dept. 

So last night I went in and they fixed the problem by putting Air-Wick air fresheners behind every chair so now there are 10 air fresheners in that room.  OMG

Spray? How about pour bleach solution down the drains - like a cup or two? If they've let it go this long some foaming Draino should get it back to a point that it can then be managed with a cup of bleach a week.

[Rerun]

They dump gallons of bleach down.  Bleach itself is slimy.  I'll ask if they have tried Draino.  I've had them dump a whole jug of Bleach down when I'm in the chair and about choked me.

They need a plumber 4 times a year to come snake the drains. 

[Rerun]

The drains are smelling bad again.  They did this whole $$$ remodel in the fall of 2014 and were supposed to install fans to blow the stench down the drains but they didn't finish that...  Now the Manager is blaming what we are "eating" this time of year.  Really? 

           

[cdwbrooklyn]

The drains are smelling bad again.  They did this whole $$$ remodel in the fall of 2014 and were supposed to install fans to blow the stench down the drains but they didn't finish that...  Now the Manager is blaming what we are "eating" this time of year.  Really? 

           

Okay, I’m a little confused here; what do (what you’re eating) have to do with management not maintaining the drain so it does not get to this point?   Someone is not doing his or her job.  Well then again in my clinic for home patients, there is a machine for training and its hook up to a drain pile.  It really smells bad.  My nurse tries everything to get it from smelling so bad but nothing seems to work.  At home, I bleach my line every month and throw a little bit of bleach down the drain piles.  Also, I do purchase a lot of air fresheners and place them around my home.

[jeannea]

WTH? Have they said what you should be eating? They should be able to deal with this problem. I don't remember it ever being an issue when I did in-center. I would be tempted to dab a little Vicks under my nose. That tends to cover smells.

[Charlie B53]

Changing centers may not be an option.

An anonymous call to the Health Dept may be your best choice.

Have you managed to get your complaint to upper management at the clinic?  If so, then about the only choice left is to make that call to the Health Dept.

A proper cleaning with caustic chemical may be the best solution, with regular maintenance doses of said caustic.

Vicks under the nose may mask the smell, but this really can be a serious health issue.  Where there is odor, there is bacteria.  Many of you can have a depressed immune system.  Breathing in that odorous bacteria, open sores even momentarily exposed to the odorous air can have infection possibilities that need to be prevented.

This is a serious heath issue.

Make the call.

[Rerun]

Your replies have given me ammunition.  Thank you.  I do have a District Director that paid me a visit when I wrote to Kent Thiry the CEO of of DaVita (not about the drains) and he said if I had any concerns to give him a call.  If they are still stinky tonight I will be calling "Brad".  They were supposed to shoot them with HOT water and bleach over the weekend and if that didn't help they were to call Rotor Rooter.  If I were Manager I'd have Rotor Rooter out every six weeks ... period.  More if that didn't work. 

     

[PrimeTimer]

Maybe their plumbing stack pipes are clogged. Stack pipes are attached to drain waste vents. They can be seen sticking out from roof tops. If they get clogged, things can get backed up and smell.

[Charlie B53]

This makes me wonder what the inside of my sewer lines are like.  Dumping my PD solution down the toilet daily even with a flush, rapidly builds a protein 'slime' I have to clean the bowl more than just weekly.  So how much of this 'slime' is there in the down-pipe through the basement and then outside to the tank.  Without measuring out then across the yard to the tank,  I bet at least 50 yards.   Year and a half so far.  Should I start crossing my fingers?

[jeannea]

Charlie, I didn't have drain problems on PD. I put my fluid down the bathtub. Sometimes (sorry TMI) issues with toilet cleanliness can be because of the terrible quality of our urine or from our meds. Even with PD fluid in the bathtub I had some other cleaning issues as well. You could consult a professional, but the chemicals involved with hemo are a lot different than with PD.

[Rerun]

I wrote a pretty STRONG email to the Clinic Director with a cc to the manager and District Director of DaVita.  The District Director just called me and it will be fixed.   

[Simon Dog]

If I were Manager I'd have Rotor Rooter out every six weeks ... period.  More if that didn't work. 

It's really hard to say that with certainty, since you are not exposed to the incentives, and penalties, that manager is subject to for spending money on outside services like plumbing.  You probably don't even know what level of signature authority the manager has, and if outside expenses like that require an additional level of approval.

[jeannea]

That's great Rerun!

[thegrammalady]

Drains were one of the things Medicare nearly shut my old center down for.

[Rerun]

Letter to the manager with a cc to the Medical Director and District Manager:

On Sunday, March 8, 2015 I could smell my drain... on a scale of 1-10, it was a 2.  Then on Tuesday it was a 3.5 and last night it was a 4.5.

So, if your deep clean, enzyme eating regiment was every 10 weeks it needs to be every 8 weeks. 

If I'm the only one who is not nose blind then just do my drain. 

IHD Members no need to respond.  This is my way of documenting this problem.