A woman said she has had to throw away hundreds of pounds worth of clothes and towels after raw sewage spilled from the toilet in her apartment for hours.
The problem on 10 December was caused by a blockage in the stack pipe between the ground and first floor of Reading’s Kennet House.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, said she spent hours scooping the waste off her bathroom floor.
Pinnacle Property Management, which manages the building, said it followed “all the correct procedures” during the incident.
The homeowner said she first heard splashing coming from her ensuite bathroom.
“I grabbed a couple of buckets and tupperware and I was just scooping and, basically, I just ended up having to do that for two hours straight,” she said.
“I didn’t have time to grab gloves, I had to do it all barehanded, I had a cut on my hand as well.
“I’m going to have to replace the carpets in the bedroom and obviously the bottom of the wardrobe and I had to throw away hundreds of pounds worth of clothes.
“I used every single towel, kitchen towel, tea towel, everything, I put it down, blankets, throws, anything that would be absorbent because I was so worried about the water damage.
“The feeling that you’re walking around your home and you know that it’s not just unsanitary but it’s actually a health risk is just not nice.”
Pinnacle Property Management said: “We have discussed the situation with Reading Borough Council’s environmental health team who were more than happy with the actions taken.
“We had the property and the carpets professionally cleaned.
“We were unaware of the loss of clothes, but should the owner wish to they are able potentially to put in a claim against the buildings insurance subject to any excess on the policy.”
Reading Borough Council has been approached to comment.
