Flooding showers, a lack of hot water, clogged toilets and broken elevators are some of the problems that have recently been plaguing the ISU residence halls.

Residence hall officials said the problems vary from dorm to dorm, and when they do occur, the maintenance workers do everything they can to remedy difficulties as quickly as possible.

Director of Residence Randy Alexander said there are 36 maintenance employees, not including janitors, who look after all the ISU dorms. He said the main recurring difficulty has been the Wallace Hall elevators.

“We have heard of instances of elevators breaking down because of students overloading them, like in Maple Hall. The elevators in Wallace have practically been rebuilt; it is just one of those situations that stumps people,” he said.

Associate Director of Residence Gary Schwartz said students have no reason to be fearful of the elevators breaking down because of multiple checks and a special braking system that braces the elevators.

“We have an elevator contract with Kone out of Des Moines and one with Lorch Bates, and they fully inspect the elevators twice a year. There are special staff that come in to do repairs, and we have someone available almost all of the time to check the elevators if something should go wrong,” he said.

Schwartz said maintenance requests are at about the same number as usual. He said the distribution of maintenance requests is equally proportional according to size. Since Friley Hall is the largest dorm, it has the most requests.

Creighton Gaynor, hall director for Barton, Lyon, Freeman and Fisher-Nickell Halls, said he has received a few calls this semester about water temperature.

“Hot water has been a problem, but maintenance comes fairly quickly to fix it,” he said.

Several residents said they believe the most persistent problems are with the bathrooms and elevators.

Tara Schumann, resident of Cessna House in Larch Hall, is dissatisfied with the maintenance service in her building.

“I’m really upset about the day our showers were clogged, and there was soapy, hairy water running all over the bathroom,” said Schumann, freshman in pre-business. “I was even more upset the day the toilets got clogged.”

Schumann also is worried about the elevators in her hall

“I hold my breath and hope they don’t get stuck or fall every time I ride on one,” she said.

However, not all students are bothered by maintenance problems, including Bryce Rustwick, resident of Bennett House in Friley Hall.

“The main one we have is with the showers. We have three showers on our floor, but only one of them produces hot water,” said Rustwick, freshman in engineering.

Jessica Goeken, resident of Gwynne House in Wilson Hall, has not been frequently burdened with maintenance hardships in her dorm.

“One of the elevators is broken some of the time; it won’t work at all, but I haven’t had any major problems,” said Goeken, sophomore in biology.

Students can contact maintenance by dialing 294-3322 from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Schwartz said if there is an emergency after that time period, each hall has a director on duty that residents may contact.