What Is That Awful Smell Coming From The Sink, Drain, Of My New Custom Home?
There is a lot to learn about the management of a home. Every Homeowner brings some past knowledge with them prior to buying a new home and some things are better understood after you live in a home for a while.
Plumbing traps are one of the items that mostly go unnoticed in a home until an issue develops. What the heck is a plumbing trap and what are they for? Open the sink base cabinet doors below any sink and you’ll notice a “U” shaped plumbing drain right below the sink. The “U” shape is called a trap. It’s also referred to a “P” trap due to its shape. It’s designed to hold water and it’s purpose is to seal out sewer or septic tank gas from entering your home. That gas is called Methane gas and it has a fowl odor much like the sulfur smell from well water.
Methane gas is combustible and capable of exploding in sufficient concentrations. That awful smell coming from the drain is from sewer gas backing up into your home because the plumbing trap has run dry. That happens if the “P” trap has a hole in it or more typically if that fixture has not been in use for an extended period of time. Sometimes it’s the seldom used guest bath or the kids bath after they went off to college. Other times, it happens during a long home heating season as the humidity is removed from the inside of your home. It can happen to a sink, shower, floor drain or bath tub. Any drain in the home that is connected to the sewer or septic tank. You may not notice an odor but perhaps an abundance of fruit flies. They can live down the drain and find their way back into you home if the plumbing trap is not functioning properly. Fortunately, the solution to a dry trap is quite simple. Just run a gallon of water down the drain so the plumbing trap fill up with water. The water seals the waste line, unpleasant odors and fruit flies are prevented from entering your home.
Some might even say, keep your trap shut! Now you know, it applies to more than teenagers.
Have an awesome day!
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment