Just s stupid question first: Is the ventilation at the top of the soil stack working ok? And where is it, and if internal is the valve working ok?
I'm thinking worth you getting a Pro in to look at all your waste plumbing.
Just one dumb thought. Could you route the shower waste downstairs a separate route via a trap in a downstairs cupboard where you can periodically undo put a bucket under and pour some bleach down from upstairs.
Other silly question is are you sure the shower waste has no built in trap. It just can't be acceptable not to have one. There are lots of flush trays these days so solutions are avail.
Perhaps for a test for the smells, gaffer tape over he shower waste, open the windows for an hour then shut them, and then see following morning if smells returned around the house.
Is your soil stack internally boxed in or can you a access?
Cheers,
Roy
I stuck my fingers in the left of this picture and was able to splash about in water suggesting it acts as a trap also (I think?).
Re the soil stack, I have no idea, I have two vents that poke through the tiles in different areas of the house, I would assume one of these is the soil stack (or both?).
The house is shaped like a T, one length only has a ground floor (bathroom), the other length has a ground and 1st floor. Shower room is on the 1st floor in a dormer.
One of the vents I see protruding are above the kitchen (ground floor), I can see a red/brown plastic line running through my loft connecting to it.
The other is above the dormer (1st floor) which contains the upstairs shower room. The house is shaped like a T and there’s no loft in the upper floor where the shower room is at.
Is there an easy way to tell if they’re operating as they should be?
Thanks
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The waste is a trap, it is the vortex type which are a bit like a snail whirl, wirquin’s is “twisto”.
They’re supposed to spin the water around fast into a funnel like a tornado, and this then whizzes everything away - so it “self cleans”.
The are supplied with Mira flight trays and if it’s direct to floor I bin them as I don’t believe in magic. I use a top access trap so hair can be removed, the twisto is difficult to clear - wet vac and bits of wire kind of do it.
However in your case it sounds to me as if the drains may be blocked - have you tried lifting a manhole?
If it were me, as you have the ceiling down I would change that to a top access trap and the patch ceiling- all maintenance can be done from above.
Also need to re silicone if you can see light !
Believe it or not, I had a top access trap before installed by another plumber as a fix.
When the shower room was brand new it started having issues after a few months, I hastily blamed the waste and we got another plumber out to rectify it by swapping it to a top access one. I’ve checked through my photos in my phone and this was the one which flooded the house. It was the run off being angled back to the waste which was the issue more than the waste used. It was when it flooded I removed the plasterboard myself and couldn’t believe the amount of unecessary elbow joints the plumber had installed, then I checked the level too and saw it was running the wrong direction - so got another plumber out to (re)fit the vortex type waste and correct the level.
My other half hated the top access one the plumber installed as it protruded from the tray with a circular pull out (instead of being flush) where the tray has a square recess. Is there any recommendations of a top access one which would allow me to refit the square drain cover so it’s flush with the tray? I’ve included a pic of the current waste with the grille removed.
If there’s any pointers/techniques you can give me for the wet vac and wire I’m all ears! I have a wet vac and a variety of drain snakes/augers to hand.
Would just love to actually get it done from the top. The wastes been great for a year and a half, drains quickly and every time my other half showers it catches a ton of her hair in the grate. The vortex style one wouldn’t be nearly so bad to clear out if it didn’t have a vertical straight section on the outlet side, once the snakes been fed around it always clashes and half the time turns back on itself/pops out - i can just never get the snake by it.
I don’t have manholes that I can access to the best of my knowledge. There’s two scored areas outside in the concrete which look like they head towards my septic tank, and snow never lies on them so I assume that’s my waste outlets but can’t see any way of lifting them without damaging the concrete.
I do intend on getting pro’s out once lockdown is over (and also because I have a new downstairs bathroom for them to install), but right now I feel kind of let down by the original installer and then the guy who came out to fix things initially so want to get as much info as I can from pro’s online first.
I’ve included a picture of the top access waste which was fitted with all the unecessary elbows which even in my uneducated eyes I knew wasn’t great. He maybe routed it like that to save drilling through the joist, I don’t know. I was away from home working when the work was done and came home to the ceiling patched up.
I am confused on why if the shower has a trap, the bath has a trap and the sinks have traps that Im getting bad smells?
Thanks for all the help so far! It’s been great.
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Agree with all the above, except the 'dumb thought' paragraph. Whatever my be in the pipework beyond the trap, the trap should not allow these smells to pass back into the room.
Yes! This is confusing me aswell, I just posted above that if everything has traps, shower/bath/sinks then what’s causing me to get bad smells?