tackling trouble areas The Stinky Drain MYSTERY By: Jay Porter T The smell of sewer gas can be sickening. Sewer gas can include toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and methane. In order to understand why a drain smells, you must understand where the smell is coming from. Knowing the Parts Beneath plumbing fixtures (sinks, floor drains, commodes) there is a “p” shaped pipe called a p-trap (see illustration). It is designed to trap liquids, preventing nox-ious sewer gases from entering the room in which the plumbing fixture or floor drain is located. Historically, water has been used to fill a p-trap. The contents in all drains are carried to the soil stack and then outbound for pro-cessing. The stack vent typically termi-nates at a rooftop elevation, allowing air and sewer gas to travel upward where it escapes into the atmosphere. When a p-trap is not filled to capacity, its “upper dip” or ceiling will be exposed. Typically, in two weeks water will evap-orate in a p-trap to expose the trap’s up-per dip or ceiling. Sewer gas coming up through the soil stack will be diverted from its route to the stack vent, bypass the par-tially filled p-trap and enter the room in which the plumbing fixture or floor drain is located. Blocking the Odor A stinky drain is seldom the result of poor housekeeping or the fault of a plumber. Keeping a drain’s p-trap filled with water is a mundane job that nobody wants. Chemicals that tend to linger in the p-trap like mineral oil or antifreeze may cause irreparable damage to plumbing. Unless the container in which a solution is packaged has a label indicating that it was formulated to block sewer gas odor, it should not be used in this way. The for-mulator for such a solution cannot be held liable for damage done to a p-trap or any other portion of the plumbing system. CM Jay Porter is the CEO of Environmental Controls Incorporated, the developers of Stinky Drain Solution™ a unique solution that is easy to use: pour one 16 ounce bottle into one standard-sized two-inch drain and sewer gas odors will be blocked for one full year! Website: https://www.EnvironmentalControls.com/sds. www.cmmonline.com Image courtesy of Environmental Controls Incorporated If that drain isn’t associated with a commode or urinal, why does it smell like noxious sewer gas? 33
CMM – Archives June 2013: 33
