plumbing question actually (bad smell)

[rieferman]

Well, I know this isn't a plumbing section, and this question isn't even garage related, but a lot of the advice I've found on this forum tends to either be the right answer, or help lead me to the right answer... so here goes:

Our washer and dryer is located in our 1st floor bathroom. Every time we run the washer, we get a sewer (****) smell in the bathroom.

Previous owner added this bathroom, and he's known for cutting corners... So my guess is that some trap or vent or something wasn't done correctly. Any tips on what I should look for?

 

[Falcon67]

Not a plumber and didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn Express but I re-did our back bath last year and ran over a bunch of similar questions.

Modern washers dump water like crazy. All new systems use a 2" drain and there are code stipulations (not knowing the specifics) on the number of fixtures allowed on one drain. What may be happening is that the washer might be creating a water "plug" and when it drains it pulls water from a trap farther up the line. If the drain stack isn't big enough or not done well, water leaving a fixture can create a vacuum and pull water out of traps or do other mysterious things. A shower/tub, faucet and potty can live on a 2" stack - add a washer and probably not. A washer needs it's own 2" drain and maybe stack too IIRC.

Could be also like ours was at this house - whoever added on the back room put the washer/dryer in a closet and ran the drain outside. 2", no big deal - except they didn't bother to put a trap in the line! Oooo-owww, what's that smell...

 

[independentrider]

just make sure there is a s or p trap on the washing machine drain. the gas is backing up the pipe

 

[rieferman]

nice, thanks fellas - I'll look at it tonight and take some pics if it's confusing

 

[His200HerScout]

A similar thing happened to me. The previous owner extended the drain pipe from the kitchen sink to a nearby closet and moved the washing machine there. As the washing machine drained, the water rushed down the pipe and caused the kitchen sink p-trap to gurgle.

My guess is that there is no vent where there ought to be one, so the air in the pipe is rushing out your bathroom sink, shower, or toilet as the washing machine drains.

I ended up moving the washer after my basement remodel, which eliminated the problem rather than solve it. Had I not done that, I would've added a 2" PVC pipe near the sink all the way to the roof.

 

[Mattlt]

Is there a floor drain nearby? If it is dry (no water in the trap) it's possible the smell is coming from there.

Pour some water in every drain in the house before calling a plumber.

 

[pipehack]

Not a plumber and didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn Express but I re-did our back bath last year and ran over a bunch of similar questions.

Modern washers dump water like crazy. All new systems use a 2" drain and there are code stipulations (not knowing the specifics) on the number of fixtures allowed on one drain. What may be happening is that the washer might be creating a water "plug" and when it drains it pulls water from a trap farther up the line. If the drain stack isn't big enough or not done well, water leaving a fixture can create a vacuum and pull water out of traps or do other mysterious things. A shower/tub, faucet and potty can live on a 2" stack - add a washer and probably not. A washer needs it's own 2" drain and maybe stack too IIRC.

Could be also like ours was at this house - whoever added on the back room put the washer/dryer in a closet and ran the drain outside. 2", no big deal - except they didn't bother to put a trap in the line! Oooo-owww, what's that smell...

More or less the answer I was going to give him.... Something is not vented... That's what they are there for.

 

[Falcon67]

A similar thing happened to me. The previous owner extended the drain pipe from the kitchen sink to a nearby closet and moved the washing machine there. As the washing machine drained, the water rushed down the pipe and caused the kitchen sink p-trap to gurgle.

Daughter had that problem in her last house - drains were 1 1/4" copper pipe. The washer drain was in the kitchen and ran down the wall, tied in behind the sink. The modern washer drained so fast it backed up in the sink. Their "solution" was to leave the outside clean out off and let it run out into the flower bed.

 

[nate379]

What did they do in the winter?

 

[Falcon67]

What did they do in the winter?

Continued to water the flowers.

 

[nate379]

It didn't freeze up?

 

[Falcon67]

There was some ice - get's cold here but seldom stays below freezing for any extended period of days. Once in a while.

 

[tdkkart]

After you wash clothes next time, and before running water in any of the other drains in the bathroom, check the existing traps to see if they still have water in them.
It's possible that the rush of water from the washer, into an unvented and/or improperly vented drain, is pulling the water out of one of your traps. If you figure out which one you'll know where the additional vent needs to be.

 

[rieferman]

Hopefully I'll get a chance in the next few days to really look at this and see what the issue is. Supposing a new vent is needed (I'm assuming that's going to be the case) how do you go about adding that in a 105 year old farm house? Can you just vent out the side of the house, or do you need to get all the way to the roof?