About speedball1 Expertise About me: My Plumbing Expertise: I retired from plumbing after a lifetime in the trade. all phases from service and upkeep to construction, both residential and commercial. I am qualified to do anything in plumbing from fixing a leaky faucet to drafting a set of plans for a commercial shopping center and supervising the construction. My last five years were spent as a trouble shooter for a large plumbing company. I took on all my companys complaints. I have been a expert on the plumbing page at Askme.com. In a field of 200 experts my rating was number one. You may also find me at Answerway.com and AskMe Help Desk.com. This is fun for me and if I can help anybody out that`s iceing on the cake. Degrees & Certifications: As for degrees, I don`t have any. Just a Journeymans ticket, but hey! How about fifty years experience?
Experience Life Experience? Hmmmmmmm! Ran away at 15 and joined a carnival, Navy at 17 Merchant marine at 19 I've had a hellava life.
Question We get a nasty odor in the kitchen sink when the laundry is being done in the basement clothes washer. I was told it was a vacuum problem and when my washer rinsed it would drain the trap upstairs, so I made sure that the drain hose is allowing air in along with the waste water. The washer and sink DO share the same pipe that ends up going to the Waste pipe and then out to the Septic Tank. The only other thing that I thought that it might be is the Vent pipe up through the roof, but that seem to be okay. Any suggestions?
Answer Hey Joe, Allowing air around your washer drain hose won't help. There is a water seal in the trap that will prevent the air from venting. If were a blocked vent you would hear gurgling from the sink trap when the washer discharges. Since there is no odor when the washer isn't discharging I can only assume there is a partial blockage in the common aink/laundry drain or the septic tank needs to be pumped. Here is what I think happens. Because a washer pump will discharge with much volume and great pressure it loads the line up faster then a sink draining normally. With normal discharge, toilet, sink, tub, you would notice nothing. However, when the washer discharges it meets a resistence and sends a puff of air back up the line and you get the smell from the trap. I would check the septic tank and if it's ok then I would snake out the kitchen/laundry drain line from the roof vent to clear the line. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply. Tom
