Hi,
I am cleaning up my bungalow following a rental period.
I think I have a problem with the drain.
The kitchen sink and the washing machine are connected to the same drain outside right under the kitchen window. It is a 100 year old house so it is done the old fashion way, the 2 evacuation pipes reach an open drain with a grid, the drain being connected to the main sewage. See my photos.
Because of the grid, if the occupants of the house throw a lot of grease or rubbish in the kitchen sink, the grid gets covered and the open section of the drain fills up, overflows... It can be messy and occupants sometimes think that the drains are blocked when they are not, just the grid is dirty and does not let the water going further in the drain.
Cleaning that this week-end, I removed 2 buckets of grease of the drain and rubbing again the sides of the wall at that level, I saw 2 holes which are the holes of a metal air brick, in the drain (on photo3, 2 black holes over the white pipes, this is the bottom of an air brick almost invisible).
All that explains the funny smell in the house, specially the kitchen, I always thought it was smelling "old and mouldy" but normal in an old bungalow (we bought the bungalow only 3 years ago).
Anyway, I don't think that it is good as obviously dirty water leaks from the air brick under the house.
The air brick is positioned on the vertical back wall 3cm over the white pipes and maybe 15cms over the half clay pipe forming the drain, it must have been built like that. It shoudn't be a problem if people clean regularly the grid of the drain but if dirty water builds up in the open drain, than it leaks under the house.
How can I fix that? Is it common in old houses? Should we remove the metal air brick and replace by a normal brick? Should we apply a bit of cement or another product over the air brick to block it? What else could we do?
I will ask my husband to throw a bit of acid in the drain to clean and clear the all thing and maybe to show a better picture.
Thanks.
Letty
I am cleaning up my bungalow following a rental period.
I think I have a problem with the drain.
The kitchen sink and the washing machine are connected to the same drain outside right under the kitchen window. It is a 100 year old house so it is done the old fashion way, the 2 evacuation pipes reach an open drain with a grid, the drain being connected to the main sewage. See my photos.
Because of the grid, if the occupants of the house throw a lot of grease or rubbish in the kitchen sink, the grid gets covered and the open section of the drain fills up, overflows... It can be messy and occupants sometimes think that the drains are blocked when they are not, just the grid is dirty and does not let the water going further in the drain.
Cleaning that this week-end, I removed 2 buckets of grease of the drain and rubbing again the sides of the wall at that level, I saw 2 holes which are the holes of a metal air brick, in the drain (on photo3, 2 black holes over the white pipes, this is the bottom of an air brick almost invisible).
All that explains the funny smell in the house, specially the kitchen, I always thought it was smelling "old and mouldy" but normal in an old bungalow (we bought the bungalow only 3 years ago).
Anyway, I don't think that it is good as obviously dirty water leaks from the air brick under the house.
The air brick is positioned on the vertical back wall 3cm over the white pipes and maybe 15cms over the half clay pipe forming the drain, it must have been built like that. It shoudn't be a problem if people clean regularly the grid of the drain but if dirty water builds up in the open drain, than it leaks under the house.
How can I fix that? Is it common in old houses? Should we remove the metal air brick and replace by a normal brick? Should we apply a bit of cement or another product over the air brick to block it? What else could we do?
I will ask my husband to throw a bit of acid in the drain to clean and clear the all thing and maybe to show a better picture.
Thanks.
Letty
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