Bottle trap full of water?

[buckaroo]

Excuse my ignorance, but is a bottle trap meant to be full of water to stop the waste smell coming back up?

We have just had a new shower fitted with a bottle underneath so its only been used a few times with new pipework

However under the waste plug you can see water sitting under there, plus at different times whether you have used it or not, it smells badly of sewage

Would this be due to this water?

This should be relatively clean - I have poured bleach down there and boiling water to flush this away...

 

[Burnerman]

There should definitely be water in the bottle trap - if there wasn't you'd have a direct air line to the sewage system.
If it still pongs, take the trap apart and flush all of the accumulated grot away. Pour some bleach down the overflow, too.
John

 

[buckaroo]

Thank you John!

Will do that, have poured bleach down the plug hole/trap but not sure where the overflow would be?

 

[Burnerman]

I beg your pardon - misread that the trap was on a shower!!
Of course there won't be an overflow.
Some of the 'better' shower traps can be dismantled from above to get hair out etc...yours sounds more traditional and probably more difficult to get to for dismantling.
John

 

[buckaroo]

Ok thanks - funny thing is this has only been used about 3 times and is all brand new, the whole thing, so this seems unlikely to be hair, dirt etc already?

 

[bobby spray]

do you have a trap like this?

if so make sure that the small insert you can see in the photo (small cylinder) is in the correct orientation, seal to the TOP

 

[buckaroo]

I think its like that yes...

I will try and take a pic - can I embedd them in here ok?

 

[Nige F]

Excuse my ignorance, but is a bottle trap meant to be full of water to stop the waste smell coming back up?

We have just had a new shower fitted with a bottle underneath so its only been used a few times with new pipework

However under the waste plug you can see water sitting under there, plus at different times whether you have used it or not, it smells badly of sewage

Would this be due to this water?

This should be relatively clean - I have poured bleach down there and boiling water to flush this away...

it would be due to the water seal being broken by air pulling from the pipework . If it`s connected to a soil pipe it should have a deep seal. It can be sorted with an inline Hep V O waste valve Was the Plumber a gas safe one

 

[buckaroo]

Plumber was gas safe (i think yes!)

Sorry but what is a " inline Hep V O " ?

 

[Burnerman]

If for some reason you find that the trap has become dry and letting pongs in, its probably due to syphonic action of other fittings using the same drain.....this is solved by adding an automatic air admittance valve - if the pipe work allows!
John

 

[JohnD]

if it is a newly installed shower, it is possible that it has not been correctly plumbed in. Pour a cup of water into the trap to verify that it fills and seals, then flush the loo, fill and empty the washbasin, bath and other nearby things that use the same drain pipes, and see if they suck the water out of the shower trap.

What were the skills and qualifications of the person who fitted it?

edit: Not quite quick enough!

 

[canuck]

The other cause may be that the soil vent pipe is blocked.

I recently went through the steps to find out where a nasty stench was coming from, checked for syphonic action, installed air emittance valve on the waste from the shower and problem was still there.

Next I checked the soil vent pipe and its was packed full of old birds nests. I tried clearing it manually but ended up replacing a length of it as it was so packed full of bird waste etc.

I installed a cage over the top (called a vent terminal) and it has seemed to rectify the problem and to prevent birds nesting in it again.