Bell Trap Drain

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radicaldreamer

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I live in a house built in the 1920's. When I purchased the house i went on a cleaning rampage and cleaned everything in the house including the drains (sprayed them with a water hose)

I think this may have caused a problem with sewer gas coming back into the house as I smell a VERY strong odor coming from that drain. Now I have poured water and bleach into the drain and it seems to take care of it for a few minutes and then its back.

I have read that I need to pour water around the edges of the trap to create a water seal OR pour some cooking oil to keep it from evaporating.

My question is this, when I originally hosed the drain there were rocks and mud around the ring under the plastic cover. I removed this to find that the pipe there is rusted fairly bad. Is this whats causing the problem? Can someone recommend a way to fix it that doesnt involve busting the concrete or sealing the drain (my central air drains into this drain.
 

Gary Swart

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You have something serious wrong with your drain. It sounds to me like either the trap has developed a leak so that water will not hold in it or there is no trap at all. Do not pour grease or oil in your drain ever for whatever reason. You should call a plumber to evaluate your problem. Whatever it is, it isn't something that you can fix yourself.
 

acjensen

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is there a hole in the side of the bowl for the drain? If so, that's the cleanout and it bypasses the trap, there should be a plug there. I had this same problem, but the p-trap was completely plugged with rust and debris, so the only way it could drain was with the cleanout plug missing (it wasn't even there when i bought the house...) I ended up busting up the slab around it and replacing it with a new one-piece pvc drain with trap and cover. I'd wait til one of the pro's offers some advice though before acting.
 
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