Quote:
Originally Posted by Rebel1
The toilet has been off the closet flange for a week, and I have not put
anything in the drain pipe to prevent sewer gases from drifting up into
the bathroom. Yet I don't smell any, and my smelling is excellent. From
the plumbing diagrams on the web, there are no traps other than the one
in the toilet. Should I be concerned that there is a blockage further
down the drain?
The house is 15 years old and built on a slab.
Thanks,
R1
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If I had to guess, I'd guess it was because the vent stack that toilet empties into is on the downwind side of your house.
I'm thinking that if the wind across North America is generally in a west to east direction, if your vent stack opens up on the east side of your roof, the wind blowing over your roof could be causing an low pressure area on the east side of the roof, possibly causing air to be sucked up the vent stack.
Test the idea. Light a cotton shoe lace until it's burning under it's own steam, and then blow out the flame so that the cotton is smoldering, releasing a steady stream of smoke as it burns. You now have a poor man's smoke pencil. Hold the smoldering end of the shoe lace over your floor flange (or what's left of it) and see if the smoke gets sucked into the toilet waste pipe or blown out of it. If it gets blown out, then it could be that the prevailing wind is pushing air down your vent stack, and preventing sewer gas from coming up. If it gets sucked into the toilet waste pipe, it's probably due to the wind blowing over your roof.
Quote:
Should I be concerned that there is a blockage further
down the drain?
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You should have the main drain line from your house to the city sewer cleared by a plumber with a snake (or jetter) every 10 to 15 years to ensure good drainage. But, if you weren't having any problems with your drains until now, I wouldn't believe there's a problem now.