Alright I've dealt with a recurring bad smell for about 2 years now,
and after multiple visits from the plumber (unfortunately the smell was
never around when they came) and multiple posts on usenet (the answers
to which have tended to be a lot more informative than what the plumber
told me), I think I've narrowed down the problem to the p-trap that's
connected to my central AC drainage pipe.

The smell used to come when I ran the water in the kitchen. I got the
p-trap cleaned out (it was VERY clogged), and the plumber added a
t-joint kind of thing with a cap so I can occasionally pour bleach in
to keep it clean. Strangely, the smell doesn't come when I run the
kitchen water anymore, but now it just comes around randomly, usually
near the end of the day. Not a pleasant thing to come home to after
work.

I -think-, but I'm not sure, that the p-trap is either vacating due to
some weird pressure thing in the plumbing, or just not filling as fast
as it evaporates. Could someone more knowledgeable than me tell me if
either of these make any sense? I've occasionally been putting water
into that cap thing he installed, but it hasn't made much of a
difference.

When I do a search for "p-trap" on google images all the ones that show
up have a much steeper angle than the one that I have installed. I had
foolishly not requested that the plumber put a new one in (I asked him
whether he would replace it, he said he'd just clean it out which would
save me money). Is this a possible problem?

Possibly he needed to snake out the vent associated with this trap.

Any smell is because your trap is not quite full and is allowing smell
thru if your vent is good then look for leaks on your trap or a pluged
vent
Sev wrote:
Possibly he needed to snake out the vent associated with this trap.

I"ve seen old black iron and galvanized pipe used in vents rotted clean
through and stinking up the place. You could easily have a leaky vent.
wrote:
Alright I've dealt with a recurring bad smell for about 2 years now,
and after multiple visits from the plumber (unfortunately the smell was
never around when they came) and multiple posts on usenet (the answers
to which have tended to be a lot more informative than what the plumber
told me), I think I've narrowed down the problem to the p-trap that's
connected to my central AC drainage pipe.

The smell used to come when I ran the water in the kitchen. I got the
p-trap cleaned out (it was VERY clogged), and the plumber added a
t-joint kind of thing with a cap so I can occasionally pour bleach in
to keep it clean. Strangely, the smell doesn't come when I run the
kitchen water anymore, but now it just comes around randomly, usually
near the end of the day. Not a pleasant thing to come home to after
work.

I -think-, but I'm not sure, that the p-trap is either vacating due to
some weird pressure thing in the plumbing, or just not filling as fast
as it evaporates. Could someone more knowledgeable than me tell me if
either of these make any sense? I've occasionally been putting water
into that cap thing he installed, but it hasn't made much of a
difference.

When I do a search for "p-trap" on google images all the ones that show
up have a much steeper angle than the one that I have installed. I had
foolishly not requested that the plumber put a new one in (I asked him
whether he would replace it, he said he'd just clean it out which would
save me money). Is this a possible problem?

Sev wrote:
Possibly he needed to snake out the vent associated with this trap.

That would be the vent pipe that comes out on the roof? Or is there
some other part of the system that I don't know about?

if the ac unit drains into the kitchen sink trap itself where you smell
it, perhaps it could have its own trap closer to the soil stack.
a guess: you are describing a time of day related to the operating of
the air conditioning creating waste moisture. moisture feeds the mold.
have your moisture gathering ac unit and the drain line to its trap
cleaned or snaked and bleached?
maybe replace the drain hose/pipe from ac to trap?
call your ac repairman out to look over your system layout and advise
you of how to perform periodic servicing for your particular equipment
layout.
improperly vented systems can lead to trap being sucked out by other
usage of your home sewer system. changing a working trap will probably
provide no improvement in the problem since it sounds like mold odor
creeping down the ac drain hose to the trap.
systems and their installations and climates and local code
requirements vary widely so a visit by an hvac technician should solve
this.



wrote:
Alright I've dealt with a recurring bad smell for about 2 years now,
and after multiple visits from the plumber (unfortunately the smell was
never around when they came) and multiple posts on usenet (the answers
to which have tended to be a lot more informative than what the plumber
told me), I think I've narrowed down the problem to the p-trap that's
connected to my central AC drainage pipe.

The smell used to come when I ran the water in the kitchen. I got the
p-trap cleaned out (it was VERY clogged), and the plumber added a
t-joint kind of thing with a cap so I can occasionally pour bleach in
to keep it clean. Strangely, the smell doesn't come when I run the
kitchen water anymore, but now it just comes around randomly, usually
near the end of the day. Not a pleasant thing to come home to after
work.

I -think-, but I'm not sure, that the p-trap is either vacating due to
some weird pressure thing in the plumbing, or just not filling as fast
as it evaporates. Could someone more knowledgeable than me tell me if
either of these make any sense? I've occasionally been putting water
into that cap thing he installed, but it hasn't made much of a
difference.

When I do a search for "p-trap" on google images all the ones that show
up have a much steeper angle than the one that I have installed. I had
foolishly not requested that the plumber put a new one in (I asked him
whether he would replace it, he said he'd just clean it out which would
save me money). Is this a possible problem?

buffalobill wrote:
if the ac unit drains into the kitchen sink trap itself where you smell
it, perhaps it could have its own trap closer to the soil stack.
a guess: you are describing a time of day related to the operating of
the air conditioning creating waste moisture. moisture feeds the mold.
have your moisture gathering ac unit and the drain line to its trap
cleaned or snaked and bleached?

I haven't snaked but I've poured plenty of bleach down the relevant
pipe.

maybe replace the drain hose/pipe from ac to trap?
call your ac repairman out to look over your system layout and advise
you of how to perform periodic servicing for your particular equipment
layout.
improperly vented systems can lead to trap being sucked out by other
usage of your home sewer system.

I think this is the problem, is there any way to fix this? I don't
think it's mold, it has a definite sewer smell rather than mold.