Sewer Gases from Laundry Draining (STUDOR MINI VENT)

[CarrieLJP]

I had professional plumbers come out and move the plumbing for our laundry room last month. We live in a 1500 sq foot 1950s home. It's one floor with a crawl space underneath.


They vented the pipe with a "Studor Mini-Vent" saying it was easier than venting through the roof and it would work the same.

The wrong fitting here will siphon the traps on both sides. You can't use a wye fitting for trap arms.

They didn't detach the previous laundry, and I haven't added the new washer and dryer for the new laundry room yet.

The problem comes when the washer drains- the house fills with sewer gases. You can smell it pretty heavily standing next to the Studor Mini Vent.


We called the plumbers and asked them to come fix the problem, and when they did they said the trap hadn't been filled with water, so that was the issue. They filled it with water and capped it off, but we're still getting noxious smells when we run our washer after their fix. Again, standing next to the mini vent. Plus, you can hear the water gurgling in the trap when you get the smell as well.


Does anyone have this same vent in the same set up? I'm very handy and could vent it through my rubber roof above if I was given the right direction, but I'd much rather my plumber come and finish the job I paid them $2,600 to complete.


Any thoughts?

 

[Reach4]

That last picture, with the box so far back, looks sleezy. That plastic bezel on the floor doesn't fill the gap, does it? I am not a plumber. On the other hand, your wall looks curved

If it were me, as a troubleshooting aid, I would tie/tape/rubber-band a plastic bag over the AAV to see if the smell stops. If the bag inflates, rather than just sucking in, you know the AAV has failed.

EDIT: Wait, that is the wrong fitting for joining the pipe under the AAV. He used a double wye, which prevents the AAV from doing its job! Basic stuff.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jeff H Young]

I wont comment on the workmanship in general.
The double combi is 100 percent wrong fitting that can result in traps siphoning as reach 4 said. I would require them to comeback and fix. oops forgot to mention agree also w reach 4 check aav might not be working proper but either way replace that double combi with a double fixture fitting

 

[Reach4]

I would also feel better if the strain on the pipes were reduced. I guess that was to try to make the trap arms more horizontal, as was the prop under the standpipe trap. I don't know how/if that should be dealt with.

 

[Jeff H Young]

I would also feel better if the strain on the pipes were reduced. I guess that was to try to make the trap arms more horizontal, as was the prop under the standpipe trap. I don't know how/if that should be dealt with.

Sometimes ill wedge a piece in like that perhaps to hold trap on while glue is drying. looks a bit sloppy to leave it that way when i see one like that ill give it a kick . agree no reason to put strain on pipes

 

[CarrieLJP]

That last picture, with the box so far back, looks sleezy. That plastic bezel on the floor doesn't fill the gap, does it? I am not a plumber. On the other hand, your wall looks curved

If it were me, as a troubleshooting aid, I would tie/tape/rubber-band a plastic bag over the AAV to see if the smell stops. If the bag inflates, rather than just sucking in, you know the AAV has failed.

EDIT: Wait, that is the wrong fitting for joining the pipe under the AAV. He used a double wye, which prevents the AAV from doing its job! Basic stuff.

The bezel does not fill the gap. He said to build a wooden box around it that the bezel would fit onto, since he didn't want to cut out the bricks. I don't believe the wall is curved, at least not so much that you'd see it in that picture. There's a mattress leaning against the wall causing the shadow.

So the AAV needs a different fitting rather than the one they used? I see that someone else mentioned a double fixture fitting. Do I tell them this and request they do it correctly?

Also, I didn't even hire the least expensive contractor! They had great reviews online, and they seem like a really established company. Is it normal for plumbers/ contractors to need to be babysat a bit? This is only the first home I've had plumbing done in.

 

[CarrieLJP]

I wont comment on the workmanship in general.
The double combi is 100 percent wrong fitting that can result in traps siphoning as reach 4 said. I would require them to comeback and fix. oops forgot to mention agree also w reach 4 check aav might not be working proper but either way replace that double combi with a double fixture fitting

Okay, I'll request that. And should I just say what you wrote as the reason I need it to be changed? This is going to sound ridiculous, but is "double combi" short for something else?

Thank you for your help!

 

[CarrieLJP]

I would also feel better if the strain on the pipes were reduced. I guess that was to try to make the trap arms more horizontal, as was the prop under the standpipe trap. I don't know how/if that should be dealt with.

What would you use to reduce the strain on the pipes? Again, I truly appreciate your help. My plumbing knowledge is very limited, but clearly I need to dive into the knowledge of it all.

 

[Reach4]

What would you use to reduce the strain on the pipes? Again, I truly appreciate your help. My plumbing knowledge is very limited, but clearly I need to dive into the knowledge of it all.

I don't know. It looks like the tilt is only about 5 degrees, and maybe their stress solution was as good as any to get horizontal-enough trap arms. I know I am not supposed to glue in a short piece of Spa Flex.

But the double fixture fitting is a must.

 

[Terry]

Something like this would have been better.

It's not the AAV that is the problem, it's the double wye fitting that creates a siphon on the traps.

1. 

 

[Jeff H Young]

Dont want to pick it apart, the brick in way I get it. Well a little finish work at the box to trim it out nice will be good.
Carrie, I dont know if someone grafittied over your picture or if you did that.... but as we all have said that is wrong fitting I would not accept that!

 

[Terry]

I added the warning on the picture above. I get so tired of Google and other sites showing mistakes as the way to do things.

Here is another one that has been posted, similar in that this too will siphon traps.

 

[Jeff H Young]

I added the warning on the picture above. I get so tired of Google and other sites showing mistakes as the way to do things.

Here is another one that has been posted, similar in that this too will siphon traps.

Right on Terry! It confused me , thought OP may have included the wording and was fully aware of problem all along . I can understand 100 percent that someone that reproduces the pic and posts it elsewhere thinking its good work so good idea to put that over it.

 

[Mr tee]

Okay, I'll request that. And should I just say what you wrote as the reason I need it to be changed? This is going to sound ridiculous, but is "double combi" short for something else?

Thank you for your help!

A double combi is a double combination. A combination is a combination of a wye and an 1/8th bend with the branch pointing 90 degrees from the barrel.

 

[Reach4]

is a double wye.

is a double fixture fitting.

It looks like you might have separate barcode labels on the 45s glued into the double wye, which would be unlikely if that came as a double combination.

They make PVC primer tinted purple, and clear versions. Some places require the purple to show that priming was not missed.

 

[CarrieLJP]

UPDATE: The company came by today and took a look at it. They went in the crawl space too, and ultimately said there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way it was done. I told them the double wye needed to be a double fixture and that was creating a siphon and they said that's not an issue at all.

They suggested I call another company to try and snake the other vent in the house because that's "probably what's causing the siphon". I told them I wasn't having a single issue with sewer gases or venting before they did all this work.

I was going to attach a video of the bubbling from the trap that I recorded last week, but I don't believe I'm able to upload video. Probably a moot point since you all know what a siphon sounds like.

We'll call the supervisor in the morning to ask them to come out again. I hate to be a pest, but I hate the sewer gases filling my house even more.

 

[CarrieLJP]

I added the warning on the picture above. I get so tired of Google and other sites showing mistakes as the way to do things.

That's a good idea.

 

[Terry]

I'm sorry that your plumbers don't understand how plumbing works. You can't have the the wye fitting to join two trap arms.

 

[Jeff H Young]

UPDATE: The company came by today and took a look at it. They went in the crawl space too, and ultimately said there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way it was done. I told them the double wye needed to be a double fixture and that was creating a siphon and they said that's not an issue at all.

They suggested I call another company to try and snake the other vent in the house because that's "probably what's causing the siphon". I told them I wasn't having a single issue with sewer gases or venting before they did all this work.

I was going to attach a video of the bubbling from the trap that I recorded last week, but I don't believe I'm able to upload video. Probably a moot point since you all know what a siphon sounds like.

We'll call the supervisor in the morning to ask them to come out again. I hate to be a pest, but I hate the sewer gases filling my house even more.

Carrie , I already stated what I know to be wrong but that dosent mean a plugged line is not a possibility as well. To me and others use of wrong fittings in this case is important. I would recomend the work be performed correctly even if you must hire and pay another contractor to correct. It is what it should not be and must be corrected .

 

[CarrieLJP]

Carrie , I already stated what I know to be wrong but that dosent mean a plugged line is not a possibility as well. To me and others use of wrong fittings in this case is important. I would recomend the work be performed correctly even if you must hire and pay another contractor to correct. It is what it should not be and must be corrected .

Yeah, that's what I said to my husband today. If they don't switch out the fitting like I requested, we'll let them know we're leaving a detailed review of the job and the result on all the review platforms we can, then either learn how to switch it out ourselves or hire someone else who can.

On that note, would this be a terribly difficult switch to do myself?