Shower plumbing question

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gzt

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#140808 20-Feb-2014 19:25

I've been asked to sort out a shower issue. The first part was trivial, ordering a new inner assembly(on last page) for the shower waste.

The second part is that the bathroom tends to build up a mild but unpleasant smell overnight with no one using it. There is nothing leaking and all the plumbing is easy to see at head height under the house. I noticed the shower does not have a 'p' trap. With the inner assembly out you can easily hear the sink draining etc etc.

I ordered the new assembly prior to leaving and now I'm miles away and may not get another look at it for a while. The shower waste is a newline side entry.

So my question is: Does this type of shower waste require a 'p' trap or is there something about the waste that automagically creates a trap in there when it is operating correctly?

richms

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#991337 20-Feb-2014 19:27

They should be acting as a trap when the parts are all in. They make it so that there is enough water in the bottom to stop a it'll flow up the pipe getting thru.

Richard rich.ms

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gzt

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#991374 20-Feb-2014 20:15

Thanks Rich, that's interesting. All parts were bone dry when I took out the old inner assembly, and yet the shower had definitely been used the previous night. There were various broken looking parts including the top cover. I did not look too closely.

I booked a plumber to look at the system and install the new assembly to be sure there were no other issues. Just talked to the owner and the new assembly is filling with water as expected so there is definitely a difference in operation now.

BTR

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#991718 21-Feb-2014 11:35

The bad smell could be caused by the lack of a working trap. The trap while giving protection from dropped rings / ear rings also provides a block so that noise and air from the sewer line doesn't flow back into the house.

gzt

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#991736 21-Feb-2014 11:50

BTR: The bad smell could be caused by the lack of a working trap.

Yes, that is most likely cause and probably resolved now. Closed room test is in progress to verify.