Plumbers? Help!

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Denise1952

Well-known Member
I don't know what is going on but some days a urine smell is coming up out of the bathtub/shower drain. I am holding off mentioning it (again) to my sis, it's her home and she doesn't have a lot of repair money. This is in the spare bath that I use, and no, I do NOT pee in the shower. So now that that's out of the way, I've cleaned (including some bleach down the drain, and soda/vinegar. It comes back, not every day, but many days a week.

Ok, I'm thinking somehow the toilet flushing is getting into the bath pipes. This is a Manufactured home, about 20 years old I think, I can check. I took a bath today, and was convinced this must be in because when I let the water out, the toilet started bubbling/gurgling water.

Any thoughts out there?
 

I am assuming that your sister has a stand alone house?

If so you need to check if there are any visible drains (manhole) adjacent to the property.

I suspect if action is not taken soon she will have some problems.

She might have a partial blockage and waste and water could be backing up slowly.

The drains may look like this?

drain covers.jpg

They may be screwed down or you will need a tool to lift them up.

Lifting them will establish if there is a blockage and also running all the taps and flushing the toilets to check if the water has a clear run.

You might need to ask for help with this action.

.
 
It is a stand-alone Michael. I can check with the neighbor-guy, he would know. I keep thinking that that the pipes are going into each other, aren't they supposed to be totally separate? I'm thinking, after your post, that they do have to join up, but near the end of the line? I'll see who I can find out something from here in the park. It's a park full of manufactured homes, so someone will know;) Thank you for the reply, Denise
 

Just a possibility. If fluids and debris are not backing up it might be a clogged vent. Air has to escape in a drain system. Somewhere there is a vent pipe usually above or near the main drain pipe. I might be as simple as leaves or birds nest on a pipe opening.
 
I hope it isn't costly whatever it is. I wished I'd married that plumber when I was fresh, outa highschool;)
 
Agree with WhatInThe - probably a venting issue. As it's a manufactured home they sometimes don't run the vents high enough, or it just might be clogged up - sometimes birds build their nests or you get an accumulation of leaves and such. If it's possible, get someone to check out the vents on the roof.
 
I'm not a plumber but my son is. Usually when that happens, there is a tree that has grown roots in the sewer line. When the toilet is flushed, it will back up in the tub. Are the any trees anywhere near the sewer lines?

That will be $5.00, please. :D
 
SifuPhil said:
Agree with WhatInThe - probably a venting issue. As it's a manufactured home they sometimes don't run the vents high enough, or it just might be clogged up - sometimes birds build their nests or you get an accumulation of leaves and such. If it's possible, get someone to check out the vents on the roof.
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Thanks for the 2nd "same" opinion Phil;) I know the gutters are full, and we are working on getting someone to clean those out;)

Shirley said:
I'm not a plumber but my son is. Usually when that happens, there is a tree that has grown roots in the sewer line. When the toilet is flushed, it will back up in the tub. Are the any trees anywhere near the sewer lines?

That will be $5.00, please. :D
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Thanks Shirley,

Your check is in the mail;):playful:
 
I had the same problem with my home in Florida and it is also a manufactured home. I had the line snaked out and then the plumber put a chemical down the tub and that worked well for about a year and then the problem came back. I ended up having the line replaced with new PVC piping. That was about 4-5 years ago and all has been well since. Now that I think about it, we even had the smell coming back up when the washer would pump out the dirty clothes water. We didn't have a urine smell. We had 'sewer' gases and when we went down to the house after being gone for a few months and first walked through the door, the smell hit us in the face like Evander Holyfield hitting you with a left punch.
 
Hi OM,

The big bath near my sisters master bedroom is also next to the laundry room. Then the bath we are having trouble with is clear on the other end of the home. It's a small bath and the toilet sits right next to the small tub. I figure (but don't know) that anything "mixing" in the pipes are just from this end of the house. My nephew, her son is coming down one more time before Winter hits, and he'll survey the problem, although he's not a plumber, he may be able to do something minor for a fix, or, recommend someone for her to hire;)

Thanks for your input, this may all help as I can ask him about it when he gets here;)
 
Denise....If you are short on funds, you may be able to hire a plumber that does work on the side from craigslist.org, but be careful who you hire. Also, I remember a fellow telling me one time that he called our local vocational technical school and the plumbing teacher and I forget how many of his students went out to his house and did some repairs. It was a while back and I can't remember just what they did. Anyway, there are a few ideas for you to consider.
 
oldman said:
Denise....If you are short on funds, you may be able to hire a plumber that does work on the side from craigslist.org, but be careful who you hire. Also, I remember a fellow telling me one time that he called our local vocational technical school and the plumbing teacher and I forget how many of his students went out to his house and did some repairs. It was a while back and I can't remember just what they did. Anyway, there are a few ideas for you to consider.
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Now she's talking to the guy in the Park that does odd-jobs etc. So I'll let her handle it. Thanks and I'll keep CL in mind OM:) denise
 
SifuPhil said:
Oh, okay, if you're going to get all snooty on me - get goldfish instead.

It'll take a lot longer but your behind will be safe. :rolleyes:
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k, but I think someone above already suggested a snake, I'm so confused I don't know what to pick now:holymoly:
 
nwlady said:
k, but I think someone above already suggested a snake, I'm so confused I don't know what to pick now:holymoly:
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Yeah, you're right - snakes, piranha, goldfish ... hey, wait, I hear the CDC is auctioning off some old flesh-eating bacteria - that should be better than Liquid Plumber. Just don't sit down while it's working ... :uncomfortableness:
 
SifuPhil said:
Yeah, you're right - snakes, piranha, goldfish ... hey, wait, I hear the CDC is auctioning off some old flesh-eating bacteria - that should be better than Liquid Plumber. Just don't sit down while it's working ... :uncomfortableness:
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I'm no good at auctions Phil, can't I just buy it out and out, like maybe on Ebay where it says "buy now"??:lame:
 

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