mrbob2
Jul 25, 2009, 05:03 PM
Hi, I have been living in a house in Baja Mexico for the last year and I am getting tired of the smell in my master bath room. Sometimes when I lift the toilet seat up I can smell the gas coming through the water. The house was empty for two years prior to me moving in.
It appears that there are no vents in the bath room. I have found no vents on the roof and the house is made of 6x6x18 cement blocks. So it will be next to impossible to add a vent.
There is one 3" line that starts at the sink and then connects to the toilet and then the shower and exits the house into a concrete register. This pipe I would say is about 8ft long. It then runs into a concrete register that is located about 1 ft from the side of the house.
This register is made of concrete and also has the kitchen pipe and the washer drain pipe going into it. The register is about 2ft square and about 1.5ft deep. The water enters this register and turns right into a 4" pipe that drains into the septic tank. The water never completely leaves this register because the bottomof the tank is a little lower then the two pipes.
The owner of the house did not know where the septic tank was so I went digging. I found the tank and a 3" pipe sticking out of it about 4ft away from where the water enters the tank. The pipe was sealed shut with a small amount of cement. After breaking the cement out I can see and hear the water entering the tank. I have no idea the size or condition of the tank. I do not know if goes into a field or drops down like some of the other tanks in Baja.
Here are my questions.
Why was a register built? I would think that all the pipes should be connected so the gas does not seep back into the house?
Is the register suppose to be the vent?
I read in some early post that I could make a trap on this main line out of 4" 45's and could cure my problem? Is there any problems or concerns in adding a trap on the main line?
Should I open the tank up and put in a bigger opening? I am told down here that the trucks use a hose bigger then 3".
I have to replace the main pipe because it is thin wall old PVC pipe that has holes in it and cactus roots. SO adding a trap would be easy at this point.
I also plan to try and connect the three pipes together so there is not more register and the system is closed.
Should I add a 2" vent there and run it up the side of my house to the roof?
Any other comments or ideas would be a great help.
Thanks, Bob
It appears that there are no vents in the bath room. I have found no vents on the roof and the house is made of 6x6x18 cement blocks. So it will be next to impossible to add a vent.
There is one 3" line that starts at the sink and then connects to the toilet and then the shower and exits the house into a concrete register. This pipe I would say is about 8ft long. It then runs into a concrete register that is located about 1 ft from the side of the house.
This register is made of concrete and also has the kitchen pipe and the washer drain pipe going into it. The register is about 2ft square and about 1.5ft deep. The water enters this register and turns right into a 4" pipe that drains into the septic tank. The water never completely leaves this register because the bottomof the tank is a little lower then the two pipes.
The owner of the house did not know where the septic tank was so I went digging. I found the tank and a 3" pipe sticking out of it about 4ft away from where the water enters the tank. The pipe was sealed shut with a small amount of cement. After breaking the cement out I can see and hear the water entering the tank. I have no idea the size or condition of the tank. I do not know if goes into a field or drops down like some of the other tanks in Baja.
Here are my questions.
Why was a register built? I would think that all the pipes should be connected so the gas does not seep back into the house?
Is the register suppose to be the vent?
I read in some early post that I could make a trap on this main line out of 4" 45's and could cure my problem? Is there any problems or concerns in adding a trap on the main line?
Should I open the tank up and put in a bigger opening? I am told down here that the trucks use a hose bigger then 3".
I have to replace the main pipe because it is thin wall old PVC pipe that has holes in it and cactus roots. SO adding a trap would be easy at this point.
I also plan to try and connect the three pipes together so there is not more register and the system is closed.
Should I add a 2" vent there and run it up the side of my house to the roof?
Any other comments or ideas would be a great help.
Thanks, Bob