kd1
Oct 20, 2006, 09:54 AM
I purchased an existing restaurant a little over a year ago. I began noticing sewer smells coming from the dishwasher area, only after the dishwasher has been in use. All drains and floor drains run to a grease trap with is inside the unit that I rent. The problem only occurs when it is cold out, maybe 40F or colder. Apparently the problem has been ongoing for the last few winters. I believe that the odors are coming from a floor drain that the dishwasher pours into. That p-trap seems to be intact and is always filled with water. I do not think that the smell is coming form the grease trap since it is in a closet room that is kept shut by a door.
The grease trap is cleaned on a regular basis and I do use bacteria enzymes to help keep pipes from backing up. Recently we replaced a broken p-trap on a floor drain, which I thought might correct the problem but did not. I have also had the lines snaked and jetted, but that did not correct he problem either. All traps are filled with water and seem to be intact.
I am worried that I may have to dig up a bunch of pipe and/or have to replace the grease trap. Obviously this would be very expensive and I want to try everything possible before doing anything extreme. The building is 20 years old and is in decent shape. My neighbors on each side of me do not have this problem (it is in a strip mall so the neighbors are attached in the same building)
A friend of mine had a similar problem. He thought that there were broken pipes and that sewage was in the dirt below ground. He only had odor problems in the winter also, and thinks that it is the sewage in the dirt an that smells arise when the ground freezes. Does this sound right? He ended up selling before the problem was fixed.
The plumbers that I have had out for backups and to replace the one trap have not offered any advice other than saying that the p-traps should prevent this. They seem clueless. What do I need to do to find out what the problem is?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kd1
The grease trap is cleaned on a regular basis and I do use bacteria enzymes to help keep pipes from backing up. Recently we replaced a broken p-trap on a floor drain, which I thought might correct the problem but did not. I have also had the lines snaked and jetted, but that did not correct he problem either. All traps are filled with water and seem to be intact.
I am worried that I may have to dig up a bunch of pipe and/or have to replace the grease trap. Obviously this would be very expensive and I want to try everything possible before doing anything extreme. The building is 20 years old and is in decent shape. My neighbors on each side of me do not have this problem (it is in a strip mall so the neighbors are attached in the same building)
A friend of mine had a similar problem. He thought that there were broken pipes and that sewage was in the dirt below ground. He only had odor problems in the winter also, and thinks that it is the sewage in the dirt an that smells arise when the ground freezes. Does this sound right? He ended up selling before the problem was fixed.
The plumbers that I have had out for backups and to replace the one trap have not offered any advice other than saying that the p-traps should prevent this. They seem clueless. What do I need to do to find out what the problem is?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kd1