Have any of you ever seen a floor drain that doesn't have a trap in it?

In our house half the basement is finished and the other half unfinished, both have floor drains in lowest part of the room. The one in the unfinished part always worked, albeit slowly, but recently stopped and when snaked by a plumber he came across mud and some small roots after about four feet.

I only discovered the other drain in the finished half when pulling up the floor; the lineoleum tile was glued in place right over it. This drain worked but I noticed a very small bit of odor from it and also could feel air moving in it.

Both drains appear to be about 8" vertical to a stop, then a 90 degree pipe coming in that carries the water off. Normally the bottom of the drain is dry.

Question: in the 1930s was it common to put in a floor drain without a trap or could there be a trap further along in the drain, under the floor? Am I right to think these are not hooked to the sanitary sewer because of the lack of smell and the air moving through them?

Wow the thirtys! That's even before I broke into plumbing in the 40's. Back then we were allowed a lot of things that are outlawed now. There were no closet flanges, we set our toilets right over the closet bend and screwed the bowl directly to the floor. "S" traps were common and I seem to recall floor drains that drained directly into the drain. Mind you, that was over fifty years ago up in Wisconsin where we had older homes. Here in the Tampa Bay Area the only homes from the 30's are the ones saved for historical reasons.
Land near the Gulf Beaches is just to valuable. When a house gets some age a developer comes along and buys it, tears it down and puts up a high raise condo building. So we don't get to work on too many old buildings. On the upside, construction has gone on ever since we moved here in 1955. Your floor drains are indeed connected to the sewer. Modern floor drains have the trap built in. It would appear that yours has not. Best wishes, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

your floor drains are indeed connected to the sewer. Modern floor drains have the trap built in. It would appear that yours has not. Best wishes, Tom

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Thanks, Tom. Glad to provide a little "blast from the past":D Coupla more questions then:

- why do you say the floor drains *are* connected to the sewer? Wouldn't we regularly get an awful smell if they were?
- what precautions would you recommend for these drains, if any? Bust open the floor and put a trap in them?

When mud/roots infiltrate a pipe to the sewer, what is standard approach to diagnose/repair?

Thanks for your attentive replies!
Ken in MD

Hi Ken,
"Thanks, Tom. Glad to provide a little "blast from the past"" you're welcome, I just felt a little chatty.
"- why do you say the floor drains *are* connected to the sewer? Wouldn't we regularly get an awful smell if they were?
- what precautions would you recommend for these drains, if any?"
All drainage's connected tom the sewer. Unless there's a partial clog downstream from the floor drain sending a bubble of sewergas ahead of it there woukldn't be much smell due to the partial vacume the vents produce.
If there's no bad odor then I'd let them go. hey! If it's working why fix it?
"When mud/roots infiltrate a pipe to the sewer, what is standard approach to diagnose/repair?"
As a rule the first clue you get that you have a root problem is when the sewer stops up and the snake brings back a bunch of roots. This generally a broken or cracked sewer pipe or a bad joint at the city raiser. The trouble spot can best be ascertained by measuring out how much snake you put out and then following the sewer line. To controlo roots until you can make a repair, RootX or Robics Foaming Root Killer that contain Dichlobrnic are two products you could try.
A less expensive way would be to call around to garden supply stores and ask for fine grain Copper Sulphate. Put a 1/2 pound in your toilet and flush it down. Repeat in 6 months. Hope this helps, good luck, Tom

OK, but the only clogged pipe is the one floor drain - which when snaked with a small motorized snake hit mud and roots about five feet in. All other drainage in the house, sinks, toilets, etc. is working fine.

Am I on the right path, everything else being equal, to have the mud-clogged floor drain snaked out and inspected for location of break with a down-hole camera?
TIA

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Originally Posted by Ere

OK, but the only clogged pipe is the one floor drain - which when snaked with a small motorized snake hit mud and roots about five feet in. All other drainage in the house, sinks, toilets, etc. is working fine.

Am I on the right path, everything else being equal, to have the mud-clogged floor drain snaked out and inspected for location of break with a down-hole camera?
TIA

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Why go through the expense of a camera when you already know you have a problem 5 foot in? I would have the floor drain line cleared and see if it lasts. If it doesn't I would open up the floor and repair whatever's gone wrong. Regards, tom