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kbe · May 20, 2008, 06:46 PM

Our one year old condo appears to have sewage in the ac condensation drain. Our developer told me just to pour water down the drain to fix it. Is there a bigger problem here? Is there some sort of valve to stop sewage from getting into this drain?

ac101 · May 20, 2008, 09:09 PM

What makes you think sewage got in there is this line connected into your sewer ?

kbe · May 21, 2008, 05:40 AM

It was definitely human waste. I could tell by the odor and visual. Our builder said that the line is connected to the rest of the plumbing for whatever that is worth.

speedball1 · May 21, 2008, 06:07 AM

Our developer told me just to pour water down the drain to fix it. Is there a bigger problem here?

You better believe there's a bigger problem and your developer/contractor and sub contractors are smack dab in the middle of it. They have installed a design flaw that has put the entire building in a unhealthy situation. They have made a "crossconnection" between your AC condensate drain and the city sewer allowing sewer gas to enter the your unit. Sewer gas is a health hazard to your family and the methane content makes it explosive.In my area It's against the law to put anything in the city sewer except gray water and sewage. You have a serious health problem that puts everyone in the building at risk. Complain to the Health Department, The Building Department and I would also question the inspector that signed off on C.O. Your developer is attempting to tapdance away from responsibility by advising you to "just pour water down the drain". You will still be left with a direct open connection between your condo and the city sewer. DO NOT LET THIS SLIDE! tAKE ACTI0N NOW!! Please keep me in the loop on this. I'm concerned! Tom

iamgrowler · May 21, 2008, 06:10 AM

Originally Posted by kbe

It was definitely human waste. I could tell by the odor and visual. Our builder said that the line is connected to the rest of the plumbing for whatever that is worth.

If sewage managed to make it's way into the condensate line, then the problem is twofold:

1) The condensate drains should have been plumbed to a trapped indirect drain or floor drain with a minimum of a 1" air break between the outlet of the condensate drain and the inlet of the indirect receptor/floor drain -- Condensate drain lines should never be piped directly into a waste line.

2) If sewage managed to enter the condensate drain, then it could only have done so if a drain line had backed-up.

KISS · May 21, 2008, 06:55 AM

A building that I worked in at a University did just that. 36 heat pumps were plumbed into the sanitary sewer. It took a while to get it fixed. Believe me, you don't want it and as Tom said it's against the law in many communities to put condensate and sump pump water into the sanitary sewer.

ballengerb1 · May 21, 2008, 09:05 AM

I think for this to happen we must suspend the laws of gravity. The only time I ran into anything similar was a disgruntled HVAC installer who took a dump in a unit and left a few beer cans as a chaser.

ac101 · May 21, 2008, 09:10 AM

Id like to know how they got away with hooking into the sewer to begin with they would never pass that here either.

kbe · May 21, 2008, 01:55 PM

I am not sure how or what it is exactly connected to but I do know that it was sewage at the bottom of the drain. When I poured water down it the sewage did seem to flush out (the builder told me to do this every six months). I am just concerned about a bigger problem in the future! It sounds like there should be some kind of trap or something installed. How big of a project is this to get it installed?

The other thing that should be noted is that we have already had major plumbing issues early-- the building is only one year old! The pipe draining out of the building got shifted in the foundation and they had to dig it all up. Supposedly it was fixed but I also wonder if this is contributing to the problem. Thoughts?

Thanks for all of your help. Obviously I know nothing about this!

KISS · May 21, 2008, 04:07 PM

Get that drain out of the sewage system ASAP?

speedball1 · May 21, 2008, 04:21 PM

Kbe-

I am just concerned about a bigger problem in the future!

You have a major health problem NOW and it's only going to get worse.
If you're not convinced by this time to get your neighbors and Condo Association involved we've been spinning our wheels. Go back and read the posts and get this situation resolved as soon as possible. Regards, Tom