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Smelly Laundry Room – Plumbing Drain System Issues

BenCol | Posted in General Discussion on December 11, 2019 12:38pm
Hello,
I was recently trying to troubleshoot my mother-in-law’s foul smell in her Laundry Room.  I always try to help her with home fix-it projects when I visit as she lives by herself.  She has been dealing with the issue for a long time.  
 
Upon investigation, her Laundry room and adjacent kitchen drain system seam to have many issues (ex: S-trap, Vent in wrong position, dishwasher drain improperly connected, limited venting).  I was hoping to get any advice on how to best correct this combination of potential issues.    I’ve attached a diagram showing the current drain configuration, and a diagram showing my thoughts to best correct.
 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
Thank you and Happy Holidays,
– Ben C.
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Replies

  1. florida | Dec 11, 2019 06:36pm | #1

    If she has a front load washer pull the soap dispenser tray out and check for heavy mold growth inside. They can really stink.

  2. cussnu2 | Dec 12, 2019 07:44am | #2

    And clean up the rubber door seal. All front loads have a door seal that hold water and build up scum and stank. There are multiple folds in the door seal where the slime hides.

    You also need to open up her drain Filter on the washer. It’s likely full of junk that stinks as well. The cheap faucets they put on the hose connections tend to leak around the stems after a while and especially do so if you try to actually use them (I know right...who would ever want to use a shut off valve but every cheap one I cone across leaks around the stem after you turn it back on.)

  3. User avater
    unclemike42 | Dec 13, 2019 05:39pm | #3

    it seems to me that the washing machine drain needs a dedicated trap, not one fed by the sink/dishwasher.

    (after cleaning the machine, as previously suggested)

  4. tomeseno | Dec 14, 2019 12:29am | #4

    I agree with cussnu2 on cleaning out the drain filter of the front-load washer. I have found this to be the top cause of smells in my laundry room. To clean the drain filter on my unit, I have to pull my washing machine forward and tilt it back to remove the lower panel and access that filter.

  5. sungod | Dec 14, 2019 10:04am | #5

    There maybe unknown areas where water is trapped. If it smells like rotten eggs, it may be the case. Re-venting may be too hard or complicated. What I do is pour bleach a few times to kill the organic smell.

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