Hi...

I am over in the UK, but Euro regs are here and are fairly in sync with US.

In this house we think the P trap which is 1 1/2" for the shower tray is not enough seal. The waste pipe is a single drop. We think that it should have been a 3" seal...hmmm.

Cannot get to the trap to replace it, so to stop this seal from being sucked dry by the draining of the shower water...can we add a 3" or similar S trap to the vertical drop that comes below the floor (in tandem) to solve the problem?

We own both apartments...the one above us has the smelly shower, we are below. (We get a bit of the smell too in our tub...but not at the moment as the shower upstairs is not in use). Oh, this is all new bathrooms, plumbing etc.

The flooring in between is heavy/fire-code and a bear to get into to change the current P trap....and then of course the shower would have to be removed to do this.

Help...and if there is another way..please tell!

Cheers!
An expat American living in Bristol UK

Lauren

 

I would think that whatever trap is there is to the original UK code, and should work fine if water is run into it regularly.
If not used, trap water (even in larger, deeper traps) will evaporate. Water running through a trap will fill it, not drain it.
Run that shower regularly to keep water in the trap, and it should resolve the issue.
Good Luck!
Mike