Have an odor in your bathroom, laundry room or anywhere with a drain that might not be used frequently?
Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation Executive Director Mike Luers has a recommendation.
“Turn on the faucet for just a minute on the bathtubs, the showers, the sinks and the floor drains because there's a little P-trap underneath all those plumbing fixtures,” Luers said. “It holds water, and it keeps sewer gases from entering your house.”
The pipes under many drains curve like a sideways letter P to hold a little bit of water. Similar to toilet water, P-traps stop sewer gas from traveling up the pipe and out of the drain.
But in the winter, and especially in arid environments like Utah, those P-traps are prone to drying up.
“And this time of year when it gets warm, we often get calls and people [say], ‘Hey, I get this odor in my house,’” Luers said. “And almost every single time it's because these P-traps have dried out.”
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are the most concerning parts of sewer gas. They’re the gases that could be causing Midway’s current citywide stench.
Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are toxic in high concentrations or chronic exposure. Even at low concentrations, hydrogen sulfide smells like rotten eggs and can cause eye or respiratory irritation.
The solution is usually as simple as running water through an unused drain to refill its P-trap. Of course, if that doesn’t get rid of the odor, check with your landlord or a plumber.
