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Smelly plumbing mystery - what is this? (extra pics in comments) (lemmy.world)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Our laundry room sink has this bizarre attachment to to the back of the drain line clean out. It would almost seem like it was or is supposed to be a vent. Recently it’s started to give off a foul sewer smell when our washing machine rinses.

Can I safely plug it? Maybe remove it if I can manage to pry it off? When I asked our plumber what it was, he just smirked and said it was a “crazy thing.”

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

wide View

other end

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"a crazy thing" thanks plumber... Real helpful.

As long as the vertical pipe above it isn't plugged, you should be fine to just plug that offshoot. It's part of the vent stack for that drain, which is why it smells like a sewer. Presumably there was something else plumbed in there to drain out at somepoint, but has since been removed.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Almost exactly what I said too.

Thanks for taking a look and the advice. I just went through our old demo pics and noticed the small pipe runs up and joins the primary vent stack. Now I can plug it and be done with that stench.

Think an expansion plug or should I try to chop the pipe and cap it?

main stack

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Perfect. Capping is the better long term solution, but an expansion plug will do the job.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

I wouldn't cap it but put in a Studor vent if there is a chance that you need more venting.