I have a problem with my tub in a manufactured home, it acts like it is stopped up for about five minutes and then it flows normally. I looked underneath the house and from what I see, I'm missing a ptrap. Actually two ptraps. Am I right?

I attached pictures of what is under there and a drawing I made. The sink and toilet work fine. My wife says sometimes she smells sewer gas from the sink area (which has a ptrap) but not often. I can't verify this as I have no sense of smell.

My experience with this place is that it's slapped together with little regard for doing the job right. I already had to repipe and fix the sprinklers and the kitchen sink drain wasn't aligned properly, real shoddy work.

I'm fairly handy with things and if I knew what to do here, I can fix it myself. I'm 62 but still healthy, I can crawl under and do it. I'm on a limited budget so hiring someone is way too much money.

Do I need to put in two ptraps here - one between the laundry drain and the main sewer pipe and another between the tub drain and the main sewer pipe? How could the absence of a ptrap in the tub cause a slow drain at first and then fast drain? When I looked up the symptoms, it said I have a double ptrap, which is not the case.

I'm not a plumber but to me, the setup I have now looks discombobulated, should I cut it all and redo the whole thing correctly? Or could I get away with putting in two ptraps and hooking it into what's there already?

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The trap for the tub is probably hidden up under the black plastic sheeting - near the bottom of the tub.

If by laundry you mean washing machine most likely the trap is above the floor in the wall behind washing machine.

If neither one of these items does not have a trap you would be able to hear other fixtures being used through the tub and or washing machine drain.

Mobile homes are notorious for using AAV's (air admittance valves). Which are suppose to be accessible - behind a grill, under a sink etc.

Smell from lav sink maybe coming from overflow. Clean it out with vinegar etc. and see if that helps.

Thanks for your reply. I'll try contacting the home manufacturer to see if the ptraps are installed somewhere in the fooring or walls were I can't see them.

But what would account for the drain being stopped up at first and then after about three minutes and it fills up to just above your ankles and then suddenly, it opens up and drains normally? Is it possible there's not enough incline in the bathtub drain pipe leading to the main sewer? If you look in the pictures, it's connected with an L shaped pipe that is strapped up to hold it in place. Should I try lowering the strap at the curve to increase the downward incline so the water drains?

that won't help.

My next step is to crawl under there and inspect the piping from the tub drain all the way to the top. There must be a ptrap built into it underneath. I also noticed that someone tore the plastic sheeting around where the pipe goes so someone messed with it previously. Perhaps they put in the wrong ptrap or installed it wrong.

If it's not the incline and it's not clogged, the only other explanation is an improper ptrap. I'll go see this weekend.

Nedphotog,

Read the first reply to your question, from Curly. "If neither one of these items does not have a trap you would be able to hear other fixtures being used through the tub and or washing machine drain."

It is simple to hold your ear against those drains, then have someone flush the toilet in another room. If you cannot clearly hear the water gurgling, there is a Ptrap on that drain.

Regarding the standing water in your tub, is this behavior the same every time the tub is used? It sounds like a clog in the tub drain. Drain King connects to your garden hose and flushes out clogs, it is very effective on intermittent clogs and easy to use. Purchase the correct size for your drain.



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