How many is enough and where to fit valves

[Headrush]

The waste below the kitchen sink looks fine to me so long as the trap is clean. The problem may lie further along the waste (too mant tight elbows, waste running uphill behind the unit or outside the house). How fast does the sink drain? I've never been a fan of pumping dishwasher or washing machine waste into the the sink trap. A seperate WM trap with stand pipe is the way to go..

 

[BobbyJoe]

Thanks for the info and the kitchen sink doesn't drain fast, it is quite slow the water takes a bit of time to drain down the plughole. What is a trap and where is it located under the sink?
I appreciate all the advice as once I know what needs to be done I will get a plumber out to fix as much as possible

 

[Headrush]

Thanks for the info and the kitchen sink doesn't drain fast, it is quite slow the water takes a bit of time to drain down the plughole. What is a trap and where is it located under the sink?
I appreciate all the advice as once I know what needs to be done I will get a plumber out to fix as much as possible

The trap is the part directly under the sink where your washing machine hose is connected. It's the first place to look for blockages from the sink..

 

[moonlight]

I think you should get a professional to take a look, I don't think you are knowledgeable enough for the task at hand. You could be opening a can of worms for yourself. Good luck.

 

[Ric2013]

I agree with Moonlight. Simply because it is really hard to see what is going on in your place without being there, and photographs are only so good. Yourself not being that knowledgeable makes it difficult to communicate what is going on, much as I admire your effort.

As far as the rest is concerned, it really doesn't matter whether a washing machine valve turns right of left as long as it turns on and off, and the absence of servicing valves is only an inconvenience. So long as you have an effective way of shutting all your water down in the event of a burst pipe, I wouldn't worry. I don't always fit isolators on every tap, as it just adds to cost and environmental impact of the manufacture of parts.

As long as your taps work efficiently, then leave them unless you don't like the look of them.

A (trapped) upstand in the pipework for a washing machine is great and is what I would recommend if the waste pipework is beyond criticism, but if your waste pipe is slow to let water go away, or it gets blocked, then the likelihood is the upstand will overflow. Having experienced both, I'd rather have a sink filled up with washing machine water than a floor covered in it.

Smells from the sink waste are probably water from the sink going into the washing machine - does the machine smell as well? Or if other drains (I assume you mean waste pipes from basins etc.), then the trap (the U bend) is not working properly probably due to poor plumbing downstream (or it needs removing and cleaning out) or it isn't the correct type.

If you want to study part G of the building regulations to try to understand waste systems, it might help you, or it might do your head in trying to apply it to real-world situations and you'll realise why we study as plumbers, and why it's a lot to explain to you.

I'd get in a plumber to ensure your kitchen waste pipe is run to a good standard and have it re-run if not. It may just be blocked with something like tile grout. If having it re-run, have it run in 2" pipe if it is sharing the sink and washing machine waste if practicable and affordable, or have a new dedicated washing machine waste run added. But whether these suggestions suit what you have in your house is not possible to say without being there and seeing what you have. Doing things to the nth degree is fine in some cases and totally impracticable and unaffordable in others. That's why I suggest finding a decent plumber who is good at problem-solving.

I wish all my customers were like you and wanted to understand their systems.

 

[BobbyJoe]

Thank you Ric for a very well informed reply and I like to know how things work. Unfortunately in the past I had unqualified people carry out work and ended up being ripped off which is my own fault for just going along with what people said. Now I try to be more informed about how things work so I have an idea what to expect.

I am definitely going to wait until I get paid and then seek a quality plumber to fix things around the flat, thank you for all of your help.

 

[Ric2013]

That's fine. I can see where you are coming from. A friend of mine lives in another county so I don't generally do his plumbing work for him, but last time I visited him, he showed me a drain smell problem that his local plumbers had told him wasn't solveable without breaking up the concrete floor in the bathroom. I had a look and suggested he could reduce the severity of the problem by 90% if he just did a simple job (knowing him, he could probably do it himself).

He said he was surprised: none of the other plumbers had suggested it. [Sighs and clicks 'post reply']

 

[Welder]

10/10 for trying to understand. That helps you and it also helps you work with the pro you'll need.

On the point of smells. Ric rightly says any alliance should have its own trap and outlet. The appliance you have at the mo is connected via its grey flexi to you sink waste and, in my experience, is probably the cause of your smell. Why? A trap is called a trap because it traps foul smells using a water seal. Unfortunately manufactures have taken to making appliance adapters (bits you connect dishwahers & washing macines to) that are the WRONG side of the water trap. This means that when their discharge hoses start smelling all those horrible stinks waft up through the plug in your sink! What most do is poor gallons of bleach down but its utterly pointless.
Either your pipework must be modifed so the connection to the appliance is past the water trap or, as advised, fit separate wastes for dishwasher or washing machine.
Have fun!

 

[Ric2013]

Unfortunately manufactures have taken to making appliance adapters (bits you connect dishwahers & washing macines to) that are the WRONG side of the water trap. This means that when their discharge hoses start smelling all those horrible stinks waft up through the plug in your sink! What most do is poor gallons of bleach down but its utterly pointless.
Either your pipework must be modifed so the connection to the appliance is past the water trap or, as advised, fit separate wastes for dishwasher or washing machine.
Have fun!

While I agree that separate traps are better, if the connexion to the waste by the dishwasher is made using an appliance adapter on the side of the trap that is between the trap and the sink, at least the dishwasher does have a trap between it and the sewers. If, on the other hand, the appliance adapter were fitted past the water trap (i.e. between the trap and the sewer) could sewer gases not then come into the house via the dishwasher, or do dishwashers incorporate their own trap?

 

[Welder]

Good point well made. Hmm. Now i think about it most hoses end up full of water at low level so inadvertently have a built-in trap! Note to self... Do better next time