[Chat] notice re: sewer work

2014-01-29 Thread Josh Fruhlinger
I live on the 3100 block of Abell and just *today* got a flyer in my mailbox 
reminding me that some kind of sewer work is happening *tomorrow* (there had 
been no previous information on this subject), and urging us to avoid the 
possibility of flows backing up into your properpty, please limit all liquids 
from going down your drain tomorrow from 7 am to 7 pm. Among several problems 
here, it's supposed to be 12 degrees tomorrow at 7 am and many of us are 
keeping a basement sink running to prevent the pipes from freezing. Anyone have 
any advice?

The flyer says you may detect an odor and that odors are most likely to 
occur in buildings with dry or non-existent traps. I have no idea what traps 
are and wonder if anyone smarter than I could inform me of whether the houses 
on Abell typically have them.

The flyer also adds that if you have a sump pump that discharges into the 
sewer, it must be disconnected during our installation process. We have a pump 
that attaches to the basement toilet/sink that elevates water high enough so it 
can flow down into the train. Does anyone know if this constitutes a sump pump? 
If so, I have no idea how to disconnect it, though I could just unplug it, I 
guess.

jf
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Re: [Chat] notice re: sewer work

2014-01-29 Thread Casey Miller
Josh, a trap in a drain is the U-shaped piece, usually found underneath a
sink or built into a toilet, where water is trapped to prevent odors from
travelling back up the pipes and into the house.  They also trap anything
dropped into the drain, like jewelry or the like, so that they are easily
recoverable and not lost to the sewer system.  If you have a sink that is
used regularly (once a week or more) and a toilet with water in the bowl,
your traps probably aren't dry.  I've included a link to an image here that
should hopefully clarify things a bit:
http://www.heppelthwaite.co.uk/unblock-a-sink.jpg

With regard to your sump, I would have to take a look at it to be
absolutely sure, but from what you described, yes, you should just be able
to unplug it.

I'm not a plumber, though.  Just a guy who has experienced lots of plumbing
issues over the years.


On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 3:45 PM, Josh Fruhlinger jf...@jfruh.com wrote:

 I live on the 3100 block of Abell and just *today* got a flyer in my
 mailbox reminding me that some kind of sewer work is happening *tomorrow*
 (there had been no previous information on this subject), and urging us to
 avoid the possibility of flows backing up into your properpty, please limit
 all liquids from going down your drain tomorrow from 7 am to 7 pm. Among
 several problems here, it's supposed to be 12 degrees tomorrow at 7 am and
 many of us are keeping a basement sink running to prevent the pipes from
 freezing. Anyone have any advice?

 The flyer says you may detect an odor and that odors are most likely to
 occur in buildings with dry or non-existent traps. I have no idea what
 traps are and wonder if anyone smarter than I could inform me of whether
 the houses on Abell typically have them.

 The flyer also adds that if you have a sump pump that discharges into the
 sewer, it must be disconnected during our installation process. We have a
 pump that attaches to the basement toilet/sink that elevates water high
 enough so it can flow down into the train. Does anyone know if this
 constitutes a sump pump? If so, I have no idea how to disconnect it, though
 I could just unplug it, I guess.

 jf
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