Drain Flies

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Update: As mentioned I came home two days ago to two bathrooms full of flies, I prob. spent an hour chasing and killing all that I could see.

As mentioned decided to get serious with this, taped up the drain that I suspected and a couple of other drains that I thought what the hell on.

Since now two days have passed, I have seen prob. 12-15 flies, pulled tape and zero flies stuck to it, they DID NOT come up and out of these drains.

I have noticed ( been dealing with these things so long ) that these SOB come in spurts, I removed the tape and ran lots of water down the drains, I am thinking this will re-feed the nests with the necessary moisture to give there breeding another jump start.

Just my observation and opinion is that when I see these large numbers of flies ( like I did the other day ) it is because a whole nest of them has opened.

The 12-15 that I have seen the last two days may have been stragglers that I did not initially kill or these things may have another escape route and my thoughts of them coming from this bath drain may have been wrong all along.

If I have been wrong all along than why is it they will typically go away for sometimes days at a time after I pour the foaming bath drain unstopper down the drain? Strange.

Regardless I have now taped up what I believe is every conceivable escape route meaning all drains in both bathrooms, underneath both toilets and an access doorway that separates the two baths via a sliding hidden door.

I am thinking that ( as mentioned ) now that I have run more water down the drain I will come home this evening to find one of these taped areas just riddled with flies.

My next thought if I see still no flies will be that the flies will not come to an opening and try and escape where they feel no airflow, I will punch tiny holes in the tape if that is the case ( with a needle ) and see if that makes any difference.

BTW been meaning to mention, we have a clean house, we are clean people, cleaner than most in my opinion, this problem is not due to some slobs that keep an untidy home.
 
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ATTACK!!! That's how you do it. Eliminate possible entry points.
 
Drain flies are not appearing on any tape with the exception of two stuck to the joint of the sliding hidden door I had mentioned.

I have been killing a few, this A.M I, maybe 4, do not know where they are coming from except that there are quite a few of them stuck in between the windows and screens leading to the outside. ( 2 small windows that the joining bathrooms have )

I have noticed a ton of them there before but disregarded it as flies that are coming out of the drains and are just trying to escape to the outside.

No wet areas outside these windows that I am aware of, it has not rained in a while.

Will post some pictures later of the windows and the area outside around them.

Im going to get a needle and poke some breather holes in the tape now just to see if that draws any flies out of the drains.
 
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Got home too late tonight for pictures, one this if for sure and that is I pissed away alot of money on drain cleaners for nothing, that drain has been taped up nearly a week now and not a single fly, punched holes this A.M in the tape ( very small holes ) and still no change.

Whats next? Any suggestions.

Cant figure out why all of a sudden now that everything is taped I am seeing so few of them.
 
Speedbump mentioned the wax ring. Did you tape around the base of the toilet where it meets the floor or pull it and reset with a new wax ring?
 
Speedbump mentioned the wax ring. Did you tape around the base of the toilet where it meets the floor or pull it and reset with a new wax ring?

Yes I did and they are still taped, Im hoping that something will break soon and I will be flooded with them again
 
House traps were very common at one point. Now our generation of plumbers get to make a living digging them up and eliminating them because they plugged so much.
I won't hijack this thread with another house trap debate, but they are still installed and required in many regions. If you would like more conversation about the subject, you could start another thread and I would be happy to discuss the pros and cons of them.
 
Killed 4 flies this A.M, maybe the rain will bring them back, at this point I have no idea where they are coming from, not enough of them. Who knows when it will rain next, will update what I find.
 
Havent seen any movement to speak of in days, this A.M I removed the tape in the one area ( the sliding divider door that shows a few stuck to it ) that I suspected. This evening the bathroom covered up with flies.

Ok this is where it gets embarrassing.

About 2 years ago I completed a major home re-model, I did EVERYTHING myself, gutted most rooms ( some down to the block ) removed and heightened ceilings in the bathrooms ect ect.

I am very anal about my work, I try to do everything the way it is supposed to be done correctly however I am a bodyman/mechanic, not a plumber/electrician/carpeneter/roofer ect ect.

I wanted to add a sink or rather move a sink in one of the bathrooms to an apposing wall. Did not want to dig up the concrete to lay new pipe and get into all of that so I decided to run 1 1/4 PVC drain at a great slope thru a short section of wall and over to one of the large vent pipes that exit through the roof some 15 feet ( approx ) above.

Black iron pipe throughout the house, went to Home Depot, consulted with a guy that has worked there for years ( ex plumber ) and we decided that since there really was no way to accommodate the union of PVC to iron that boring a hole within the side of the iron pipe then inserting ( just barely and hanging on the edge so as not to block the vent ) the PVC and sealing with silicone would prob. work.

Sounds like a hack job I know.

I am sure now that the seal has failed so I need now to somehow remove one of the marble tiles ( for access ) and re-seal with something more permanent.

There is zero chance that I am going to make this into any more of a major project than needs be but I would like suggestions on the best possible sealing compound.

The flies are clearly somehow coming thru this silicone seal I made and I want to just re-seal it permanently with something else, replace the tile ( good thing I have extras ) and move onto my 100 other projects.

Thanks for any suggestions on the best way to seal this area.

Pictures attached show what little can be seen in between the doorway, one side of that outer wall just outside of the vent pipe, and then the other wall that the pipe runs through and if you look very closely far left you will see the added sink that I mentioned which by the way has a P trap installed under it but the sink NEVER gets used.

I did run water down it recently though just to make sure the P trap had water in it.

I am also contemplating going up on the roof and blasting water down the vent pipe to see if that makes any change before I go breaking up tile.

Picture 122.jpg

Picture 123.jpg

Picture 124.jpg

Picture 125.jpg
 
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In a nutshell this is what I did, I am clear that this is making some cringe, thanks for not making any unsavory comments.

scan0011.jpg
 
I am very anal about my work, I try to do everything the way it is supposed to be done correctly however I am a bodyman/mechanic, not a plumber/electrician/carpeneter/roofer ect ect.


Yikes. Glad you found the source of the flies, but time to tear out the wall and fix that the right way. Leaving it as-is will only lead to further problems down the road.
 
To remove the tile:
Score along the grout lines with an Olfa knife until ALL the grout has been removed. Because you have replacement marble you can "gently" tap and crack the marble in the center to have a place to insert a glazing bar; they are red and Chrome and about $8 at Home Depot. Use the flat bar to pry up and out away from the wallboard. When you get near the edges, you need to ensure there is some solid drywall left behind to attach backing for a new piece. Backing can be as simple as strips of 3/8" OSB but must be solid enough to hold replacement drywall securely. If need be, use the knife to cut the mastic or thinset behind the marble, hopefully mastic but you'll probably remember.

Once you've exposed enough wall to get the pipe connection, so far as I know, the appropriate method of connection is two rubber couplings to pipe of the same type and diameter with a t-wye or sanitary tee to connect to your small piece sticking out. You can use a sawzall (reciprocating saw) with a metal blade to cut cast or black iron pipe.

Patch the drywall, replace your tile and grout.

I would leave leave it open for a day or two if you aren't sure about the connection.
 
Thanks for the advice and tips, Ill get it one way or another
 
In a nutshell this is what I did, I am clear that this is making some cringe, thanks for not making any unsavory comments.

Trust me....it's takin all I got to hold back.

At least you found the source. Just goes to show to do it right, and do it once
 
, consulted with a guy that has worked there for years ( ex plumber ) and we decided that since there really was no way to accommodate the union of PVC to iron that boring a hole within the side of the iron pipe then inserting


ex-plumber,,,and does not know about a plastic to steel mission band ????

not a plumber.
http://www.fernco.com/plumbing/shielded-couplings/proflex-couplings

http://www.fernco.com/img/products/plumbing/shielded-couplings/sc-proflex-main.jpg

now you need to fix it correctly.

Plumbing_Diagram.jpg


If you smear some more caullk on the fug up.

you will have flies again in a couple of years

up to you.
 
ex-plumber,,,and does not know about a plastic to steel mission band ????

not a plumber.
http://www.fernco.com/plumbing/shielded-couplings/proflex-couplings

http://www.fernco.com/img/products/plumbing/shielded-couplings/sc-proflex-main.jpg

now you need to fix it correctly.

View attachment 8175


If you smear some more caullk on the fug up.

you will have flies again in a couple of years

up to you.
This is bringing back memories, thanks for the drawing and the description, we did talk about this, the issue we had was going from the ( approx ) 4 inch vent pipe down to the 1 1/4 drain pipe, too many reducers in a small tight area.

Most everything I do I go overboard with, I re-lined ALL the bathroom walls ( not just the wet areas ) with the sheetrock hardyboard as an example.

I am going to find something that I can simply seal this with cause I think I can get away with it and I only would like to remove A tile.

I will put an access tile back in the removed tiles place ( just in case )

I am thinking I can use panelbond, we use it in autobody, you would not believe what this stuff can do unless you played around with it yourself.

Maybe Im just putting a band aide on the deal, again I will have an access tile and it will buy me some time, Im in the middle of opening a small business so I cant prioritize this right now.
 
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Trust me....it's takin all I got to hold back.

At least you found the source. Just goes to show to do it right, and do it once

Can one of you guys explain to me how these exhaust vents are intertwined with the septic typically. Home built in 1971 )

Are there P traps for these exhaust pipes or do these exhaust pipes run directly down to ??? and then just exhaust out the roof. '

Thanks
 

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