Whilst unpleasant, a bad smell in the bathroom is not in itself dangerous. However, it may well be indicative of a more serious and potentially life-threatening issue. The smell can indicate that the water trap seal – the only barrier between the drainage system and the living space – has been lost, potentially posing serious health risks.
Water trap seals started being fitted on bathroom and kitchen fixtures after the 1854 cholera outbreak in London, in which hundreds of people died. Today, cholera is not a risk in the UK, but within all our drainage systems sewer gases and pathogens such as SARS, legionnaires, norovirus and others are always present.
For the last 40 years, drainage ventilation expert Studor has been solely focused on developing products that maintain the water trap seals in our buildings.
Studor’s Trap-Vent solution, the combination of a water trap and Air Admittance Valve (AAV), can easily be retrofitted to an existing bathroom, and is also ideal for small group venting in, for example, hotels, care homes and hospitals. It protects the water trap seal between the drainage system and the room, stopping bad odours and pathogens escaping from empty traps.
Studor’s UK Managing Director Stephen Taylor comments, “The Trap-Vent comes with a lifetime guarantee and also reduces siphonage noise, providing a 20dB noise reduction compared to conventional traps. Furthermore, it allows freedom of design for engineers and architects to enable multiple drainage fixtures to link together. It is also highly styled, so eminently suitable for installation in environments where aesthetics is of high importance.”
The Studor Trap-Vent is a combined trap with a 50mm water seal and an integral AAV. It reduces the need for secondary ventilating in small fixture groups and replaces conventional S traps and P traps. It is height adjustable for fully flexible installation, has integrated self-cleaning, and is suitable for bath and shower rooms, providing an excellent solution for problem solving in new builds as well as the retrofit market.
Studor has more than one million products installed each year across six continents, and its worldwide distribution network extends to more than 50 countries. The company has a rich history and specialist knowledge, making it well placed to help architects, engineers, specifiers, plumbers, and end-users solve their drainage ventilation issues.
