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Why is there a gurgle from my basement drain?

31K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  oyam 
#1 ·
Thanks to some help from previous posts, I have replaced the hot & cold shut off valves, and installed the small bathroom sink/vanity sucessfully (no drips!).

My issue is this:
We live in a four level back split, and the night that we removed the old sink we had a friend come over to remove the old valves with his blow torch. We'd shut off the water supply to the house, he removed the old shut offs and then we attached new valves with the "shark bite" type (no flack here, please). For the time being, we plugged the old drain pipe into the wall with a rag to prevent sewer gasses from coming in - while we worked over the next few days to replace all the parts necessary.

That night, I went into our basement laundry room (one floor beneath the then removed sink), and the floor drain in the laundry room was making a funny gurgling noise - as was the drain in the wash tub in the laundry room. It couldn't be heard anywhere else in the home, and had never been heard before in these drains.

I assumed that it had started because there was no longer a p-trap sealing the line to the bathroom sink - maybe it was pulling air in? I don't know. What I do know, is that I hoped that once I had the new sink/faucet/p-trap functional, that the noise would have stopped.

It hasn't.

I am hoping that the noise is benign - and that it isn't a serious issue :eek: I can live with gurgles - if I know they are harmless .

Anyone have any ideas?
 
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#4 ·
I'm bumping this up and adding a little more information, incase anyone else has a new idea.

While down in my basement last night, I decided to put the stopper in the laundry washtub. I did, but I could still hear the gurgles coming from the sink.

It dawned on me that the noise wasn't coming out of the drain, but out of the actual faucet. When I plugged my tumb over the end of the faucet, the noise stopped -as did the noise from the floor drain. As soon as I pulled my thumb off the spout, the noise started again in the drain. It's almost like the faucet is sucking in air - is that even possible?
Still confused!
 
#5 ·
I'm bumping this up and adding a little more information, incase anyone else has a new idea.

While down in my basement last night, I decided to put the stopper in the laundry washtub. I did, but I could still hear the gurgles coming from the sink.

It dawned on me that the noise wasn't coming out of the drain, but out of the actual faucet. When I plugged my tumb over the end of the faucet, the noise stopped -as did the noise from the floor drain. As soon as I pulled my thumb off the spout, the noise started again in the drain. It's almost like the faucet is sucking in air - is that even possible?
Still confused!
:huh:
 
#7 ·
Does your faucet have a small brass pipe coming off of it at some point underneath that feeds back into the drainage? Mine did.
The noise stopped when I yanked out the laundry room sink and crimped off that little brass pipe. I have no idea what the little pipe did (other than gurgle) - it was very small diameter, maybe 1/4" to 1/2".
 
#8 · (Edited)
That was the trap primer line you pinched off. Not a big deal, but you need to pour some water down your floor drains if they dry out and start to smell. There is a blockage somewhere thats keeping the drains from venting properly, thats why its gurgling
 
#10 ·
Wow I have the same problem now! I had a guy come in to fix the washer and another guy come in to fix our hot water tank now my laundry room basin faucet gurgles like crazy! I can duct tape it off to quiet it but that can't be a good idea i'm sure lol and when i do the the drain in the floor starts to gurgle..at first i thought it was a loose tap so i tightened them..nope..still gurglin..I got nothin...I don't really have any pipes to clog I don't think..a little clear ( slightly yellowy) tube under the cold water side that i suspect goes to the drain maybe...it seems find..nothing has changed from before when it was all quiet...thoughts?:(
 
#11 ·
newbie74

The gurgle is caused by water going into the floor drain. When the floor drain empties it "gurgles". Mine was the tube running from the laundry tub faucet. It was hard to tell but a little bit of water was by-passing the faucet and into the tube which connects to the drain. I suspect the same with yours or there is water by-passing some other place that connects to the floor drain.
 
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