# Sink waste comes out of the shower plug hole !!!



## Freddiebooks (Aug 9, 2008)

Ok, the waste tank is empty, and the van is level. Yet SOMETIMES when i pour water down either the kitchen or bathroom sink it comes out of the shower plug hole.

It's a pain in the ar*se as i occasionally leave my bag in the shower on short trips. 

Any ideas wise ones ?

Many Thanks

Freddiebooks


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Waste tank not venting?

That might make the shower outlet an easier route than the tank.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We have a plug that fits in the hole- presumably to prevent that. It was there when we got the van and we have never had a problem yet, but the important thing is to remember to take it out BEFORE using the shower!


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## Freddiebooks (Aug 9, 2008)

Not venting Sally ?

I'm not sure what you mean, or how to make it vent properly.


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## TR5 (Jun 6, 2007)

For water to go into a vessel (your waste tank) the air in it has to be displaced to somewhere. This will probably double up as an overflow pipe, and this may be partially blocked.

An easy way to test is, when this happens, open the waste tank drain (pref. into a container), and see if it runs away easier. If so then an air displacement blockage seems likely.
Try and locate the overflow pipe from the waste tank and check it is thoroughly clean.
In an ideal situation, the shower outlet into the tank would be better off as a separate waste tank inlet to the sinks, then this would not happen unless the tank was full to the brim, and the overflow was blocked.
It maybe that, after the shower outlet and the sink outlet join, there may be a restriction from that point into the tank. Have you tried using a drain cleaner product down the sink/shower outlets?

HTH.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

You had me worried for a minute, from the homepage the title reads as...

'Sink waste comes out of the sh...'

I was wondering how sinkwaste could manage to find its way out into the toilet :lol: 

Hope you get it sorted.

Pete


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## WSandME (May 16, 2007)

It seems likely that the drain from the shower to the tank is shared by the drain from the sink, and that the drain between the shower and tank is (partially) blocked by - eg - hair.

I'd try a bathroom plunger - plug the other drain holes before you start and give it a good plunging to try to dislodge any blockage.

Given warnings about using "normal" household products in "fragile" motorhome systems, I'd be wary of using powerful drain-cleaning chemicals until I understood any warnings printed on them.


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## chapter (May 1, 2005)

have you checked the traps under the m/h on my swift there is 1 for each drain 
chapter


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

I think you will find the problem is as Frank and TR5 state. Its a while since I have had this happen but it is usually caused by fatty deposites blocking your vent holes. On my Mohican these are on top of the waste tank, you have to get under you motorhome and run your hand over the top of the waste tank to find them. 

peedee


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## Freddiebooks (Aug 9, 2008)

Thanks all for your very helpful hints, sadly it looks like i'll be crawling around under the house on wheels sometime in the very near future.

Thanks again... i'll post the out come as soon as i have solved the problem.

Freddiebooks


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## cunny (Aug 7, 2006)

Autotrail have now done a mod on the pipe waste. my cheyenne 635 when back to spinney for warranty work. It all works fine now.


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## 124064 (May 29, 2009)

*Grey water from sink comes up shower plug hole*

I have an Autotrail Cheyenne 630LB which is quite young and no pipe deposits. In my case it results from the cunning way Autotrail have routed the water flow. The pipework is visible when the rear locker below floor level is opened. The rigid grey pipe runs from the sink and the shower meet 'head on' at a tee junction then both flows have to turn through 90 degrees to travel down the central pipe to the waste tank.
So when a good bowlful of water is poured down the sink some travels straight on and comes up into the shower tray.
A short term solution is to keep a plug in the shower tray plughole.
I will be modifying the layout by installing an additional central pipe to the waste tank so that the sink and shower (+bathroom sink) have separate outlets to the waste tank.
This is something Autotrail should consider doing.
Regards


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## maxautotrail (Aug 21, 2007)

Freddiebooks said:


> Ok, the waste tank is empty, and the van is level. Yet SOMETIMES when i pour water down either the kitchen or bathroom sink it comes out of the shower plug hole.
> 
> It's a pain in the ar*se as i occasionally leave my bag in the shower on short trips.
> 
> ...


Funnily enough I was talking to the dealer this afternoon about this. I went to pick our Cheyenne up after its service. I mentioned that I leave the plug in the shower plughole to stop the sink waste draining back into the tray. I was told that this is covered under the warranty and they can fit a modified waste pipe which includes a u-bend that stops this happening. We are away in France in a couple of weeks so I will be booking in for this modification when we get back.

Hope that helps.

Keith


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## Rudderman (May 31, 2005)

Blocked Drains? Stick the garden hose down each plughole in turn, hold it in place with a cloth around it, to stop leaks, and turn the hose on.

(You may get wet :lol: :lol: :lol: )


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