by Gary Mays | Mar 24, 2013 | Bathrooms, Blocked drain, Consumer Issues, drain fly, Drain Odours, Gold Coast Plumbing, Health Issues, Plumbing Maintenance
Recently here at Whywait Plumbing, we have had several calls from clients who are concerned they are about to be overrun by small drain flies in their bathroom. Generally, the concern is that they are in large numbers, and no matter what is done to kill them, every drain fly seems to multiply as there is always more the next day.
Cleaning Your Drains Doesn’t Get Rid Of A Drain Fly
Many clients had cleaned the bathroom until it could be cleaned no more. So by process of elimination, they had decided that they were coming out of one of the drains in the bathroom. Frustratingly no matter how often some clients sat and observed the drains, they never saw any of the drain flies emerging from the drain in the shower or basin or the floor waste. Many clients describe them as lazy flies, accumulating on the bathroom walls and seldom flying.
Most people observed that the flying drain flies were mainly sitting on the walls or ceiling in the bathroom. We can confirm that everyone was experiencing what is commonly known as drain flies or bathroom flies emerging from the floor waste drain where they breed.
What Do Drain Flies Look Like
A typical-looking drain fly on a bathroom wall
Drain flies are dark grey and 2mm – 4mm long with hairy moth-like wings. They have a jerky flight as they are weak fliers and usually are found close to the floor waste drain or other areas of origin, such as the shower or bath waste. This is why they seldom stray outside the bathroom. In most cases, they are breeding in the bathroom floor waste trap.
Drain flies do not bite and are not known to transmit diseases of any sort. They do not damage clothes or linen and are considered to be more of an unsightly nuisance value in your home.
The adult drain flies and larvae can be controlled by eliminating or reducing breeding sites. If the infestation is minor, pouring bleach into the floor trap will usually kill them. However, if that does not solve the problem, then you will need to kill them by thoroughly cleaning the drain lines and or sealing the floor trap.
They continually seem to be in large numbers despite always killing them because eggs hatch in 32 to 48 hours when the temperature is above 20 degrees. The larvae mature in 9 to12 days and feed on the decaying organic matter that accumulates in the floor waste trap. The life cycle of drain flies is 1-3 weeks. Adults drain flies live about two weeks, with old ones dying and new ones emerging. They feed on the wastewater in the floor waste trap. During the day, the adults rest in shaded areas under the basin or on walls near plumbing fixtures and showers and baths. Most activity occurs during the evening when the flies are seen hovering about.
Septic Tanks Breeders
If you are on acreage and have septic tanks or treatment plants, they may breed in large numbers in and around the tanks. Drain flies may be carried by prevailing wind to nearby homes up to 3 kilometres away. Adult drain flies are small enough to pass through ordinary window insect mesh screens.
Thorough Cleaning of Drains and Traps
It is the experience of Whywait Plumbing that cleaning the drains from the basin, shower and bath that discharge into the floor trap is only part of the answer. It is also beneficial to clean the floor waste trap and grate thoroughly. We recommend cleaning the whole area with No–Rinse Floor Cleaner, Sanitiser & Disinfectant, which will clean and disinfect the floor and drain. We don’t recommend the need to continually pour chemicals such as bleach down the drain as it is washed away as soon as you use any water in the basin or shower fixtures.
Drain PRO™ – The Drain Fly Solution
In 2010 Gary and Michele Mays, the owners of Whywait Plumbing Services, went through this entire experience of drain flies invading their ensuite bathroom. Gary Mays installed a Drain PRO™ unit into the floor waste, which prevents not only drain flies but also bacteria, odours and insects from exiting through the drain into the bathroom.
It is three years since the installation of the Drain PRO™ units in all of the bathroom floor traps in their home, and they have eliminated the reoccurrence of the annoying tiny lazy drain flies.
If you are experiencing the annoyance of drain flies that will not go away, call Whywait Plumbing at (07) 5580 4311 to book a service call so we can eliminate them once and for all.
by Gary Mays | Mar 18, 2013 | Bathrooms, City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, DIY Plumbing, Gold Coast Plumbing, Health Issues, Insurance, Plumber Brisbane, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Legislation, Plumbing Maintenance, Plumbing Renovation, Queensland Government, Sustainable Plumbing, Whywait Plumbing
Cheap plumbing fixtures on-line and the desire for a bargain has created an on-line love affair to compare prices of supposedly comparable products and services.
It is a guarantee no matter how much you pay for any product or service you will always find it cheaper on-line. This has given rise to an increasing belief by many consumers that they have paid over the odds and have been ripped off because they found allegedly the same product or service on-line “cheaper”.
It is worth remembering that “cheap” has two meanings. Where plumbing products and services are concerned “cheap” is responsible for some colossally expensive problems. In fact a large amount of work undertaken by Whywait Plumbing is because of consumers who took the “cheap” option. The old adage that you get what you pay for is certainly truer today than at any other time in our history.
Plumbing products that are sold in Australia are subject to stringent testing, designed to ensure that they meet Australian Standards. Once plumbing products meet the required Australian standards they are granted a WaterMark. The product whether its a tap or a toilet or a hot water service or a urinal must display the WaterMark logo as pictured to the right on the product by law.
If you are buying plumbing products on-line from overseas or if your builder or plumber is doing this to cut costs then it is a sure bet that it will end up costing you much more than the money saved in repairs and replacement.
Always make sure you understand what you are paying for and ensure that it has a compliant Australian WaterMark approval. Using a non compliant non WaterMark approved product will null and void your insurance policy if the product is defective and causes property damage.
When you are upgrading or replacing or renovating you will comes across a lot of great looking plumbing products to select from and ones that make great claims in terms of durability and long-life. Usually they are much “cheaper” and are tempting to purchase for the price being offered. Generally where mixer taps and toilet suites are concerned the cheaper the price means corners have been cut in their production. If you cannot see the WaterMark on the product then do not purchase it.
Unfortunately in Australia it is not illegal for non compliant products to be imported and sold. It is however illegal for plumbers to install them. Listening to unqualified salesman who tell you how wonderful the cheap plumbing product is have lead many people to have expensive repairs undertaken. It is always best especially if renovating to stipulate any product supplied for your job meets or exceeds the relevant Australian Standard and or WaterMark for plumbing products.
By Gary Mays
by Gary Mays | Mar 1, 2013 | Bathrooms, Consumer Issues, Drain Odours, Health Issues, Plumbing Maintenance, Sustainable Plumbing, Toilets, Whywait Plumbing
Aidan Clarke
Drain odours have plagued Aidan Clarke the owner of Marine Energy Systems at Murarrie since 2006. Since opening his workshop and showroom, he had been trying to solve the problem of foul odours in their bathroom. The smell was so bad that employees had complained that it was making them nauseous.
ADCO Constructions, the builder of the complex, had organised their plumber to replace the drainage connection for the toilet suite to no avail. Odour blockers had been placed in the bathroom, but they too were of limited value and failed to address the problem with drain odours continually there.
The problem was particularly acute after weekends with the door having to be jammed open on Monday to get fresh air into the bathroom. The problem was particularly embarrassing when clients of the company viewing product in the showroom needed to use the bathroom.
In May 2011 in absolute frustration, Aidan Clarke contacted Gary Mays of Whywait Plumbing to solve the drain odours problem. After a thorough inspection of all existing drain connections to the toilet, shower and basin it was concluded that the only logical place that the drain odours could be emanating from was the floor waste trap in the middle of the floor.
As a result, Gary Mays from Whywait Plumbing Services contacted John Carroll from Eco Guardians to obtain his advice to see if a new product he had discussed with Gary Mays previously would solve the problem. A DrainGuardian™ was supplied to us to fit into the floor waste. The DrainGuardian™ was installed in less than 5 minutes, replacing the existing grate cover.
Once installed water was poured down the floor waste ensuring there was a water seal in the DrainGuardian in addition to the existing water seal in the main 100mm trap that makes up the drainage floor waste system.
DrainGuardian™ eliminating drain odours from floor wastes
The entire process of installation was completed to ensure the sceptical, long-suffering Aidan Clarke that the DrainGuardian™ would provide greater protection to any form of odour emission from the floor waste and end the problem he had been enduring.
The DrainGuardian™ works by creating two physical barriers to smells and vermin while it also kills airborne bacteria, waterborne bacteria and fungi. In the smelly bathroom at Marine Energy Systems the improvement was immediate and permanent.
The results were almost instantaneous as within one day the DrainGuardian™ had eliminated odour problems in the bathroom. The elimination of the odours in such a short time proved conclusively the problem that Marine Energy Systems had been enduring since 2006 had been the floor waste trap all along. There was nothing structurally defective with the floor waste trap that was causing odour emission’s which makes the source of the odours a common problem we find these days in that it is a venting problem in the entire sewer drain system to the property. What had been happening was a siphoning effect that caused the floor waste trap to be sucked either completely or partially dry that allowed drain odours to be emitted through the floor waste and into the bathroom.
Aidan Clarke now categorically states, “ DrainGuardian™ should be compulsory in every floor waste in every bathroom as a clean bathroom environment cannot be underestimated. I have wasted incredible amounts of money on trying to solve this problem as it was a cause of acute embarrassment to me, our staff and to clients. Our bathroom is now a pleasure to enter with there being no drain odours at all thanks to a straightforward solution in DrainGuardian.”
If you are experiencing drain odours book Whywait Plumbing to investigate today by calling us on (07) 5580 4311
by Gary Mays | Feb 23, 2013 | Bathrooms, Consumer Issues, Health Issues, Sustainable Plumbing, Toilets
Recently the highly respected magazine “The Economist” ran a cover story that asked the pertinent question if we will ever invent something as useful as the flushing toilet again. No matter which way you look at it the flushing toilet has done wonders for public health in modern society.
The humble toilet and its associated water flushing in its many variations and improvements over the years have helped to stop the spread of infectious disease. In fact a survey of 11000 doctors by the “British Medical Journal” in 2007 voted hands down that the world’s greatest medical milestone since 1840 was sanitation which of course the toilet is an integral part of. Despite all the staggering medical breakthroughs and scientific advances the seemingly mundane advance of reliable sewage and reliably clean water supply was judged the greatest medical advance.
The ancient Indus Valley Civilization were the first to use hydraulic engineering in the earliest version known of flushing water toilets. The Romans used latrines over pipes with running water that carried into the Tiber River. The Romans were the first civilised society over 2000 years ago to realise the requirements to have an integrated plumbing system to pipe in clean water and dispose of used water .
In 1596 Sir John Harrington installed a toilet for his godmother, Queen Elizabeth I, who would not use it because of the noise it made. Contrary to popular opinion Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet but he did popularise the siphon system used to empty the tank or cistern.
For most of us in Australia flushing toilets and the associated plumbing is something we take for granted. Like most of the population the staff at Whywait Plumbing have never known what it is like not to have a flushing toilet inside the house or to have on demand clean running water inside our homes or a fully functional sewer system to take away the used water.
Close to 90% of us live in an urban environment and for that we can thank plumbing, that allows us to do so safely, without fear of contracting water borne diseases.
Clean potable water is the basis for life and without it the risk to public health and the population as a whole increases. The cost to the community of plumbing failures are substantial and always have been. The recognition by “The Economist” and “British Medical Journal” that the flushing toilet coupled with reliable sewage and water supply is testament to the strength of plumbing laws, standards and licensing in not only Australia but also in Europe and North America. This is because doctors recognised the best measure of medical advance is not its complexity but what it does for the average person with respect to length and quality of our lives. The average life expectancy has increased 35 years since 1840 and roughly 30 of those years are attributable to the advances in sanitation and living conditions.
Even in today’s society, not everyone has access to a flushing toilet and in Asia alone some 2 billion people, which is over 60% of the population of Asia, live without an adequate access to sanitation such as toilets. In many places open sewers are the norm. This would not be tolerated in Australia and we are protected from it thankfully by our plumbing laws.
No matter which way you look at it “The Economist” is correct we will possibly as a society never invent anything as useful again as the flushing toilet which has improved billions of people’s lives.
by Gary Mays | Aug 17, 2012 | Bathrooms, Climate Change, Health Issues, Plumbing Renovation, Toilets
Are solar powered toilets the future? Well Bill Gates is betting it is and putting his money behind its development. The “Reinvent the Toilet Fair” held in Seattle this week at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s campus gave first price to Professor Michael Hoffman of the California Institute of Technology for their work on a self-contained, sun-powered toilet system that recycles water and breaks down human waste into storable energy.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has focused on developing a new type of toilet since last year as part of the push to improve health in the developing world. This is due to Bill Gates recognising that despite all the staggering medical breakthroughs and scientific advances the seemingly mundane advance of reliable sewage and reliably clean water supply was judged the greatest medical advance.
Bill Gates has constantly focused on the need for a new type of toilet as an important part of his foundation’s push to improve health in the developing world. About 2.6 billion people, or 40 percent of world’s population mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia lack access to safe sanitation and are forced to defecate in the open. Open defecation leads to sanitation problems that cause 1.5 million children under 5 to die each year, Gates said, “western style toilets are not the answer as they demand a complex sewer infrastructure and use too much water.”
As Bill Gates has realised what plumbers have always known is that fundamentally toilets have not changed since the invention of the flush toilet in 1775. For this reason Bill Gates has launched the reinvent the toilet program to inspire research into new inventions in toilet technology. “Imagine what’s possible if we continue to collaborate, stimulate new investment in this sector, and apply our ingenuity in the years ahead,” Bill Gates said at his foundation’s Seattle headquarters on Tuesday. “Many of these innovations will not only revolutionise sanitation in the developing world, but also help transform our dependence on traditional flush toilets in wealthy nations.”
Bill Gates presented prizes on Tuesday to the teams that showed the most progress on research new toilet technology. Caltech won the first prize of $100,000 for its working model of a solar powered bathroom. The Caltech model uses a solar panel to produce power for an electrochemical reactor that breaks down faecal matter and urine into hydrogen gas which can be stored in hydrogen fuel cells to provide a backup energy source for night operation or use in low sunlight conditions. The workings of the toilet are designed to be installed underground beneath a conventional looking toilet stall and urinal setup. Water recovered from the continuous process is pumped up again to provide water to flush the toilet.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is hoping many of the leading universities will work together to develop the best technologies and is aiming to get new style toilets into use in the next two to four years as they are already spending about $80 million a year on water, sanitation and hygiene issues. These are areas where it thinks it can make a marked difference in people’s lives by doing what plumbers have always provided, a hygienic toilet facility.
by Gary Mays | Jul 13, 2012 | Bathrooms, Climate Change, Consumer Issues, Drain Odours, Health Issues, Leaking Pipes, Plumbing Maintenance
Mould is a common problem in bathrooms in South East Queensland due to our sub-tropical climate. Like most problems prevention is vital and often very simple.
Black mould on bathroom tiles
Because your bathroom and especially the shower area are the wettest areas in your home it is not uncommon to see black mould growing in the grouting and silicon sealants. Mould loves your bathroom because it is the perfect atmosphere to create the ideal conditions for mould growth in the cracks and gaps in the tiling. Consequently black mould grows in behind and through the grout joints on the tiles. As can be seen on the photo on the right black mould loves getting in behind the silicon seal on the internal corners whether it be the wall or the floor.
The most common area to find mould is in your shower where it is nourished by your body oils, shampoo and soap residue that are left behind every time the shower is used.
Poor air circulation actively assists mould growth as the warmth and moisture created in the enclosed area of a shower offer further ideal conditions for mould growth in the dark areas of the shower around the internal corners and the shower floor drain. Poor air circulation is easily resolved by ensuring you install a good quality bathroom extraction fan above the shower that turns on automatically to remove all of the steam and water particles while you are using the shower.
If you are suffering from black mould growth in your bathroom then Whywait Plumbing recommend that you act early to remove it before permanent stains are created. To get rid of early mould growth the best solution is to use a paste of baking soda and vinegar. Simply mix one cup of water with white vinegar and water to create a smooth paste. Then apply the paste to the areas where mould is growing, gently scrubing it with an old soft tooth brush until it starts to turn white and then leave it. After half an hour rinse off all the paste using your shower spray and if any mould still is visible you will need to repeat applying the paste and scrubbing it until all of the mould has disappeared.
The paste above will work perfectly on mould that is detected and removed early but if you have a real infestation then use a 50/50 mix of water and bleach in a spray bottle. Ensure you have adequate ventilation in the bathroom before you begin lightly spraying the mould. Once again spray then leave for half an hour, rinse off and spray again until all of the mould has disappeared.
Mould behind the silicon sealant on the internal corners will require more thorough work. First use a utility knife to scrape off all of the silicon and you may need to use a blade to scrape the remnants clear off the tiles. Once all of the silicon has been removed spray the mould with the 50/50 bleach until it has all disappeared. Once the mould has gone rinse the area clean and dry it thoroughly with a hot air dryer to ensure there is no moisture trapped in the open joint. Finally reapply a good quality mould resistant silicon to the joint which is specifically designed for high moisture areas.
If mould reappears within a few weeks then you may have problems with leaking pipes or fittings that require a thorough investigation by Whywait Plumbing to ensure you are not damaging internal frames and wall linings.
Remember mould is only a sympton of a bigger problem and ignoring will not make it disappear. If in any doubt call Whywait Plumbing for advice on how to deal with mould in your bathroom.
