Standing water in outside drain

clairewilson1

Is it normal for there to be standing water in the outside drain below the kitchen window. When I poor water into it it doesn’t overflow but water stays in the bottom. Is this ok? Do I need to get a drainage company out?!

molerat

Most drains have a u bend / trap which is full of water to keep smells from coming back out of the sewer.

CliveOfIndia

As long as the water drains away freely then I wouldn't worry.  It could have some type of a "u-bend" type trap in there to stop smells coming back up.  Admittedly I've not come across that in an outside drain before, but I guess it's possible.

You could try using one of those "drain snake" things to have a poke around and check that it's not blocked - but as long as it's draining OK then I'd be tempted to leave it alone.

stuart45

Any gully that goes to the sewer needs a water trap, so there's nothing wrong with your drain.

Bookworm105

100% normal otherwise you would be very aware of the smells coming up the pipe 

why do you think a toilet bowl has water in it all the time?

TELLIT01

Every gully trap will have, or should have, standing water in it.  As said above, it's to stop the smell from the drains coming back up, just the same as a toilet.

pdblake

I have a similar question if no one minds. The two drains out the back of my house have the same trap with water in the bottom. These are for the bathroom sink and bath and the downstairs washing machine. 

The drain out front, where the kitchen sink goes to does not have water in the bottom.

I first noticed this yesterday when I saw there was some water in there, but with a bit of a sink, so I poured a few buckets of water down it and this morning the water was gone. The question is, should this drain have water in it like the other two?

Quite an old house (1940s). The downpipes from the guttering go into what look like soil filled soakaways.

FreeBear

TELLIT01 said:

Every gully trap will have, or should have, standing water in it.  As said above, it's to stop the smell from the drains coming back up, just the same as a toilet.

A picture helps.. This is "normal" water level in an old gully trap ->

There is usually a grill sitting in the recess at the top. If the water level is above the grill, then there is a blockage that needs to be dealt with. It could just be a build up of crud in the trap at the bottom, in which case, a long handle soup ladle can be used. Any blockage further away would need a drain snake or drain rods (either through a rodding eye or from the inspection chamber).

pdblake

pdblake said:

I have a similar question if no one minds. The two drains out the back of my house have the same trap with water in the bottom. These are for the bathroom sink and bath and the downstairs washing machine. 

The drain out front, where the kitchen sink goes to does not have water in the bottom.

I first noticed this yesterday when I saw there was some water in there, but with a bit of a sink, so I poured a few buckets of water down it and this morning the water was gone. The question is, should this drain have water in it like the other two?

Quite an old house (1940s). The downpipes from the guttering go into what look like soil filled soakaways.

Sorry, that should say "but with a bit of a stink"

stuart45

The trap might be cracked and leaking. 

pdblake

stuart45 said:

The trap might be cracked and leaking. 

It doesn't look like the one in the photo above though. The ones out back look like that but the front one is shallower and just a bend, albeit that old looking pot. I honestly can't say if there was water in there before or not, but the fact that a few buckets seems to have flushed it away makes me think it was just lightly blocked and maybe has always been like that.