Sewer Vent

Under my kitchen sink, there is a vented pvc pipe labelled "Sewer Vent". It sort of smells like a sewer in the cabinet...sometimes worse than others. I have followed the pipe under the sink and in the basement and there does not appear to be any "u" shaped trap that holds the water to prevent the gas from coming up the pipe. Does anyone know what this is? I'm not sure if it was installed properly. In the meantime, I put a bag over it and tied it down to minimize the stench.

 

Most sewer vents are exactly that .. a vent pipe that allows water to drain properly. Without them, water would drain like soda being poured from a bottle, 'glug .. glug .. glug', as air would have to be sucked in to allow the water to pour down.

That said, most sewer vents are vented through the roof of a house, which is why you see one or two PVC pipes protruding from the roof of SFH. Not knowing the type of house you're in I can't say what is going on there, although I have heard of some vents like you're seeing.

For more info try this URL: http://tinyurl.com/rn6lx