Answer: Convenient, Yes....Practical, Maybe......Sanitary, Probably Not!
A recent home inspection revealed this "plumbing component" under the basement staircase. In case you haven't guessed, it's a homeowner crafted, installed, and functioning urinal.
It's been constructed of a modified plastic trash can, secured to the wall, equipped with a drain that terminates into a sump pit, and a handy water line to wash it all down. Oh, and what you don't see is the privacy curtain hanging from the underside of the stairs!
Now that's what I call homeowner ingenuity! What's the big deal you ask? Well, technically, any water coming from a residential sump pit system would be classified as storm sewer water as opposed to sanitary sewage. Many communities have specific building codes in place forbidding mixing the two. The logic is that if everyone emptied their sump pumps into the sanitary sewage system (cross connection), the municipal sewage treatment center could be quickly overwhelmed. Also, the potential exists for other contaminants, homeowner introduced, getting into the water treatment system.
I know what you're thinking. "Well then why not just drain this 'trash can' directly into a sewer drain pipe, and eliminate the sump pit." The answer is, "Yes, the 'urinal' should be plumbed into the house sewer system by direct connection or by emptying into a sealed sanitary sewage pit with pump to lift the sewage to the house sewer system. But, then the question becomes, "Why not just professionally install a toilet that meets all the code requirements?"
As for pumping the contents onto the ground outside, most communities have strict guidelines in place to prevent such an action. The International Building Code which covers this action, IRC R306.3, specifically requires 'all plumbing fixtures to be connected to an approved sanitary sewer or approved private sewage disposal system.'
So it's close, but no cigar for this plumbing "fixture."
Thank you Michael Buckley of our Philadelphia Pennsylvania area inspection team for this lighter inspection moment!
Posted at U.S. Inspect blog.
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