What is the purpose of a stink pipe?
Emily Wilson
Updated on April 06, 2026
What is the purpose of a stink pipe?
The purpose of the stink pipe, as it’s sometimes called, is to enable the pressure in your drain system to equalize. When water and waste flows down your drains, pressure in your plumbing drains increases as the air in the system is displaced by water and waste.
Do you need a stink pipe?
2 Answers from MyBuilder Plumbers. All bathrooms need a vent pipe otherwise there will be a possibility that the traps will be pulled when things like the toilet is flushed or the bath emptied. A Durgo valve can be fitted internally instead of having to extent the soil pipe outside.
Can a stink pipe get clogged?
When the vent pipe is clogged, it shows up within your home in a variety of ways, from “ghost flushing” from your toilet to a sink that won’t drain properly. Your vent pipe can become clogged from a variety of things: Bird nests. Bird or rodent carcasses.
What’s a stink pipe?
A “Stink Pipe”, as crude a term as you might think it may be, is a term used quite often in the construction trades to describe the pipe that vents out your home’s sewer gasses through your roof.
How high should a stink pipe be?
The video attached shows the most efficient and effective way to do this. The International Plumbing Code (IPC), requires plumbing vent pipes to extend vertically at least 152 mm (6 in.) above a roof, per Section 905.5, “Vent Connections and Grades.” Additionally, vent pipes must be at least 305 mm (12 in.)
Where is a stink pipe located?
The vent pipe is usually found on the roof, you will need to look for a 3inch diameter black pipe which is either made of PVC or cast iron. In order to access the roof you will need a ladder, ensure that you observe the aspects of ladder safety such as placing it on a level, solid ground.
What do stink pipes look like?
Always made from cast iron and usually painted grey or green, stinkpipes look a bit like street lamps at ground level. There are some tell-tale signs to differentiate them, though; stinkpipes tend to be taller (6-8 m) and wider (15cm) than most of the other poles found on residential streets.