How to correct smell coming from ensuite.

[BillK]

I think I would be finding out why it's necessary to do that regularly?

 

[nt00deep]

On the same day this thread was started, our ensuite began exhibiting a foul smell also, although not one we would have associated with the waste pipe. Can't describe the odour here.

We use all the sanitary ware in the ensuite every day, so ruled out the running dry thing. Checked the attic for odour, other rooms and could not find the source. Settled on letting time solve it, but with a plan that after a week we would do more investigation if it had not cleared.

Today it is gone. So either time did heal, or something has resulted in the root cause getting shifted.

So don't go ripping up floor boards without at least giving time a chance to heal the problem.

 

[MM3]

Re: Stinky

This could be the ceiling vent to outside having a kink in it, water/moisture gets trapped and goes stagnant and smells after a while.

I actually went up into the attic last night and the piping appears to be like an inverted Y. One pipe comes from the extractor fan and another from the opposite direction (any idea what this might be? It appears to to head towards the front left of the house) which meet up before being vented via a flexible hose out the roof. I would have thought though the extractor fan ought to prevent air coming the outside when its not running...

M

 

[Silvergirl]

Re: How to correct smell coming from bathroom

Hi,

My mother's house has an intermittent smell in the bathroom. She replaced the soil pipe / vent and it still appears. It's hard to gauge where it's coming from - the sink or the toilet but it hangs in the air - smells like sewage / sulphur.

She has a septic tank - could this be full? It hasn't been emptied ever and the house is 22 years old, but is huge.
Could the use of chemical toilet cleaners have affected the bacteria - I've heard of people putting road kill in their tanks to fix this but not sure I'd go this far!

Any suggestions please?

Thanks

 

[sfag]

Observe and see if the smell is stronger when there is some wind on the side of the house where the waste pipes emit. Then see if there is any air or smell leaking out where the toilet (or sink) joins the floor - or anywhere there is a joint. Happened to me once - the smell blew thru bypassing the water in the traps.

 

[Capricorn 1]

My tenants have told me that there is a bad smell coming from the en-suite bathroom. Apparently, the smell gets worse at night and it's so bad that they can't sleep in the adjoining bedroom. The smell resembles that of a wet dish cloth. It's only a small en-suite with toilet, shower and wash hand basin. The apartment is on the top/third floor and is only 3 years old. A plumber has checked it out and can't find the problem. He thinks that it may be coming from the ventilation system. The caretaker has checked out the ventilation system and the extraction outlet on the roof and could find nothing wrong. I would be most grateful if anyone could offer any tips/advice on what the problem could be. I have more experts lined up to go in and check it out next week, so it would be great to have a list of possible causes to be checked out.

Help! This is costing me a fortune and I don't want to lose my tenants because of it.

 

[dubgem]

I had a similar problem in a rented flat once and I got the landlord to bring in his plumber, and the plumber said it was hair in the shower plughole. I thought surely it couldn't be that but in fact it was.

Use a coathanger or something like that, unbend it so it's straight with a small narrow hook at the end and fish down the bath or shower plug and pull up what you find - even though anything in there obviously went down clean and with a lot of soap or shampoo, if it accumulates over a few months or years it can start to smell nasty.

This may not be your problem, but it's worth checking out as if it is it's a cheap and easy DIY fix.

 

[Capricorn 1]

Thanks dubgem, it's worth checking out. I'll make a list of all the possible causes from this thread, give it to the plumber and ask him to check them all.

 

[dubgem]

Thanks dubgem, it's worth checking out. I'll make a list of all the possible causes from this thread, give it to the plumber and ask him to check them all.

Actually I think you should try the coathanger thing before you call the plumber - could save yourself a bit of dosh if that turns out to be the problem.

 

[AlbacoreA]

Wouldn't a drain cleaner solution do the same thing as the coat hanger?

 

[Capricorn 1]

The caretaker used a drain cleaner today and will check tomorrow to see if there is any improvement. He brought a plumber with him and still could'nt find the problem. If it's not the drain, it's likely to be the ventilation system. It seems the extract pipe from my bathroom ventilation system is smaller than those of the other apartments. The plumber said that this should not make any difference. I asked if the pipe could be replaced with a larger one and was told that it would be a massive job where part of the roof would have to be taken off - hopefully this is not the case. The caretaker said he would use rods and try to flush out the ventilation pipe to see if this helps.