Smell of Gas or sewerage??

S

Sarah

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Just got my keys to our new house yesterday and everything on the snag lists were all completed! Was quite happy bar one thing. Last time we visited the house myself and the other half got a very strong smell of something not very nice! We thought it was sewerage outside or manure maybe so ignored it. owever yesterday while in admiring our new utility room i realised that the smell was stronger in there so when i bent down to look behing the counter the smell nearly knocked me out!Called the forman to have a smell and he had a look behind the counter where the pipes are and said he would get the plumber to have a look. Can anyone tell me what does Gas normally smell like as we have gas heating and if it is gas and not a sewerage problem(as the utility room is right next to the downstairs bathroom) would a plumber be able to fix this problem or is it Bord Gais?

Thanks a mill...thought id ask in case i blow up when i move in Friday!!
 
The plumber/ gas installer is responsible for all plumbing pipework installed after the meter. You can safely spot a leak yourself by rubbing some suds (washing up liquid and water) over the joints- a leak will result in streaming bubbles. Minor leaks can be common enough in new build situation- htey can go undetected especially if very minor until house/ apartment is handed over and occupied. As for the smell- it can smell like methane!
 
Thanks for the replies..Im not too sure what Methene smells like so cant compare there. To me it smelt like rotten eggs/Sewerage! Dead Rodent...hmm...how is that going to be taken care of...i dont fancy pulling up pipes ect to find a decomposing rat or mouse staring back at me! The smell got stronger the closer you put your nose to the pipes behing the counter and it seems to linger espically in the utility room although like i said we did smell it two weeks ago while coming down the stairs in the hall!! I suppose ill just have to wait and see what the foreman says and what the plumber thought! Cheers again!
 
Sounds more like sewerage or a dead rodent to me. I think gas has a much more chemical sort of smell.
 
Blocked pipes are fairly common in new developments, we had a blocked pipe and one of the chaps on site spend an hour flushing out the wrong one, we only noticed it when the shore taking washing machine water away started to over flow.

Easy enough for the builders to clear once they get to the right spot.
 
The "stench " (that is the technical term of the substance , not the chemical term ) which is added to gas has a distinctive smell of garlic. Sulfur or ammoniac is a sign of sewage. Quiet often the plumbers lay sewage pipes without bends in them , so called knees or elbows that would -filled with water - eliminate any air exchange with the sewer system . In particular the 30-50 mm sewer pipe found in the utility room designed to receive the waste water from the washing machine , I've seen it many times before . The plumber thinks that the washing machine installer would do the job and install one of these air traps .They cost little money ( € 4.- - 5.- ) and can be bought at most hardware stores . Meassure the diameter to get the right one.
 
Spoke to the forman and the plumber told him it was just stagnant water in the washing machine pipe so he flushed it out and filled it with new water! All news to me of course. Will this smell keep happening? or was it just a once off because it had been sitting there for so long? And should'ent the washing machine water drain away and not stay in the pipes? Thanks to all who replies...your advice, as always, spot on and much appriciated.!!!
 
Sarah said:
Spoke to the forman and the plumber told him it was just stagnant water in the washing machine pipe so he flushed it out and filled it with new water! All news to me of course. Will this smell keep happening? or was it just a once off because it had been sitting there for so long? And should'ent the washing machine water drain away and not stay in the pipes? Thanks to all who replies...your advice, as always, spot on and much appriciated.!!!
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I had a similar problem before with water sitting in the waste pipe... it turned out that when the plumber put in the waste pipe it was at a slight angle so the water was flowing back on itself... it was a simple thing to fix... I just wedged a piece of wood under to change the angle and bingo!!!
 
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