# How to correct smell coming from ensuite.



## LimerickMan (7 Nov 2007)

Hi all, 

I've noticed a bad odour coming from our (upstairs) ensuite recently, I presume it's coming from the toilet. 

The house is less than a year old so can't understand what could be causing it, as I said, I've only noticed the problem recently.

The builders are being typically unhelpful so I'll need to sort this one out myself, would like to avoid paying for a plumber if possible.

Any ideas would be appreciated.


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## ClubMan (7 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



> *Stinky*


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## Seagull (7 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

I'm presuming that you have the typical en suite with a shower, toilet and basin. How often would each be used? If one of these is used infrequently, the downpipe from it could dry up. Normally, the water in the pipe acts as a block to odours coming back up the pipe.


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## tablesalt (7 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



Seagull said:


> I'm presuming that you have the typical en suite with a shower, toilet and basin. How often would each be used? If one of these is used infrequently, the downpipe from it could dry up. Normally, the water in the pipe acts as a block to odours coming back up the pipe.


 
So what do u do in this case?
We bought a seconhand house and have the same problem


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## z103 (7 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

Switch on the shower and sink tap for a few minutes.


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## tablesalt (7 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

well, we've been using the sink and the shower pretty much every day. the smell comes suddenly: in the middle of the night or when we come home from work.


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## usrbin (8 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

It doesn't come after heavy rainfall, by any chance?  Ours does that sometimes.. can't tell you why, I'm afraid, but maybe it's a clue...!


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## ophelia (8 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

When you say it comes after heavy rainfall, and /or quite suddenly, it leads me to suspct that you may have a broken drainage pipe (outside, and underground).  This happened me and the ground had to be dug up and the pipe replaced.  The council do it, but the cost was divided between the houses who are seved by the offending pipe. If the builders are still on-site, I would insist on them putting rods down the outside drains ie. the manholes, to check for blockages.


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## usrbin (8 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

Hi Ohelia, that's very interesting, thanks... the rods you refer to are presumably flexible and extensible (i.e. like chimney cleaning rods or something)?  Also, would you expect that, having found a blockage with these rods, say 12 foot along the drainage pipe, the suspected breakage would be expected to be above that same point?


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## bacchus (8 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

As incorrectly mentionned previously, the downpipes are always dry. Bad odour will appear if the syphons are empty. There should always be some water in it, that's what blocking the odour from coming back from the drain/sewage into your house

Few reasons lead to syphons being empty, main ones being:
- Lack of use (not you case)
- If the dowpipes are not correctly vented. Typical case if that the shower syphon empties when the toilet is flushed assuming they are connected to same downpipe (which they are in typical ensuite). Or on windy days/heavy rainfall, the draft created in the downpipes could affect the water level in the siphon, hence odour coming in.

First thing to do as usual is to try to find root cause yourself by checking water level in all siphons when odour appears.

Fill up all the siphons and smell each of one to try to detect any odour. They should be none. Note water level (not easy but doable).

When odor comes back, smell each siphon again and find which one if letting the odor in.. Check water level, if should be too low hence odor coming in.
I bet you that the problem is the size fo the vent pipe which should be of the same size as the downpipe (approx 100mm -110mm)

Hope it helps.


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## ophelia (8 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*

Exactly, Ursbin. If the rods can't get through it would suggest that there is a broken / blocked pipe at that point.  they will try flushing it through with a power spray first but may end up having to dig.


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## MM3 (9 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



bacchus said:


> As incorrectly mentionned previously, the downpipes are always dry. Bad odour will appear if the syphons are empty. There should always be some water in it, that's what blocking the odour from coming back from the drain/sewage into your house
> 
> Few reasons lead to syphons being empty, main ones being:
> - Lack of use (not you case)
> ...



Hi Bacchus,

We have a similar problem intermittently in our ensuite and I haven't got to the bottom of it yet.    I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a siphon - could you explain the term?  

When we've had the problem I've smelled the shower, sink and toilet and never got an odour from any of them.  The only thing I've managed to get an odour from is the ceiling extractor fan - could this be the cause?

Also how would you suggest checking the water levels?

Thanks,

M


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## Leo (9 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



MM3 said:


> I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a siphon - could you explain the term?


 
I believe what they're referring to here is actually the trap, usually a U bend where water will sit to block the air path back from the waste. 

Siphoning happens where the waste is not properly ventilated, the soil stack should have be vented up at roof level. If there is no ventilation, or it is inadequate, water, etc. flowing out the waste can cause a vacuum which will siphon the water out of the trap.
Leo


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## bacchus (11 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



Leo said:


> Siphoning happens where the waste is not properly ventilated, the soil stack should have be vented up at roof level. If there is no ventilation, or it is inadequate, water, etc. flowing out the waste can cause a vacuum which will siphon the water out of the trap.
> Leo



Thanks, Leo. You wrote in one sentence very clearly what I wrote in many sentences and in gobbledigook.


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## Leo (12 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



bacchus said:


> Thanks, Leo. You wrote in one sentence very clearly what I wrote in many sentences and in gobbledigook.


 
No problem, you hang around here long enough you pick up a thing or two!
Leo


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## z105 (12 Nov 2007)

Leo,

Can you tell me if you have heard of such a thing as a "mushroom" vent and is it adequate for venting a soil stack ?

Thanks


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## rgfuller (12 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



MM3 said:


> Hi Bacchus,
> 
> We have a similar problem intermittently in our ensuite and I haven't got to the bottom of it yet. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a siphon - could you explain the term?
> 
> ...


 
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.


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## Leo (12 Nov 2007)

Havealaugh said:


> Can you tell me if you have heard of such a thing as a "mushroom" vent and is it adequate for venting a soil stack ?


 
Sure have, see this previous thread. See this [broken link removed] for examples of them and their installation. Heatmerchants and I'm sure more other plumbing outlets stock these Hunter traps  for less than a tenner.
Leo


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## galwaytt (12 Nov 2007)

I've fitted these in a few places:   HepvO Hygienic Self Sealing Waste Valve

[broken link removed]


Usually on standing white waste pipes e.g. sinks, dishwashers, washing machines etc......5 mins to fit, and you don't need to be a plumber.


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## Thrifty1 (12 Nov 2007)

We have recently moved into a new house and are tiling and doing all the work ourselves. This meant we did the main bathroom first and it was the only one we used.
After a couple of weeks we noticed a foul odour coming from the ensuite and downstairs loo. It was, as has been said, caused by the toilet being dry, all the water in the u bend had evaporated.
Now we just flush the loo and runs the taps regularly and no more smell.


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## BillK (12 Nov 2007)

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


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## nt00deep (13 Nov 2007)

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.


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## MM3 (16 Nov 2007)

*Re: Stinky*



rgfuller said:


> 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


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## Silvergirl (29 Nov 2007)

*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


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## sfag (29 Nov 2007)

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.


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## Capricorn 1 (25 Jul 2009)

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.


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## dubgem (25 Jul 2009)

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.


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## Capricorn 1 (26 Jul 2009)

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.


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## dubgem (26 Jul 2009)

Capricorn 1 said:


> 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.


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## AlbacoreA (27 Jul 2009)

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


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## Capricorn 1 (28 Jul 2009)

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.


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