Smelly drains

ceewash

We have a drain in the porch which at one time was outside and took the rain water from the roof. It is not in use any more and not blocked by anything, i think. It has recently started to smell and the smell is in the porch and sometimes in the house. Is there anything which I can put down the grid? Bleach etc just seems to mingle with the smell. We have tried flushing it with water and that has not shifted it.

MX5huggy

If you have put water down it then you will have filled the trap with water which may have dried out and re sealed it. Really you should not have an open gully in your porch you should realy dig it up and either remove it of cap it off.

ceewash

I was thinking this as well but I didn,t know if you could cap it off. How do you do that and can it be done without calling in "the men"?

MX5huggy

You might need "the men" its not complicated, but it might get compliclated! you will have to dig it up, so then you will have to repair the floor. Depending on if the gully is clay or platic you may need need to cut the pipe under the ground. etc etc

Kiran

As a quick fix, if you can get access to the main pipe then you can fit an air test bung in it. That will stop any foul air escaping. You can buy them from screwfix and you only have to slide them inside the pipe and then wind the wing nut up to make it expand.

The correct course of action would be to dig out the gully pot and backfill the hole though.