Smell from Bathroom Sink

DieHard

I checked the trap in the sink and it was as clean as a whistle, the water had nothing in it, no soap scum or hair. I am on the ground floor of a three story block of flats. The Soil stack had to be power flushed by the management company (that is their term for what they did) because there was a blockage on the first floor in March last year and there is no access to the soil pipes. At the moment I have no water in the trap at all (it is a tear drop trap) all I can smell at the moment is a sort of musty damp coming from the plug hole. I have just cleaned out the bath and showered it down and I am going to see if a smell comes up. I have taken to putting the plug in the bathroom sink and it is usally when I brush my teeth before I go to sleep that I smell the drain smell coming from the sink (obviously this is because I run a little water to wet my tooth brush and unplug the sink hole). I will try that tonight and see what happens.

southcoastrgi

ormus wrote: »

just clean the bloody waste pipes out. (or replace em). that cures all the problems.

what another helpful answer not & prob won't cure the problem,

like the others have said it's prob due to the waste pipes being connected together & if all three flats are connected to one stack this could be where the prob lies, as other flats use there waste pipes it is affecting yours, fit a anti-vac trap on the basin, that should sort it out.

southcoastrgi

good call LD & as the prob is there when you go away & aren't using the bath or basin i think the problem prob lies somewhere else

DieHard

I fitted an anti vac trap to the sink today so I will see how that goes but it has created another problem. It is a major hassle to take out the pedestal because it has been concreted to the floor so I had to work around it. When I first put the new trap in water leaked from the top of the sink because it must have loosened the pipe going up to the plug hole. I know once this is not sealed it is hard to get the seal back especially when you are working around a pedestal but I managed to tighten it up and it is not leaking any more.

The problem I have is the water is slowly draining from the sink even when the plug is in. It is not leaking any more so why would it do that?

ListysDad

Now call me old fashioned, but what's the ruddy point of giving you advice based on doing hundreds of similar jobs when you then insist on ignoring it?

When you're in a hole stop bloody digging. No doubt your first class plumbing skills will see you all the way through to Australia...

southcoastrgi

i whole hearted agree with LD but as i'm in a fairly good mood i will answer your question.

the reason water is now going away with the plug in, is because you have broken the seal between the waste & the basin, water is now going past this & draining away through the slot in the waste (this is used for the overflow), you could try & put some clear sealant around the chrome bit in the sink (waste) but this may or may not work, alot of times the waste is bedded into the sink with plumbers mate (b1oody useless stuff which i won't even give van space to), so really the proper way to do it would be to take out the waste clean it up, bed it down on sealant & refix the trap back on

keystone

Post Number 6. Rinse and repeat.

Cheers

DieHard

@ ListysDad - don't give me any more advice. You might find it acceptable to talk to people like that but I am not intereted in another word you have to say. Having a dig about my 'first class plumbing skills' is uncalled for and there is no absolutely need to be so rude. Don't try and 'help' me again!

keystone

Would you be kind enough to answer the questions from Post Number 6 then we can discount (or otherwise) that possibility. If you don't want to please say so and we can then forget it rather than having it nagging away like a bad tooth.

Cheers

DieHard

keystone wrote: »

Would you be kind enough to answer the questions from Post Number 6 then we can discount (or otherwise) that possibility. If you don't want to please say so and we can then forget it rather than having it nagging away like a bad tooth.

Cheers

Keystone thanks for all your help and advice but I am not interested in being insulted so you can forget it. Also, thank you for being polite in your replies.