Smells from loft conversion en-suite

DRP

Hi

As the thread title - We bought a house in october and since then have noticed a strong smell from the bedroom/ensuite in the converted loft. I would say it is a sewer type smell.

It is always present but can be much stronger at times. The top of the soil pipe is located in the eaves storage space and has lid on top ('BBA' sticker - presumably an air admittance valve). However there is no smell at all in the eaves area.

The smell is hard to isolate in the loft but i'm pretty sure it is coming from the shower drain (the smell doesn't seem any stronger in the toilet and sink when i put my head in them!). I initially thought it may be caused by not using the shower and the trap drying up, allowing soil pipe smells in - however rinsing through the shower regularly and using drain unblocker/cleaner hasn't improved it. The soil pipe is internal and boxed-in on the 1st and ground floor then heads into concrete floor behind the kitchen cupboards

questions -
1. Do all showers have to have a trap?
2. If one is present where would it be located?

Any other suggestions for investigating this issue would be appreciated.

Rodney_Trotter

Is should have a trap under it can you access it by taking off the front under the tray?

DRP

Rodney_Trotter wrote: »

Is should have a trap under it can you access it by taking off the front under the tray?

thanks for the comment



This is the view of the pipe coming out of the drain under the base. This isn't a trap is it?

Is it likely the trap is located further down the waste pipe? Would this be normal?

I guess I need to check the pipe all the way to the soil.

Ruski

Yes - this is a trap. Accessed and cleaned by removing the grid from the 'top', i.e. the tray istelf, not from underneath at all.

HTH

Russ

nickcc

Sounds like the water in the trap is being sucked out, I'd check that the air admittance valve is working correctly.

I_have_spoken

Do you have a Saniflo? They always whiff

DRP

Ruski wrote: »

Yes - this is a trap. Accessed and cleaned by removing the grid from the 'top', i.e. the tray istelf, not from underneath at all.

HTH

Russ

Thanks for that. I assumed the level of water in a trap had to be above the height of the exit tube for it to function? ie. in order to stop smells coming up the pipe?


The inside of the trap is a simple cylinder with an exit pipe. The internal height of the exit pipe within the trap (removing the grid and looking into the trap from above) is almost the full height of the trap, meaning it can never fill with water.

Effectively, there is no water trap ? Am I talking nonsense, but as I see it, there's continuous air from the soil pipe up into the ensuite.

DRP

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Do you have a Saniflo? They always whiff

Hi , what's a saniflo? How would I recognise it?

I_have_spoken

How would I recognise it?

By the smell...:think:

adandem

If it turns out not to be your shower, make sure the toilet seal is intact, ours moved very slightly and the smell was awful.

DRP

adandem wrote: »

If it turns out not to be your shower, make sure the toilet seal is intact, ours moved very slightly and the smell was awful.

Great suggestion, will defo check this weekend.

So yours wasn't leaking, just smelly?