Smell from downstairs toilet....and no not from us

dantheman2010

Hi all

We moved into our house a couple of weeks ago and we noticed a stench coming from the downstairs toilet protruding into the hallway. The smell is as if someone has been for a number 2 and either not flushed it or not sprayed airfreshener afterwards.

We barely use the downstairs toilet so it isnt from anything we are doing.

Weirdly the smell only seems to start about 7pm in the evening and is gone by the morning. I have checked the drains outside and there is no blockage. There is no blockage in the toilet or sink. There is no smell outside either.

A plumber came and had a quick look (whilst doing another job for us) and said there was a smell coming from the back of the toilet and suggested we cover the gap that was around the pipe going into the wall so we taped some bags over the gap.

Someone else suggested it may be the first pipe that goes directly into the back of the toilet U-bend so we put some silicone around the gap on that pipe/back of toilet.

None of that seems to work.

There doesnt seem to be any leaks or anything.

I am now out of ideas on how to solve this problem asides from an automatic spray airfreshener in there.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you.

lushplus4

You need to get down on your hands and knees and sniff it out. I had a similar problem and it turned out to be moisture that had got under vinyl flooring and started to rot. Good luck.

adandem

We had this with our toilet, it was the seal at the back. It needs to be totally airtight. Ours was moving slightly when sat on so the silicone seal didn't work. Cured when we changed the pipe and seal.

dantheman2010

The flooring is being changed in the next couple of weeks.

What does changing the pipe and seal involve? Is it a job for a plumber?

There are so many different trial and error things we can do, with the costs no doubt creeping up.

Thanks

Shoey1610

I feel for you, this happened to us too after moving into our new house. It drove me mad because the smell would come and go.

It turned out that the drains were partially blocked, but further down than the inspection chamber. The smell was coming back up through the downstairs loo as it was closer to the blockage. Luckily the drains were shared, so the water company came out and inspected them and found the blockage before clearing it and carrying out repairs at no charge.

If yours is a shared drain, it might be worth getting the water company to come and have a look.

What annoyed me the most was that it must have been happening for a few weeks before we moved in (but post-exchange as we'd had a final look round) and the previous owners hadn't done a thing about it. They must have noticed as it was the first thing I smelled when I got to the house. So now I redirect their mail into the bin.

dantheman2010

Update - we are still no nearer solving it.

I have sealed around the gap in the plastic pipe which goes directly into the toilet U-bend - this hasnt worked.

I have removed the lino flooring this morning to see if that has any effect (we are getting new ones in a couple of weeks).

Plumber came again yesterday and sealed round the front of the pipe which goes into the floor as he thinks that may be where the smell is coming from. He suggested taking skirting off and sealing round the back of the same pipe - considering doing this at the weekend. Although the smell was worst it has been last night.

Have checked the inspection chamber drain this morning - no blockages and when flushed the toilet the water came through that drain at a nice speed. So I dont think it is a blockage.

The smell is intermittant i.e. last night 9pm no smell (well there is always a slight odour but nothing too bad) but at 9.30pm it reeked in the toilet and into the hallway.

I am just stumped.

Any more ideas (other than the sealing of the back of the pipe into the floor)?

Out of interest what is a ball park figure for a plumber to replace a whole new toilet? If I supplied the toilet - something basic like http://www.wickes.co.uk/Positano-Cistern-To-Go/p/100103http://

Thanks

macman

Sounds like the water level in the trap is insufficient to prevent the odours coming back up from the sewer-that's the reason for a U-bend in the first place-the water acts as the seal
Any competent plumber ought to be able to identify and solve it if it is.

dantheman2010

Thanks, where is the trap? How can I check this?

macman

The U-bend is built into the toilet-that's why water remains in it after flushing. Water fills the bottom of the U-bend, blocking airflow up through it. Same principle applies to the trap under a sink or basin.
If there is no, ahem, 'deposit' lodged in the pan or trap itself, then smells can only be coming from the sewer or soil stack.

tiggerkid

Had a similar problem before. Plumbers couldn't identify what was wrong. It was resolved in 2 DIY steps: we washed all our drains with a hose to make sure any cr*p is washed down and then poured a bottle of liquid bleach down our downstairs loo. This worked great and the smell was gone. We eventually put it down to the fact that one of the drains in our garden was shared between our house, and our next door neighbour. Every now and then the problem re-appeared and we did the same whenever it was happening. It worked each time. Eventually we discovered that the builder of our house made the pipe connecting the toilet to the drain too short, which was why the smell was coming up from time to time. Our toilet was also occasionally getting blocked for no apparent reason. Like you, we hardly ever used it, so there was no reason for it to be blocked. Not sure if your issue is down to the same reasons but give it a go. It might work.

SailorSam

dantheman2010 wrote: »

Out of interest what is a ball park figure for a plumber to replace a whole new toilet? If I supplied the toilet - something basic like http://www.wickes.co.uk/Positano-Cistern-To-Go/p/100103http://

Thanks

It's a pretty simple to fit a new loo, there was another thread on here yesterday asking the same question.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5042810