Manky/damp smell in house

d0nkeyk0ng

The house has a slightly odd odour and has done so since we moved in 2.5 years ago. SWMBO can't detect it (which is unusual for her). I got the keys two months before we actually moved in (first home) and noticed it then. Have only been able to notice it in colder months (which might correlate with the heating being on). The smell is more noticeable when I run the hot water in the kitchen sink, but I've run drain cleaner a few times through all the sinks in the house (something I do routinely every six months). There's no trap under the sink but there is a U-bend and I've already cleaned this out.

I'm not sure whether this is damp, whether there's a slow leak from a radiator or whether the sink waste (we have a 1.5 sink in the kitchen) needs replacing.

Any ideas?

DaftyDuck

Does your hot water come from a (smelly) tank in the attic at low pressure, or is it a combined/mains pressure?

Attic water tanks collect all sorts, and this can collect in an immersion tank, resulting in stinky hot water, and a smelly attic.

I'm confused by no trap, but have U bend, but I have a stinking cold, so more easily confused than normal!

Ask a few friends round for a "hunt the stink" Christmas party? Novel, at least!

Silvertabby

Is it more noticeable in the winter because you are less likely to have the windows open?

Have you completely emptied the under-sink cupboard to check for a slow leak/rotten wood?

d0nkeyk0ng

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Does your hot water come from a (smelly) tank in the attic at low pressure, or is it a combined/mains pressure?

Combi boiler so mains pressure.

DaftyDuck wrote: »

I'm confused by no trap, but have U bend, but I have a stinking cold, so more easily confused than normal!

I've nicked this pic off ebay but this is what's under the sink:


Two sink drains for 1.5 sink, a drain feed for a dishwasher (we don't have a dishwasher so this is capped off), all going to a U-bend which then goes to a waste pipe that runs outside.

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Ask a few friends round for a "hunt the stink" Christmas party? Novel, at least!

:rotfl: Problem is I reckon I'm the only one who'd tell. Certainly none of our friends or families have noticed anything. With the exception of my mum who can also smell it.

Silvertabby wrote: »

Is it more noticeable in the winter because you are less likely to have the windows open?

Possibly. The smell is less noticeable when it's warmer but that could be a window thing.

Silvertabby wrote: »

Have you completely emptied the under-sink cupboard to check for a slow leak/rotten wood?

Yup I've been under there recently to install a new water tap and it's clear. I don't know about behind the sink unit without removing the whole thing.

Aylesbury_Duck

In my first house I had this and eventually traced it to a tiny leak around the pump in the airing cupboard. It meant that when the pump was used a lot (in the winter), it leaked ever so slightly and the chipboard flooring in the cupboard was soaking up the drips but because of a previous problem, was already discoloured so I didn't notice it. I spent ages checking plant pots, u-bends, traps, etc. because the very slight smell could be detected all around the house.

On another occasion, my dehumidifier "full tank" trip switch stuck in place and the excess gradually seeped out onto the floor. I only noticed it when I got a wet foot from standing on the carpet near the unit one evening!

On both occasions, it gave off a musty, damp smell that was difficult to pinpoint.

d0nkeyk0ng

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

On both occasions, it gave off a musty, damp smell that was difficult to pinpoint.

I think that highlights the enormity of the task and I've no idea where to start.

I'm happy to rip out the kitchen waste pipes and replace them, but I don't want to spend the time and effort for nothing if it's not them.

The boiler pressure has dropped from 2.0 bar to 1.5 over the course of ~15 months (I topped it up last year before winter and bled the rads, haven't had the chance to do all that this year).

DaftyDuck

If you shut room doors and cupboards, keep everything as isolated as you can, do you think the stink might be more localised?

Scratch my earlier ideas... no reason why a combined would produce stinky hot, and the under sink plumbing looks right.

Sink drains can clog up with ghastlies, which might give off some whiff. Cheap to replace, but sometimes easy enough to clean the old ones up, biological washing powder, bleach. A little washing up liquid aids a smooth and tight refit.

d0nkeyk0ng

DaftyDuck wrote: »

If you shut room doors and cupboards, keep everything as isolated as you can, do you think the stink might be more localised?

I can keep all the doors shut but the one from the kitchen to hallway is a wooden bifold door with about half an inch gap at top and at bottom.

I've noticed the smell when in the upstairs landing, and when I come into the house from outside. It's not detectable from any of the upstairs rooms.

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Sink drains can clog up with ghastlies, which might give off some whiff. Cheap to replace, but sometimes easy enough to clean the old ones up, biological washing powder, bleach. A little washing up liquid aids a smooth and tight refit.

I've tried the drain cleaners which I thought would help. Might dismantle it all and clean through with pipe cleaners.

DaftyDuck

You may not need any pipe cleaners (unless you have them already). A good soak, a blunt kitchen knife, bit of elbow grease....

Do you have a keen sense of smell elsewhere?

Oh, and you have asked... haven't you.....?...... It's not you? :eek:

d0nkeyk0ng

DaftyDuck wrote: »

You may not need any pipe cleaners (unless you have them already). A good soak, a blunt kitchen knife, bit of elbow grease....

Thanks. Will see what happens.

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Do you have a keen sense of smell elsewhere?

My sense of smell is usually rubbish so I'm surprised I've picked it up. Then again, there was a funny smell a couple of months ago and it turned out the wife had put some frozen pastries into a cupboard, not realising they were for the freezer. Again, nobody could smell it except me.

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Oh, and you have asked... haven't you.....?...... It's not you? :eek:

It's been noticed by my mother when she has stayed over, even when I'm not home!

DaftyDuck

It's been noticed by my mother when she has stayed over, even when I'm not home! ......

Gosh, you must really stink!

I seem to remember from the distant past that one of the smells of decomposition was one of the odd scents that some people were super-sensitive to, and others couldn't detect, and I know I smell drains more than most.....

I have regularly dunked U bends in buckets to soak when I have moved houses.

Mind you, we might just share a B.O. problem