Smell from sewers?

needtoknow_4

Hi there,

I have had this problem on and off for a while, and wonder if anyone else had experienced same thing?

At certain times thoughout the year when I flush the toilet it allows a foul smell from the sewer outside to come up through the toilet basin into the bathroom. It has to be the water going down into the sewer outside that creates the gap that allows the gas to escape back into the basin again. Not there all the time but does happen several times throughout the year.

I have called out the water people and they say that there is definately no blockage outside. I have lifted the manhole cover outside the house and everything seems to be flowing freely.

There is also a vertical pipe that rises from the sewerage system and goes through roof of house that must be to allow any gas to escape that way. A number of years ago I built a bathroom upstairs and used that pipe for all waste from that bathroo. I havent the same extent of a problem with it as I have with the bathroom downstairs. There is absolutely no blockages with any of the waste from the bathrooms or outside but obviously there is some sort of a problem somewhere.

ANy ideas?

thetope

we have the same problem at my boyfriend's house, his dad reckons that (without being too gross) if you flush a fairly substantial wad of paper and "waste", it can create a vacuum in the soil pipe while it's passing through which sucks the water out of the u-bend in the basin, thus allowing the smell to come up from the drains. you can buy a vent to put in the soil pipe to stop this happening, apparently.

Tobyruby

I had this problem too, and every so often the 2 toilets in my house needed to be plunged to clear them. The builder of my house told me I was using too much toilet paper. Politeness prevents me from telling you what I said in reply. Anyway, despite the fact that there is definitely a problem with the main sewer in my area, my problem had a different source. The aforementioned builder had left a 3 foot length of timber across the soil pipe. Every so often, it shifted and caused the smell and blockage. The ultimate sh*tty stick, I would say! It took a visit from Dynarod to pinpoint the problem.

talksalot81

If there is a blockage you are very likely to see an accompanying retardation of your flush cycle.

The truth is that no special conditions are necessary to get a bad smell out of the sewers. All that is needed is a path without blockage (i.e. water). My first guess would be that you are failing to fill the necessary regions upon flushing (possible only for a short time, possibly longer). I'd probably have a check to see whether the cistern is filling adequately.

needtoknow_4

Hi again,

Thanks for replies. Well I can get this smell (which is not present all the time) even when I flush toliet in morning without doing or putting anything in it..or maybe just a pee. The cistern seems to have a good supply of water and on lifting manhole cover outside of house ...just about 5 feet or less away on outside of house away from bathroom, everything seems to be flowing ok. Myabe its a bit of a build up of sewer gas, as my house on on an incline and about 12 houes further uphill in the development. When I flush the toilet the water at the bottom near the u-bend seems to stay at a constant height, good water pressure etc, so I figured the sewer gas must be coming up through the actual water itself.

Do you think it might help if a plumber was to put a small vent pipe near the manhole cover?

Definately not a problem all year round but nevertheless very annoying when it happens.

The drain rod thingy mentioned on other post, is that like a long bendable piece of metal rod, I know I tried it on kitchen sink one time ...but it got stuck ...trouble getting it out of waste pipe again.

IvanOpinion

I got this a few years back and in the end I got out my jet washer, lifted all the man hole covers around my house and gave it all a really good clean .. helped no end .. I do this once every couple of years and the niff has never returned.

Ivans tip #316: Remember that a jet washer produces a powerful jet of water which can sometimes blast whatever your are aiming at backwards straight into your face (so learn how to duck and jet from an angle) ... eeeeuuuucccchhh!!!

Ivan

Bigcammy

talksalot81 wrote: »

If there is a blockage you are very likely to see an accompanying retardation of your flush cycle.

Should this not be in the medical help section? Sounds very painful to me

arkonite_babe

I'll move this over to the in my home board now to see if you get more replies

neilmusgrove

We had a problem with a smelly toilet, it turned out the toilet was not installed properly, where it joined the waste pipe the seal was not tight. It was different depending on the weather, in warm weather it was terrible. We just needed to reseat the toilet into the waste pipe and secure the toilet (it was loose hence why it had come out).

It wonder if you could be having a similar problem?

melipona

If you think that the water is being sucked out of the basin U bend you might want to consider fitting a waterless Hepvo waste valve. They cost about £12 from plumbers merchants and do exactly what they say. Obviously its best to get a plumber to advise but I fitted them when I redid my bathroom because of space restrictions and they work fine.

shown73

I know that this is not relevant to this particular case, but it's worth sharing anyway. We've had a horrible smell in upstairs bathroom for a while, particularlly the washbasin, real pong coming up. Tried everything, decided that it must be external, in the drains somewhere. Wife went away for a few days, no pong. Deep thought, very careful questioning. Turns out, to cut a long story short, she uses a particular type of Listerine mouthwash, and believe it or not, that's the culprit. Tried it several times since, and there is no doubt, it makes the bathroom smell foul, via the washbasin. If she spits it into the toilet, no problem. Heaven knows whats in the stuff, but it certainly smells like rotten eggs!