Ensuite

hawker

Hi Folks,

A query that someone might explain. Over the past couple of people a bad smell has been emanating from the Ensuite in my house. I have tried numerous fresheners and have also left the window open for days, all to no avail. I suspect the only other place it could be coming from is the waste pipe of the shower.

Has anybody else experienced anything similar? Any ideas how I might rectify it? Is there some sort of liquid I can pour down to nullify the smell?

Cheers.

colmanmc

This happened me before, when i came back from holidays. Was convinced it was from the toilet but rang my brother who is a plumber and he said it was because the water in the trap in the shower had dried out.

If my memory serves me right, I unscrewed the outlet cover on the shower tray, poured water in and refitted the cover. It wasy a VERY simple procedure anyway.

Problem solved

pbergin

That would only work if the trap was dry, every time you use the shower or sink the trap should refill.

Avns1s

hawker wrote:

Hi Folks,

A query that someone might explain. Over the past couple of people a bad smell has been emanating from the Ensuite in my house. I have tried numerous fresheners and have also left the window open for days, all to no avail. I suspect the only other place it could be coming from is the waste pipe of the shower.

Has anybody else experienced anything similar? Any ideas how I might rectify it? Is there some sort of liquid I can pour down to nullify the smell?

Cheers.

If its a "sewerage" smell then it is either the WHB or shower or possibly the toilet. Just run the water in the WHB and Shower to fill the traps as already suggested and see if this helps.

Then check the outlet pipes from the toilet and see that they are draughtproof. Even though they might not be leaking any water etc, they might be letting some "air" in from the sewer. The seals occasionly will fail and cause this.

I spent ages looking for a similar problem and it turned out to be where the toilet outlet connected to the sewer pipe. A bit of silicone and job was sorted.

GreeBo

Also could be a dead rat or a mouse..
But you should be able to distinguish between dead animal and sewerage/damp smell

hawker

Thanks for the replys. Just a couple of points/questions

[HTML]I unscrewed the outlet cover on the shower tray, poured water in and refitted the cover.[/HTML]

I don't understand. What cover are you referring to? Are you referring to the circular (spoked wheel shape)thingy on the outlet pipe?

I don't thing it's a dead rat or mouse as I think I'd be wrenching at that smell.

The shower was out of order for a long time and I only replaced it recently. However I have to say that I don't use it that often. So maybe if I used it more often should this rectify the problem?

GreeBo

to "refill" the trap you just need to use the shower, it will trap water automatically, thus preventing the smell from the pipes passing into the bathroom
However the traps themselves can get very smelly if they have dirt, hair, soap etc in them...

Get a good cleaner, leave it sitting in the trap for a while and then flush it all out.

colmanmc

hawker wrote:

Are you referring to the circular (spoked wheel shape)thingy on the outlet pipe?

Yes

hawker wrote:

The shower was out of order for a long time and I only replaced it recently. However I have to say that I don't use it that often. So maybe if I used it more often should this rectify the problem?

As i said earlier, it was when i came back from a 3 week hoilday that we noticed it, teh water had just dried up in the trap.

Not sure if just running the water works, my brother suggested removing the cover a filling the trap that way, but try running the showert first and see if that sorts it

GreeBo

Running the tap will fill an empty trap as the trap will fill up before the water gets to go down the drain.
The water has no where else to go but into the trap and fill it.

Yes this sounds like a "guest room" en-suite problem, just fill the traps in the washbasin, shower & toilet.

If the en-suite is unused, the water in the traps can evaporate and let in bad smells.

hawker

Thanks for all the help.

I'll get working on that over the weekend and see if it cures it.

Cheers