Advice needed about smell in downstairs loo = going insane!

brenno12345

hi all
i have a bad smell on downstairs loo and it is starting to drive me insane so really could do with some advice.

-i think it is like a damp/stale water smell but some believe it is sewer smell. its not particulary unbearable or anything that is why i am convinced it is not sewer. to be honest cant b convinced either way! sometimes it can be stonger and sometimes it can be weak

here are the facts:

-i have replaced toilet sink and fittings.
-i have checked the vent stack outside house and it goes past roof level with no apparent blockages
-sink trap always full of water
-tested flushing out the system for pressure changes /gurgling in loo, nothing
-check light in loo and seems fine
-its one off house on biocycle unit



only other things i can think of are these, would appreciate advice:

1.-one of the plumbers that was looking into it found a small leak on the waste pipe that connects the back of the toilet to the main plastic waste pipe sewer line out to biocyle. he replaced all of this and no leak since. however, just under where the leak was, was a hole that was never cemented/filled in. im guessing alot of water leaked down here over the months. its is a gritty silty clay-ey hole. maybe i was silly, but in an effort to rid the smell (as i convinced myself it was from this hole) i cemented over it. i thought for a while the smell got a bit better but maybe that was in my head. i also note black damp speckles on the wall near the hole. So,

-could that damp hole be the source of the smell? would concrete over it not seal it?

2. i have porous travertine tiles on the floor, could wet damp and other guck seep through these and cause a smell?they were never sealed

3. could i have a cracked sewer pipe underneath the floor. would the smell permeate through concrete?

the smell can drift into the hall and be quite bad on occasion but mostly confined to the loo.

any other advice wud be so appreciated!

Markcheese

If it was after-hours I'd advise stop peeing on the floor , otherwise , stop using the loo, make sure the window is kept open and theres nothing damp in there , give it a good clean and see what it's like after a week or so ?
Is there enough water in the toilet trap...? Does it glug lower after flushing

brenno12345

thanks mark
we dont use the loo now but it is in the centre of house so no window or ventilation really. there is damp under the concrete floor now i suspect (please reread post) - can this give of a fairly bad smell?

alfa beta

hey lad - i'd rule out your number 2 as the cause of the smell

(No pun intended!)

I've had unsealed travertine in bathroom floor in this house for years and no smell (And small boys with bad aims etc...so not exactly well looked after either.)

mickdw

Do you have shower in that room?
It sounds very much like the water trap is be ing drawn out when toilet is flushed but I think you say you have checked that water trap is present at all times.
Its also possible that your sink waste is onnected into a 4 inch sewer pipe at floor level. If this was the case, you could check that junction too.