Sewage odour in house

ThankingYou

Hi All,
I recently moved into a house that was unoccupied for about a year. It's 3 floored end of terrace house with toilets at each level. A few rooms in the house have a bad odour. The rooms affected are directly below bathrooms and the toilet in the ground floor has a strong odour. I got a reputed plumber to examine the drains. In his opinion there was no evidence of any leaks and everything looked intact and functional. I also got the drains cleaned with the hope that it will resolve the issue. Unfortunately it persists and I am worried that it is not as straightforward a problem as I thought. I am also worried that there could be long term effects of inhaling these gases which can be detrimental to health. Will a smoke test help? Has anyone had a similar experience? I am desperate to have the problem resolved and any suggestions would be welcome.

T5180

If there are no leaks I would check the vent stack from the waste pipe which should run up the outside of the house .Each toilet or bathroom should have a free vent to atmosphere , if this is restricted in any way there is a chance that the trapped gasses will travel through the U bends /Traps and cause an odour .Also if baths or sinks have been out of use for a while make sure they have been flushed with water as the traps may have gone dry , this will also allow the gasses to enter the house .

dpofloinn

Are you sure that all the traps in the house still have their seal

ThankingYou

I got the plumber to check the seal and traps and I do believe they have their seal.

ThankingYou

T5180, having said that, I can't be a hundred percent sure though the water levels all seem to be okay in the toilets. I am not exactly a DIY person but I will check again with the plumber and make sure the vent stack is free and not restricted in any way. T5180...thank you so so much for your suggestion. Appreciate it.

aujopimur

Is there any sign of mouse or rat droppings in the house?.

NickNickleby

Think about the smell again.

Years ago I thought there was something dead in my house, then could find nothing, but the smell persisted. I even dumped a carpet...

It was light fittings. Light fittings usually have a small sticker on them to say 60W or 100W. In my case it was fittings rated at 60W with 100W bulbs. Replaced the now brittle fittings and inserted appropriate wattage bulbs ,presto!

Another time, a socket melted, but it was under a kitchen counter. Smelled like a dead mouse in the kitchen. However it only became apparent when I tried to unplug the washing machine. No visible signs, but the plug disintegrated and the socket behind it was blackened and brittle. Rewire and new socket fitted, original problem caused by wire not properly screwed in when original socket was fitted.

Hope this is useful...

FMG

A friend had a bad odour from a utility room. The pipe draining the washing machine had no sbend and was draining into sewer ,I think the gas was able to vent through washing machine drainpipe into the room. He put on an sbend and this and a vent helped sort out the smell