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Smelly drain issue

  • 12-02-2025 09:14PM
    #1
    hoanymole
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 144 ✭✭


    Hi all we have had a smelly drains issue for a long time. Our short term solution is just putting bleach down but it just comes back and on a bad day the house stinks.

    Problem seems to be that in our street all the human waste (toilet), shower, kitchen sink and washing machine from all houses empties in a pipe that runs across our back gardens and human waste is getting stuck a long the way.

    To sort it I open the manhole and give it flush with a few buckets of water and bleach and that sorts it for a bit but problem quite soon the smell comes back.

    Questions: should the human waste be flowing into this same pipe?

    If so then maybe the pipes aren't laid in the correct way for efficient drainage?

    Thanks for you help.

    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    blackbox
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,070 ✭✭✭blackbox


    Yes, all waste goes into the same drain. This is standard.

    To prevent smells from coming back up you rely on the trap (u-bend) under each sink, shower etc.

    The only reason that fumes would get past the trap is if the drain is under pressure. Normally there is a vent pipe that allows the fumes to escape above roof level.



  • #3
    Busman Paddy Lasty
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,274 ✭✭✭Busman Paddy Lasty


    How old are the houses and sewer?

    Sewer alongside my (old) house was smelly but only outdoors. Got it camera'd and there was gaps and breaks so waste was leaking into the ground and causing smells.



  • #4
    naughtysmurf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,317 ✭✭✭naughtysmurf


    Have you any unused or rarely used showers or sinks in your house, their traps will indeed block the fumes from coming back up into the house but only if they are full of water, it’s the water in the trap that blocks the fumes, if you have & the traps have dried out, that could be your problem, run the cold taps to make sure the traps are full.



  • #5
    hoanymole
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 144 ✭✭hoanymole


    thanks all for the helpful comments.

    through process of elimination (replacing pipes, checking the traps work etc, I realised this a sizeable gap where the pipe goes into the floor which a (smelly) breeze come up. I’ve attempted to block it by wrapping sponge around it. Let’s see.

    im also going to get a cctv survey done to check the problem isn’t bigger elsewhere down the pipeline.



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