Stinking toilet

[Mr Ploppy]

Toilet in en suite in the bathroom stinks at times. Looked at the pipe, doesn't seem to be any cracks, it just stinks from the bowl (yes I've put my head down and had a good sniff ). Tried putting bleach down, scrubbed around the bowl, nothing. After flushing the water is clear too and the level in the pan seems about right.

 

[ChrisR]

Is there an overflow going into a stink pipe?

 

[Nige F]

your name is Mr. ploppy and you sniff toilet bowls .....I thought Moz was the forum nutter

 

[Softus]

How long have you lived there?
What type of soil vent do you have?
Have there been any alterations to drains recently?
Any new toilet(s) installed?
Any new houses built nearby?

 

[fitz1]

Softus, your very nosey arnt you.

 

[Softus]

It pays to be nosey when sniffing out drainage problems

 

[Nige F]

Well I`ve just come across an Air Admit. Valve that was Emitting air .....so there is a 1st. time for everything new one stopped smell.....also bleach block in cistern could help this one

 

[timbalcombe]

Thats not such a great idea with the bleach block fella.
I have fluidmaster products in my cistern, they recomend not to use bleach products. I wish i'd read that before my flapper shrunk, and caused £80 worth of damage and a replacement ciphon.

 

[Softus]

Sorry Nige, but I'm also in the "Say No To Bleach Blocks" camp.

In fact, to say that I mildly dislike them is a bit like saying that Chantelle is a teeny bit irritating.

 

[timbalcombe]

Jeeze chantelle, what about Nicky? Bah!
The reason I've replied to this is because my toilet stinks as well. Its only 3 years old, but the waste is about 15. We used a connector to connect it to the waste (suprisingly enough)
It seems to be coming from the bowl. Bleach an all sorts doesn't work.
I think its some kind of inferior material as the whole suite was only £250
Its a close coupled unit and itsa painin the arse to service!

 

[Softus]

Hmm. Similar questions apply to your problem, which is a slight hijack, but what the heck.

So the pan installation is 3 years old - when did the smell start?

And what are your soil venting arrangements?

Any new housing building or extending going on nearby?

 

[timbalcombe]

Sometimes a hijack gets the ball rolling !
The soil vent is a big long pipe which runs up the outside above the roof.
This is terminated and joins the soil stack pipe at the exit to the house.
The waste runs into a chamber outside. I have removed the IC lid and theres no whiffs down there.
The smell started about 6 months ago.

There have been a few dodgy house to flat conversions accross the road at the back (I know, theres loads of poles coming into the area lets build rabbit hutches really cheaply for them), but these are on a different supply as they are on a different road.

 

[Softus]

Sometimes a hijack gets the ball rolling !

Er, yes, but it's a different ball!

When you say that the vent is terminated, could you be more specific about the manner of termination?

If the venting is OK, then I would have to agree with you that it's a problem at the pan. Have you checked thoroughly that there's no leak from the pan connector - small ones are hard to spot, but can still whiff.

Otherwise, could the pan be cracked? Would you see evidence of a leak if it emerged under the pan?

Otherwise, it could just be someone rather nasty under the rim. Or some solid matter in the trap or pan connector. I'd be tempted to have the pan off and take a good look (and sniff) down the soil pipe.

 

[RigidRaider]

Last time this happened in our house my young son had been trying to, er, persuade a particularly spectacular "mersey trout" to slip down the u-bend with the bog brush. In doing so he lowered the water level so that gases were able to get up from the soil pipe. A quick part flush refilled the u-bend. Is someone in the house in the habit of using the brush vigorously?

I have also noticed that in some houses flushing a toilet elsewhere produces enough downward rush in the soil pipe and enough consequent suction to pull some water out of u-bends elsewhere. Of course this shouldn't happen, that's what the vent is for.

Is there a vent nearby inside the room? Old vents can get a sticking flap, they are easy to replace.

 

[Softus]

Is there a vent nearby inside the room? Old vents can get a sticking flap, they are easy to replace.

Good story )), but this bit is slightly wrong. I think you're referring to a Air Admittance Valve, which allows air into the soil stack but not out. The purpose of a vent is to allow smelly air out, and timbalcombe says that he has one of these, outside the house, although we've yet to find out what's at the top of the vent pipe.