Water under flooboards.

[Mercedesc200]

Hi, we have water under our floorboards and it has obviously been there for a while. It would appear that this is the cause of a lot of condensation in the house. I decided to pump it out so I can see if that helps if it dose then I will fit a sump. However now I have started pumping the water there is an egg smell which to me means the water is stagnant, what I would like to know is:- Is the egg smell normal? What else should I expect? What are the health implications with the smell? I do realise that there could be a broken pipe but is the smell there whenever someone pumps the water for the first time or is the smell directly associated to a broken pipe??

HELP! & Thanks in advance…..

 

[joe-90]

From memory the smell is hydrogen sulphide and is caused by anaerobic bacteria. It is, as you say, just stale water without oxygen.

Obviously the source needs tracing, but with rising water tables this sort of thing will become more common (unless you live on a hill).

You will need an airbrick or two though or you will get rot.

 

[Mercedesc200]

Hi Joe-90, Thanks for the prompt reply, I did have a look on the net and found the cause of the smell could be hydrogen sulphide, I also found out that that gas is toxic but there is no real info on how I can detect what level we are breathing in! Great!! We do live in an area that has poor drainage I would guess when the houses were built 50 years ago filling in the dy ke that led to the river was a poor choice by someone!


I have drained arround 4" of water and marked the wall my plan is to see how fast the level rises as long as we are still alive in the morning! Then I will continue to tackle the rest of the problem from there.

 

[breezer]

it seems to me you are worried over nothing, the water has been there for some time to say the least, so has the smell, since you are not dead, and are now keeping an eye on it why worry, but do go for the air bricks

 

[Mercedesc200]

Hi Breezer, thanks for your time. I would suspect the problem has been there for a long time but the smell was undetectable by us untill we started pumping the water, then it got a bit whiffy! There is a good breeze under the floorboards and I have checked the air bricks which appear to be clear of debris.

The owners of the house prior to us obviously also had the condenstation problem but thought or were told it was damp as there are holes drilled every where for the injections and the plaster has been replaced at the bottom.

Can someone tell me if I am going the right way by installing a sump, I know you can fit a mambrane but that seems like a big job involving pulling all the floorboards.

P.S. Incase you were wondering the **** in my previous post was d-y-k-e .

 

[breezer]

Pointless fitting a membrane.

If it is a high water table (doubtfull) the water will just lift it

If its a leaking pipe the membrane will just hold it in

keep an eye on it (particularly if it rains) and if need be fit a sump with pump

 

[Mercedesc200]

Ok will do. Thanks Breezer.

 

[BoxBasher]

Just to put your mind at rest, if you can smell hydrogen sulphide then you are ok. A fatal level of H2S will actually destroy your sense of smell first.

try wikipedia for more info...