Foul smell in new Utilities/Kitchen

[chris101]

imageshack.us/g/1/10330923/

We had some extension work done a few months back and ever since the work was completed, occasionally we have been getting smells from behind the washing machine and under the boiler (which are next to each other).*I have attached pictures of while works were being completed and after work has been completed.*InitiallyI thought it was to do with no U Bend present in the waste pipe behind the washing machine so I bought a white connecter for the 2 (as seen in the picture) however this has made no difference and we also can smell it very strong from the gap where the pipes connect to the boiler.*

Any ideas what it could be?*

A suggestion by a friend was to foam up the gaps and see if the smells still persists but I am guessing that ain't really resolving the issue but just stopping the smells from existing from that location which could mean it could find another gap to exit from

 

[JohnKay]

Hi chris101
My first thought has to be one of safety. Are you sure this is a drain smell, and not a gas escape, (I'm assuming this is a gas boiler, with the condensate drain being that white pipe on the right) If any doubt, please get it checked NOW.
The washing machine connection is far from ideal, there should be a trap on the waste. Where does that pipe go below the floor, and is it sound ?

 

[chris101]

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply.

The smell is definately not of gas and rather stagnant water.

Were not sure where the black pipe leads to but from this picture it seems it joins the main soil stack pipe.

 

[JohnKay]

Yes, it does seem that way. I have to assume these drains were tested correctly, and approved by the BCO. I can only suggest a spot of re configuration to provide a washing machine stand pipe with a waste trap, as it should be.

 

[chris101]

Apologies for the delay in my response.


Since my last post I had a plumber down who installed a trap behind the washing machine that made no difference.


I was left with little options to contact the builders again who came and had a look.

They advised me to find out if any of the smells were worse off when using any of the appliances (The sink, dish washers, washing machine and condenser off the boiler all connect to the same waste pipe).


We tried to limit the user of each appliance however we found no real pattern.


They have advised now that they will be coming again some point this week to break some of the tile to look under the floor boards and if they find nothing, they will simply seal up the hole in hope it sorts out the smell issue.


As this is a brand new extension should simply sealing it up be an option as that would no eliminate the smell under the flooring although it might stop it from coming into the kitchen.


At the moment we also are getting mice from that same gap and so far killed 2 using a trap (never had any mice probs in the last 3 years of having the property and only occurred from the new extension)...

 

[JohnKay]

You are right to be concerned.
I wonder how the mice are getting under the floor in the first place. Would it not be a good idea to have a word with the building control officer,he would have been present when the drains were tested, and would also be familiar with site conditions throughout.

 

[chris101]

Sorry for the delayed response.
They may be getting through the vent holes at the new extension?

Having said that, since killing 2 in a trap, we haven't had any more although between 9-12pm at night I can hear some squeaking noise in the utilities area, however ever time I get close to trying identify if its from under the floor or even the roof, it goes quiet.

There has been cases of squirrels in the past living in the old roof...

I think I have identified which item out of the 3-4 appliances is causing the smell or at least for it to worsen.

During a 3 days spell, I stopped using the dish washer, washing machine and sink (which all use the same drain pipe) and simply due to the cold used the boiler for central heating.

The central heating vent pipes uses the same waste pipe as the sink, dish washer and washing machine.

During this 3 day period I decided to put the thermostat temp up more than required so it was on more consistently.

The result was the whole kitchen smelling and as the at the first instance we left the kitchen door open, the whole ground floor had the smell.
For some reason the smell also has been coming out of the downstairs bathroom which is next to the utilities section...

The moment we put the temperature down on the thermostat, the smell was confined to the utilities area only.

The builders/plumbers are hopefully coming next week but any advise in the mean time would be great?

 

[JohnKay]

Hi
As I suggested before, have you had a word with Building Control ? I cannot see how the small amount of condensate from the boiler would make things worse.
Looking at the photo again, it's not easy to judge the depth of that 110mm pipe, but it doesn't look deep enough. I wonder if there was any damage done to it before the floor was laid.
Was this all correctly tested and inspected by Building Control ?

The only other suggestion I can make, is to ask a local drain specialist to investigate. They would be able to carry out tests, or even a CCTV survey to confirm all is well under the floor.

 

[chris101]

Another Update -We was going to get building control to inspect but the Plumber visited two days back and agreed traps were missing and will add 3-4 traps under the boiler this Saturday as he thinks the current setup is sucking the water down the traps which is allowing the smells to enter.

In the bathroom he put water down the sink, shower and toilet and within a few minutes the smells had more or less gone.
So with regards to the bathroom he said he will replace the trap under the sink with a better one and if the issue is the shower, he will look to replace its trap as well.

On Tuesday evening after he had left a new smell was lingering around - smelt far more eggy rather than the other smell.
It went away when we opened the kitchen sink tap....

The only thing different they did yesterday was take out the washing machine and push it back in (don't know if that impacted anything? )

 

[JohnKay]

Sounds a good result so far, and a very logical one. You can only wait and see what happens with these new traps. Let's hope it's problem solved.

 

[terryp1202]

If you don't think it's coming from a dead animal of any kind, I would recommend pouring water, with a little bit of pleach down your drain pipes. I had a similar proble with a fowl smell coming from my central AC vents. I could not for the life of me figure out what it was. Then one day a friend recommended that I pour water and bleach down all my drains, and the washing machine drain point as well. The smell almost instantly went away. It turns out that there was a grease trap somewhere that was allowing stagnant odor to get sucked in through the AC.

 

[HarrisJ5]

If you don't think it's coming from a dead animal of any kind, I would recommend pouring water, with a little bit of pleach down your drain pipes. I had a similar proble with a fowl smell coming from my central AC vents. I could not for the life of me figure out what it was. Then one day a friend recommended that I pour water and bleach down all my drains, and the washing machine drain point as well. The smell almost instantly went away. It turns out that there was a grease trap somewhere that was allowing stagnant odor to get sucked in through the AC.

The first thing I though of when he said "dead mice" was that it was a dead animal.

 

[chris101]

Update - BC came and said all work was carried out fine and they cannot find any issues.
We had a few more plumbers come out and they also found nothing obviously wrong....

We believe we have sorted the rat issue out as for the past 1.5-2 months we have not smelt or heard any however the smells are still about and we have had drain moths coming out under the tiles now...

Here is the drain CCTV footage -

The pics of the work - Pre, During and Post works can be found here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ma8t1tuzfeacswl/AACN0VfjyB0dp0v9Bcs1OTG8a?dl=0

According to the report - at 5mins 20 seconds there seems to be rat marks and a potential hole.
I have had a look at the CCTV footage and know that the way they connected the black pipe to the main sewer pipe (as per pics) was not done in the best manner, so not sure if its more to do with a not nicely cut pipe instead of rat marks?

Also from my own viewings at 6min 20seconds - On the middle bottom of the circle, there is some black which looks like a hole? This could be just a reflection though....