 | Ponging bathroom plumbing |
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Question: I took off the side of the bath in my flat to add support to the side of the bath where the sealant had split, and there is a REALLY bad smell coming from under there. It is not apparent when the side panel is removed initially, but develops over an hour or so. (this is repeatable). There is an approx 1ft sq 'hole' in the floorboards between joists, down to the upper surface of the flat below. There is also a larger hole in the wall (under the 'tap-end' of the bath) which has the plumbing coming through. This hole appears be in a false wall leading to an 18 inch walled off section of the bathroom. (ie the room used to be 18 inches 'longer'). The soil from the toilet goes into this space. The building was probably built around 1900, and converted to flats in 1980. The smell is consistent with something biological (ie rotting rat or poo-sludge). The bathroom has no window, but is has a small extractor fan. Q1: Can I tell if it is coming from the soil pipes ? Q2: Can I tell if it is a rotting animal ? Q3: Can I do anything about it ? (ie chuck a tub of 'anti poo pong' (tm) in the cavity, and forget about it?)
Answer: Probably due to air flow once you remove the bath panel - which suggests it is coming from somewhere else not directly under the bath. This could be due to unclean people in the flat below, dead animals, poorly designed sewage system, etc. That is a lot of 'spare' space - if it was my place I would be wondering what was behind there and if I could use the space. It would be tempting to investigate, but would involve cutting into the false wall and repairing it afterwards so you would have to be up for a bit of plastering and decorating. It does, however, have the potential for gaining 18" on some of your bathroom (asuming it isn't so huge you don't need the space) and if there is a load of plumbing and soil pipes there it allows you to check that all is O.K. It might be an idea to put in an inspection panel for future use. Q 1&2 - apart from sniffing some rotting rats, sewage, etc. in a blindfold taste test to learn the difference..... If you can only smell it when the panel is off the bath, then once the panel goes back your problem goes away. If this is not satisfactory (because you are worried what is behind there) then chucking in 'anti-pooh' isn't going to fix anything. If the problem is the smell whilst you are working, then burn an incense cone. I would suggest that you make an opening in the wall and convert this into an inspection panel so that you can confirm that there are no problems in your lost 18". If there are dead rats or sewage is leaking into there then you really need to know about this and fix the problem. If you are more adventurous you could try and reclaim some of this 18".
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