foul urinal odour from new'ish downstairs toilet

philcray · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 7:59 pm

We had a new downstairs toilet fitted about a year ago and in the last few days there has started to be a smell which i can only describe as being \\\"urine\\\" like that in a Mens public toilet at a football ground. There is only a toilet and a sink in the room and we have cleaned thoroughly, the smell seems to vary in intensity, the water in the pan is clean and flushes away fine. i cannot see any leaks around the actual wc and the main soil pipe is visible to where it goes into the ground and is not leaking as far as i can see. Hopefully the smell may be a clue as it is quite distinctive, as any bloke will know!

hi-spec plumbing heating · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:02 pm

could be leaking below ground.

jobloggs · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:06 pm

what type of floor covering have you?

Geoffgas1 · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:10 pm

Does the basin waste go straight into the soil pipe? Could be coming from the basin plug 'ole if thats the case. I,ve found smells this way sometimes if the bottle trap is partially blocked, especially with stuff like cotton buds. It can sometimes stop a proper water seal being formed and allow smells to escape.

philcray · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:19 pm

Thanks for the replies. The floor covering is slate tiles. The sink is on the opposite side of the room, on the outside wall, and the waste goes straight out into the outside drain not via the toilet waste. There is myself and my 2 young boys, plus wife and baby daughter, in the house so the room is mainly used as a urinal and i thought at first it may just need a good clean(!) but having done this the smell remains....

the smell does not seem to be influenced by flushing ie getting better or worse, but does seem to vary in intensity.

jobloggs · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:33 pm

Could the slate and/or groutlines be any way porous?

Are the tiles fitted around the toilet or was the floor tiled first and then toilet on top. If latter case is base of toilet sealed to tiles with silicone. If not seepage from two small boys' poor aim might have found way under toilet.

philcray · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:19 am

it is possible that there is some porosity in the tiles although they have been treated with at least 2 coats of clear sealant.

the toilet is fitted on top of the tiles so it is also possible that there has been some seepage underneath. My thoughts are to blitz the floor and the whole toilet again with some high strength cleaning agents and also seal around the bottom of the toilet again - the toilet is currently screwed to the floor and, rather than a bead of silicon around the bottom, has what looks like grout - not sure if this is a bit of a bodge when it was fitted or standard practice?

i will then put another coat of sealant on the tiles so at least it should be possible to rule this out of the smell continues.

dal5band · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:20 am

Have you got a cat ? Particularly a tom cat.
It's getting a bit nippy outside you know .......

philcray · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:25 am

haven't got a cat to blame unfortunately! more likely to be the kids.....

petetheleak · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:37 pm

Am no a sparky but smell could be coming from an electrical outlet shorting out.

Had it on pull cord switches and immersion heater spur.

Dont want to be a scaremonger but I would check out sharpish as could be major fire risk.

John M · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:50 pm

Uhhhhh ?

Slugbabydotcom · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 3:40 am

The plumbers work is all in vain

The phantom piddler strikes again!

Softus · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 7:10 am

Was the toilet a replacement for one you took out, or on a new connection to the foul waste?

Is it back-to-wall, or can you see the pan connector and soil connections?

philcray · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 7:58 am

the toilet was a replacement and fitted to an old connection to the foul waste although in a slightly different position. You can see the pan connector and soil connections (using a torch and some contortions as they are boxed in), the pipes which link to the foul waste connection are new and there are no visible leaks or any soiling on the outside of the pipe.

i am beginning to suspect that slugbabydotcom may be right and that a culmination of inacurate aiming has gradually soaked into the slightly porous granite tiles which, for some reason, have suddenly begun to smell very strongly. i am going to get some strong cleaning agent and give it one more go before resealing the tiles and grout - hopefully this may do the trick without needing any major surgery!

Softus · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:22 am

Have you, or has any immediate neighbour, had any other alterations that involve changes to the foul waste system?