Rotten egg smell with dishwasher/washing machine
- Thread starter gerbils
- Start date
Try running it on it's hottest cycle. Try leaving the door open once it has been emptied of clothes.
Both machines????
Both machines????
Yes both of them. Separate plumbing and different rooms - though I suspect eventually lead to the same place plumbing-wise...
please show us some photos of the routes the waste pipes go, all the way from the appliances to the drain. Point out where the highest points are in these routes.
Also of the waste pipe itself, and the sink or whatever else is connected to it, and where it goes.
Also of the waste pipe itself, and the sink or whatever else is connected to it, and where it goes.
So I have undone the ubend that is connected to the washing machine and it's full of black stinky gunk. I have put a rod down it but didn't seem too clogged up.
How do I clean this out? The pipe goes away from me then left and out of the house.
There is a sink above it - this is a utility room.
Big manhole covered drain outside looks clear.
How do I clean this out? The pipe goes away from me then left and out of the house.
There is a sink above it - this is a utility room.
Big manhole covered drain outside looks clear.
Attachments
Please do that.
Surely both machines have waste pipes that run upwards- meaning that the water in the pipes stops the back flow of smells?
That said, when you empty the sink, some of the water, from the sink will be forced in to the device shown in your photo.
Why isn't there a visible u-bend?
edit----------
The part that you disconnected is not a u-bend, when the sink empties, it will force water up the flexi pipe. the extent will depend upon relative heights.
That said, when you empty the sink, some of the water, from the sink will be forced in to the device shown in your photo.
Why isn't there a visible u-bend?
edit----------
The part that you disconnected is not a u-bend, when the sink empties, it will force water up the flexi pipe. the extent will depend upon relative heights.
I took the u-bend off to check it. The smell is definitely coming from this pipe in the photos with a red line. I just don't know how far down this gunk goes...
Oh sorry, so you mean that the spigot for the washing machine runs in to a u-bend before it gets to the bit in the photo?
Ordinarily, they meet the sink much higher up.
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Thanks for the photo.
it looks like a mess, but I admit that I am not a plumber.
you are correct that it is a u-bend.
Unless/until corrected by a plumber, I am working on the assumption that some of the water from the sink will rush in to the u-bend for the washing machine. Some of that water will be quite fatty/greasy.
it looks like a mess, but I admit that I am not a plumber.
you are correct that it is a u-bend.
Unless/until corrected by a plumber, I am working on the assumption that some of the water from the sink will rush in to the u-bend for the washing machine. Some of that water will be quite fatty/greasy.
It's a utility room sink, we seldom use it for anything to be honest aside from maybe cleaning a golf shoe once a year. The only thing that goes down those pipes is the washing machine.
The U bend for the washer, needs to be located higher than the near horizontal pipe it discharges into. At the moment, the water debris exiting the sink, is back flowing into the washer U bend. Who ever installed that as is, didn't think it through properly.
I would replace the (as it is now) U bend with an elbow, then a short vertical section up to a U bend, leading then to your washer discharge point.
Check your other washer, it may have a similar problem.
it's great fun guessing what heights the pipes and connections should be, might be, and are.
The U-bend on the standpipe is too low, causing water to run back into it.
If it was higher than the outlet pipe that probably runs to the wall under the sink, water would not run back into it.
Washing Soda Crystals are very handy for cleaning grease from wastepipes and traps, and will also dissolve soap sludge arising from excessive amounts of powder and fabsoft, and cold washes. Spoon the crystals in (including the overflow and plughole) then add enough boiling water to wet them, but not to flush them away. The next day pour enough boiling water in to rinse it out. Do that once a month or so. They are very cheap and not dangerous, like caustic drain cleaners are.
Put your washing machine on a hot hot hot max white cotton cycle, with no powder, no fabsoft, and a cupful of soda crystals. if the water in the machine goes grey, cloudy and foams up, that's the resident soap sludge dissolving into the hot water. Do it again until it stays clear.
if you have white cotton towels put them in too, you can do that once a week, it will make them whiter and softer. Being white, they will not fade; and being cotton they will be unharmed by the high temperature. being towels, they will still fit you even if they shrink.
Bacteria live on the sludge of soap and fabsoft, causing unpleasant odours. The high temp will kill them, and the hot soda will wash away the sludge. it is safe to use in washing machines.
BTW it is currently out of stock in my town and at Tescos. Mottie will tell you there are no shortages, perhaps he will send you a bag.
The U-bend on the standpipe is too low, causing water to run back into it.
If it was higher than the outlet pipe that probably runs to the wall under the sink, water would not run back into it.
Washing Soda Crystals are very handy for cleaning grease from wastepipes and traps, and will also dissolve soap sludge arising from excessive amounts of powder and fabsoft, and cold washes. Spoon the crystals in (including the overflow and plughole) then add enough boiling water to wet them, but not to flush them away. The next day pour enough boiling water in to rinse it out. Do that once a month or so. They are very cheap and not dangerous, like caustic drain cleaners are.
Put your washing machine on a hot hot hot max white cotton cycle, with no powder, no fabsoft, and a cupful of soda crystals. if the water in the machine goes grey, cloudy and foams up, that's the resident soap sludge dissolving into the hot water. Do it again until it stays clear.
if you have white cotton towels put them in too, you can do that once a week, it will make them whiter and softer. Being white, they will not fade; and being cotton they will be unharmed by the high temperature. being towels, they will still fit you even if they shrink.
Bacteria live on the sludge of soap and fabsoft, causing unpleasant odours. The high temp will kill them, and the hot soda will wash away the sludge. it is safe to use in washing machines.
BTW it is currently out of stock in my town and at Tescos. Mottie will tell you there are no shortages, perhaps he will send you a bag.
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