Soily smell in bathroom

[chumley0312]

A good while ago, a dodgy plumber decided to hack off the soil pipe under the bath to remove the boxed in section of the pipe and left it open. Anyhow subsequent bathroom renovation put an AAV on which failed a few years ago and a replacement fitted. Last weekend we started to get what can be described as soily smells in the bathroom particularly if door been shut for a while. It's not bad but noticeable. It comes and goes some days don't smell anything. It's like a soily foisty water smell worse if you sniff around the bath panel. (AAV under bath). I'm suspecting AAV has gone partially faulty again. Couple of questions

Is it likely the AAV again

Should I just replace AAV again and forget about it.
Should I be considering reinstating the soil stack back to how it was.

Thanks

 

[denso13]

Is it likely the AAV again

Possibly, is it the correct one and positioned correctly?

Should I be considering reinstating the soil stack back to how it was.

If it isn't too much work, that is the best option, although a correctly fitted AAV should be ok.

 

[chumley0312]

As far as I know it's the correct one, didn't know there were different ones. It was fitted by a plumber recommended by our heating engineer who we trust.
Not sure how much work it would be.
Can AAVs be fixed, how often do they go wrong??

 

[denso13]

Can AAVs be fixed, how often do they go wrong??

I'd just fit a new one, but properly installed they should last a long time, especially indoors.

 

[ree]

OP,
Why not post pics showing the relevant details of your situation?

 

[chumley0312]

Not sure how I can post pics of a smell. Can post images of the AAV that's under the bath if needed. Smell comes and goes and I'm assuming the diaphragm is closed at times. Oddly smelly now is appearing around the washing machine, which I'm going to pull out tonight. Not sure why it's coming from there, inside the machine smells fine.

 

[ree]

OP,
I'm not sure that I understand what "soily foisty" means, perhaps you have pics?

You complained of a "soil pipe" being "hacked off and left open" you also mention"boxing" & two "AAV's" - all this appeared to be taking place under a bath? But you are reluctant to pic the situation.

Now you mention a washing machine is coming into the "foisty soily" situation - another opportunity for pics . Pics that simplify advice.

 

[chumley0312]

Ok. Soily is meaning a wet soily smell, like moist damp soil or stagnant watery smell. It's only just started. It started around the washing machine then moved to bathroom where it's smelt if bathroom left empty for a while and seems to come from around the bath panel if you get down and smell
History ..... Around 20 yrs ago bathroom was done up. The soil stack used to be boxed in running from the roof, down the side of the bathroom where bath was and then into kitchen where it entered the drains for the house. Plumber decided not a lot of room so sawed off the soil pipe under the bath to get rid of the boxes section. He left this open and when we complained of sewer smells he put a rubber diagram over it. We redid the bathroom a few years later and the company put on an AAV as per regs. This AAV failed a few years later with similar smells.ill pull off bath panel and get some pics for you when I get 2 mins. This 'smell' is random currently.
I'm not being reluctant to post pics, just don't have time after work this week to do it, finishing every night after 7pm, starting at 7am . Same smell coming from around the washing machine but not from the drum but around the sides, external to the machine.

 

[ChrisJP]

Plumber decided not a lot of room so sawed off the soil pipe under the bath to get rid of the boxes section. He left this open and when we complained of sewer smells he put a rubber diagram over it.

If that's what he did, then he had no business calling himself a plumber. Cowboy would be a better description.
An AAV should be OK though and its strange that its been failing, but just fit a new one - they're not expensive
One point though - you say you got "sewer smells" when thew soil pipe was left open and that is not surprising. But you're now complaining of damp soil type smells, so the origin of them may not be the AAV at all. Do you perhaps have a slight water leak under the bath?

 

[chumley0312]

He got a roasting for it from us .... Never saw or heard from him again..... The soil smell could be sewer smells, it's really difficult to pinpoint what it smells like. It's not really really unpleasant but it's also not the nicest.
Under bath dry. The AAV is under bath and lower than basin drain. It's also the only soil pipe in the house apart from kitchen drain so there is no open vented stack at all. Plumber who came to replace last time said it wasn't to specs but not a lot he could do.

 

[SFK]

Side suggestion - have you used your bath in a while?

Asking as our bathroom started to smell over this summer - and it was the bath u bend whose water had evaporated in the heat and dried out, as everyone had used the shower.
Added a bit of water to bath to refill u bend and got rid of smell.

 

[chumley0312]

Good thought but shower is above bath and uses same drain as bath.

 

[chumley0312]

Ok, thanks for all replys.
I've attached some pics of the bathroom and under bath of the AAV. I've also lifted the manhole cover in the back garden to see d drains blocked but it's empty. Smell however when I lifted cover was same smell. Earth soily smell. If note it's not been as noticeable over past couple of days but it's was mildly noticeable when I removed bath panel. The image of the corner of the bathroom is where the soil stack used to be and went up through the roof. Hope pics help.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

AAV's should always be fitted above the spillover level of the highest Appliance connected to the stack, appreciate you had to retrofit that one after the earlier butchery of the pipework, but if it's staying, it really needs to be higher.

Best option, long term though is going to be reinstating the Stack up through the roof. Drains need to breathe, and AAV's restrict that ability, whilst they do what it says on the tin and allow air in, they don't let positive pressure out, which may well be your issue here.

Is there any correlation with the smell appearing during/after periods of rainfall?

 

[chumley0312]

Not really sure. The AAV cannot go higher I don't think and I agree we need to reinstate the original soil stack. Smell started appearing after I had run some drain cleaner through the sink as it was blocked with hairs etc. I got out as much as I could and ran drain cleaner through it. For some reason the smell seems much less than previously.. maybe AAV isn't sticking anymore