Horrible Smell!

[Alliegid]

Not sure this is right category but ...

Just got back to my home, after Christmas break & there is a horrible smell in the bathroom :o(. Family have been here whilst I was away and say problem has been going on for at least a week now.

It isn't obvious where it is coming from and seems to come & go a bit.

Not coming from the sink or bath plug holes (they are clean & I've poured bleach down to be on the safe side, but they smell fine)

Loo smells fine too & there are no obvious leaks anywhere.

I think the smell is worse when I take the panel off the bath, but it is really awkward to have a good look there, even with a mirror. Everything I can reach feels dry.

Drains outside seem fine & so does soil pipe.

Anyone any ideas what this could be as it is horrible? - more of a drains smell than loo smell, but I'm no conniseur (or speller!).

Even wondering whether anything has died under there - or neighbour has killed a family member (I'm in a terrace)

Help!!

[vulcan]

Dead mouse?

[Alliegid]

Not noticed any rodent clues & not much to eat in bathroom surely?

Friend had a dead rat behind skirting boards once and it was revolting apparently

Why would it come & go?

[rockyracoon]

I reckon dead mouse as well, we had a terrible smell in our bathroom this time last year, then found a dead one.

[starone]

Dead animals smell terrible. I remember when I was teaching and two rabbits got out of the lab and went under the building where they couldn't be reached. It was one of those temporary buildings they put up for overflow classes. They died under there and the smell was so bad they couldn't use the rooms for several weeks. It is a very peculiar smell and not one you can put up with!

[ruthandsam]

Does sound like a dead mouse. Why not put down some humane mouse traps just in case. I was told when we had one removed that there was probably a whole family of them in the house somewhere - yukk. A dead mouse smell is very pungent and sickly, however, it might still be worth lifting up the floor boards. Failing that, you could try using a strong drain cleaner and running the water for a while. We always got a musty smell that came and went after returning from holiday. It seemed to right itself once the taps were put to use again.

Let us know how you get on!

[Clanad]

Just as a suggestion... step outside and take a look at the sewer vents to assure they are clear. If ya'll use the same system as here in the U.S. they should be 3 inch diameter PVC pipes sticking out of the roof... probably about 10 inches or so long. It's possible a critter of some sort has built a nest or otherwise blocked the one that services your smelly bathroom forcing intermittent bubbles of gas back through the traps for the sink, bath and wc. Can't hurt...

[Robinia]

Have you flushed out your bath overflow?
And do you have an extractor fan, something could have got in there and died? I have a small bird roosting in mine (I've seen it leave on the outside)....the good news for the bird is that I don't use it.

[Alliegid]

Hubby is familiar with bodies (!) and doesn't reckon it is that. No, he is not a murder, just a PC!

[bookbinder]

I once had a bad smell coming from the plug hole/waste pipe in the washbasin in the hall WC. It turned out to be a dead frog in the outside drain that the washbasin emptied into.

[Robinia]

Oh yes bookbinder, I had a dead frog blocking the drainpipe once...yuk (poor thing)

[The Builder]

Allie...... do you have a soil stack in one corner of the bathroon. It will be boxed-in. About 6" x 6" in the corner.

If so, does the boxing-in go all the way up to the ceiling?

If so, have a look outside. Does the stack poke up through the roof?

[Alliegid]

Hi The Builder - no, the soil stack is on outside & all outlets are clean & running free.

I'm pulling up floor boards now, but not found anything yet ( a few ancient mouse droppings, nothing fresh)

[The Builder]

The reason I asked is that I've come across this before. On some systems, although a stack vent will be up at roof level somewhere, there could be an "air admittance valve" on the system. It would be on the end of a stub stack in the room.
Occasionally they get stuck... admitting air ok, but also let the full blast of the sewer/drains into the room.

I just wanted to confirm that this wasn't the case here.

[tamborine]

I had same but prefer to think it was build up of festive fireworks down chimney rather than a drowned rat from flooded rat runs ;)

[karenmac60]

Mice love to eat soap. Have you seen little ridges along the sides of bars lately?

[carolegif]

Could it be an old facecloth fallen down somewhere? We came back from hols once and that was what it was!

[Alliegid]

Just been to check soap - not a nibble. No flannels missing, no plants with rotten roots, no clues at all :o(

Had a chat with neighbour, and they hadn't noticed a niff, so it must just be us.

Must be a dead cow under the floorboards at least !!!