Kitchen smell, drains etc

[tristan]

Hi,

We are in the process of moving into a new home. The house has sat empty since late last year. There were no smells evident prior to purchase.

However, there is some sort of drain/sewer smell, localised to the kitchen. It's not the sort of smell that can be masked, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't present before.

I can't quite work out where it is coming from. Sticking my nose over the sink, waste pipe etc reveals nothing. We've cleaned out all the cupboards, checked for prawns ;) but nothing...

Now, as the house has been empty, the heating and hot water systems will have had pretty much zero use since late last year. We've fired them up, and have run a few baths, and poured copious amounts of bleach down the waste pipe. This was only an hour or so ago so too soon to know if it has made any difference.

We haven't moved in "proper" yet, so the heating and water systems are not getting realistic use.

No washing machine is connected yet. No "stop" has been put on the waste pipe there, but no smell is coming from it. I've stuck a cloth in it for now to prevent water spurting out when the sink is used in anger.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Anything else we can try?

[EricP]

Don't forget all the drain pipes are protected from smells by water locks. Water evaporates with time and the lock no longer functions.

One favourite smell producer is the washing machine outlet standpipe under a work surface. That dries out and the whole fragrance of the sewer becomes anonymous available under the work top.

Just make sure all the U bends are full of water.

[The Natural Philosopher]

yes. Fill up all U bends and see what happens.

Another possible is a rotting mouse carcase lurking somewhere under a kitchen unit.

This will pass in time as it mummifies.

[tristan]

Is this just a case of running the tap for each appliance? Or does something special need to be done?

Washing machine not due to be connected until Tuesday, with regard to those pipes....

Thanks,

Tris.

[The Medway Handyman]

I reckon thats the cause as well, but check under the sink for damp chipboard. A small leak from a tap or waste over time trashes chipboard units and they smell horrible.

[Lurch]

On 13 Apr 2007 09:39:49 -0700, " [e-mail]" mused:

You can fill the trap up by just pouring some water down the waste pipe.

[tristan]

Ok, this should be the case then. The waste just connects to the sink's waste pipe at an angle like the slash (/) character.

Another poster mentioned wet chipboard possibilities. I wouldn't be surprised... current units are very cheap and cheerful. Also, as mentioned waste pipe was left unsealed after washing machine disconnection so plenty of water could have splashed out over time due to it intersecting the sink waste.

Have deliberately left heating running to see what that does for us....

Thanks for the advice so far...

Tris.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yes.

[tristan]

Hi,

We spent some more time "analysing" the smell today. It's not the drains. It seems to be coming from where the previous owner's fridge- freezer was. We suspect they've defrosted the unit in place and let all the stagnant water sit on the floor, then never bothered to clean it afterwards.

So copious bleaching and further checking needed....

[EricP]

Unlkely. I begin to suspect Dog or Cat, locked up for a while during the move out. It dries. Future generation pay!