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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Smelly bathroom - what could it be?

16 replies

Thighdentitycrisis · 07/04/2022 22:44

As above

Most times but not always, when I go in there I get an awful whiff

The toilet isn’t blocked nor is the plug holes. Everything is working. It smells rotten. I keep putting loo cleaner in and leaving it but don’t even know if it’s the loo.

I don’t want to call the landlord out for a strange smell because you can bet that day it won’t be there and I’ll look like a butter who wastes time

I live alone and starting wondering if it’s real or imagined. What might it be and what could I use to get rid of it?

OP posts:
TerribleCustomerCervix · 07/04/2022 23:00

What kind of smell?

Could it be the sealant around the bottom of the loo?

When we moved into this house the downstairs loo was smelly- we think it was the males in the previous household who were a bit lax with their aim Envy < not envy.

I just bleached the fuck out of the loo and the floor around it and it went away.

AwkwardPaws27 · 07/04/2022 23:03

Have you tried removing the loo seat and clean under/around the connection points? Often a source of hidden pongs!

Spearpeas · 07/04/2022 23:06

Does your shower have a mccalpine drip thing. Ours didn’t and that meant there was standing water in it. Really smelly.

The plumber took two seconds to identify the problem.

Rainraingoaway21 · 07/04/2022 23:08

We discovered the shower mat was very wet underneath and going mouldy. Maybe wash or replace your mat?

DrNo007 · 07/04/2022 23:13

Try pulling out the shower drain trap as it can stink if it gets clogged with hair and black mould. It needs cleaning regularly. And bleach in and around the loo. Also ensure the flush on the loo is turned up to the max if there is an adjuster in the cistern. Our new loo stank and the flush was weak until a plumber realised what was wrong and made the adjustment.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 07/04/2022 23:16

Do you have a switch outside for the shower? I had this and there was a fishy smell I couldn't put my finger on until the light on the switch started flickering. It had burnt out inside.

JuneOsborne · 07/04/2022 23:18

It'll be either drains or something slowly rotting or going mouldy.

I'd buy some of the enzyme drain sticks and out a load down every plug hole for starters.

Then, I have questions!

Do you have soft or hard water?
Do you have a bath? Does it have a panel?
Is your shower standalone?
Are you positive there are no leaks?

Clean the shower head, shower trap and entire shower enclosure. Consider digging out the sealant and replacing. Look at the grout.

Ditto the sink. Sealant?

And loo. Detach as many things as you can and really clean. Replace any sealant that needs it.

What's the flooring like? Can you lift it?

Is it a fishy smell? Consider the light fitting.

HerRoyalNotness · 07/04/2022 23:19

Could be a seal that needs to be replaced. That’s what ours was. H had to lift the whole thing out to do it.

SarahDippity · 07/04/2022 23:20

Is there smelly water festering in your toilet brush holder? (Yes, I’m a toilet brush owner, although I believe they are non-U with some Mumsnetters)

cariaaad · 07/04/2022 23:29

I had a similar issue years ago. Scrubbed everything totally but couldn't get rid of the smell. Eventually took the bath panel off and there was a decaying dead mouse under the bath 😱

loopylindi · 07/04/2022 23:33

boiling water and soda crystals down the drains. I also drop a bit of Jeyes fluid down if I've got any. Br careful with standing bleach though as it can perish older seals (the rubber kind not the mammal kind)

HeddaGarbled · 07/04/2022 23:45

Shower trap or basin overflow would be my guess.

As @DrNo007 says, the shower trap can get really manky with hair and mould. Clean it straight away and put it back because if you leave it out, you’ll get a really bad smell coming up from the drain.

If you never fill your basin over the overflow hole, it doesn’t get rinsed out and bacteria breeds in the moist pipe. The best way to clean it is to fill the sink with soapy water and let the water spill down the overflow. If you do this once a week, it keeps it clean.

AliceMcK · 07/04/2022 23:51

We get this regularly with our drains. It’s just the ensuite, we don’t even use the shower in there as it’s crap. It’s worse when it’s been raining. I now put bicarbonate soda & white vinegar in the toilet and the drains every couple of weeks. I put a full tub of soda in then half a bottle of vinegar then wash down with boiling water about half an hour later.

Also check under the flooring in case waters leaking somewhere and causing mould.

TheSpottedZebra · 07/04/2022 23:52

@HeddaGarbled

Shower trap or basin overflow would be my guess.

As @DrNo007 says, the shower trap can get really manky with hair and mould. Clean it straight away and put it back because if you leave it out, you’ll get a really bad smell coming up from the drain.

If you never fill your basin over the overflow hole, it doesn’t get rinsed out and bacteria breeds in the moist pipe. The best way to clean it is to fill the sink with soapy water and let the water spill down the overflow. If you do this once a week, it keeps it clean.

This. Also, we don't use our bath much (we have separate showers!) and I had a bathroom pong. Turns out the water in the bath u-bend had dried up and foul water smell was drifting up. So now I have to Regularly run the water through.
MrsMoastyToasty · 08/04/2022 21:00

Sometimes a pong in the bathroom is a very early indication that the sewer outside is just beginning to get blocked.

Have you lifted your manhole covers?

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