help strange smell coming from below the boiler!

[BadSmellsHelp101]

Hi everyone!

Firstly name change as I’m embarrassed but I need some advice.

I’ve noticed a sewage smell in my bathroom which appears to be coming from underneath the combi boiler when I use the hot water tap. The boiler is in a Feroli and within the bathroom.

It was previously occasional but now seems to happen every time I use the boiler with the smell now more intense than when I first noticed it.

Please help!

Thanks

Why would you be embarrassed about having a boiler which doesn't work? It's not a reflection on you!

You will need to call someone out. The golden rule of boilers is not to fiddle. Boiler engineers are still working at the moment.

Could it be gas?

@PineappleDanish

Thanks yes I guess it’s not that embarrassing
But the hot water and boiler seems to be working ok
It’s literally just the smell
Smells like eggs almost like a hydrogen sulphide smell.

@Prontoe

Thanks but it smells more like eggs?

Call someone to check for blockage, it could be a leak, and the pipelines r hot, the evaporation is spreading the smell.

Dont wait for things to get worse, get someone to come over to check. Ppl doing jobs like that r still available and can help

It could be gas. Call the emergency number now.

post some photos of the waste pipes and where they go. There will be a condensate pipe coming from the boiler (usually plastic pipe) that should connect to the drains but might be poked through the wall.

Has your bathroom been refitted since the house was built, with the soil pipe hidden away behind ornamental boxing-in? Or can you see it rising up and emerging from your house at gutter level?

Has a new shower or something been added and spliced into old waste pipes?

You haven't got a Saniflow, have you?

If is the boiler, you should be getting the smell every time it is used, whether it is for hot water or heating. When was the last time the boiler was serviced?
There could be a few reasons for this happening which should be picked up on, when a service takes place. As PigletJohn has said, the first reason could be that the condensate is blocked. This is slightly acidic water it produces, which could be backed up and sitting on the aluminium heat exchanger, which could be eating into the heat exchanger and causing the smell. Most boilers have a sacrificial anode or two, that also sits in the boiler to help your heat exchanger last longer, they could have gone and need replacing. As it's a ferroli, I wouldn't be surprised if the heat exchanger is degrading as they are appalling boilers. Get a gas safe engineer out as soon as possible, preferably not a British Gas one.

An easy way to distinguish if it is a problem with the waste or boiler, would be to run hot water into a bucket or a sink with the plug in. Ideally, running for at least a minute would be ideal to help you distinguish which is causing the problem.