Help! Sewage in upstairs landing

[MsHeffaPiglet]

For nearly a week now, there has been a sewage smell in my small up stairs landing.

I'm in a mid terrace house. The smell doesn't appear to be coming from the bathroom or bedrooms. Underneath the stairs is a storage area with a door to a living room. The smell was there briefly but has gone.

When I go up the stairs I'm holding my breath until I can get into those rooms.

I was hoping it was temporary and have been using Neutradol and Febreeze. Apart from ripping up the carpet and floorboards, what can I do? Who do I call?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Just reread the thread title. Sewage smell not sewage itself. Now that would really be a problem

Could it be a dead rodent or bird somewhere in a wall cavity or under floorboards?

Sometimes a sewage smell is the first sign that drains aren't running properly. The smell has to vent somewhere and unfortunately sometimes that's indoors. It's quite common in combined sewers (ones that take rainwater in addition to foul waste) especially in dry weather.
It might be worth lifting any manhole covers in your gardens to see if there's a blockage starting to build up.
Also speak to your neighbours. If they have a similar problem then it might be the public sewer that's the problem...and is a job for the water and sewerage company for your area.

@Seeingadistance

I was wondering if it was a dead rat or mouse. I heard some scramblings in the downstairs ceiling a couple of weeks ago.

Could it be anything else that needs fixing? If it is a dead body, how long will it take for the awful smell to go?

We once rented an old house where we found a mouse problem, the landlord put poison down , a few weeks later a terrible small was coming from the bathroom and called the landlord again. A mouse had died over a hot water pipe under the floorboard !

@MrsMoastyToasty

The smell did start when it has been especially warm these last couple of weeks.

I will ask one of the next door neighbours, if they have a similar problem. The manhole covers are in their gardens.

My outside drains were repaired a couple of years ago. Could they need repairing again?

I want to avoid going through the house insurer as nearly at stage when I can consider changing companies at next renewal.

@VictoriaBun

Oh no! That must have been grim. At least you were able to find and remove it.

If it is a dead mouse, the smell will go after a few weeks once the mouse rots away ( Sorry tmi )

Worth checking that you don't have a dry trap somewhere ( where the water in a u bend has dried up - the water is there to help prevent smells coming up). We get this when our loft conversion bathroom hasn't been used for a while - no smell in the bathroom itself but a mysterious pong on the landing below. If we run some water down the sink/bath it solves it instantly as the water refills the trap and stops smells coming up.

Do you have a bath?

When you flush the toilet, does the bath gurgle?

My OH had blocked the drains putting cat litter down the toilet 😐 at our last place. Because the bath waste and toilet waste went down the same pipe (which they shouldn't), when the drains were blocked, the smell came in through the bath plug hole.

And it stank.

The. Whole. House. Out.

He was popular...

We had this in a (literal) shit hole we rented! It was an old house converted into 4 flats and the landlord had to get the drains and plumbing system updated. I swear to this day he blamed us as it happened after we moved in. Well we do have a good fibrous diet but seriously?!

Thanks for the suggestions.

It's a small house, so only one bathroom. All items in the bathroom used every day. The smell isn't coming from the bathroom, but just incase I did put bleach down the plug holes and toilet and left it for a good few hours. There was no difference to the smell on the landing.

@Ladybyrd

Do you have a bath?

When you flush the toilet, does the bath gurgle?

My OH had blocked the drains putting cat litter down the toilet 😐 at our last place. Because the bath waste and toilet waste went down the same pipe (which they shouldn't), when the drains were blocked, the smell came in through the bath plug hole.

And it stank.

The. Whole. House. Out.

He was popular...

Cat litter down the toilet. 🙄 Why did your DH think that was a good idea?

How long did it take to forgive him? 😊

Sorry, OH not DH 😉

@MsHeffaPiglet Honestly, I have no idea what he was thinking, but I wasn't best pleased (to put it mildly). Needless to say, the £160 charge for the landlord to clear the drains was on him, as well as all the explaining.

It's highly unlikely that your drains would need repairing again unless there's been a lot of ground movement.
It could be as simple as someone flushing fat down the drains and causing a fat berg.

Could be a blocked soil vent pipe due to warm dry weather. Upper floor pipes can become blocked and cause sewage smell to draught back. Check outside on upper walls. Last house had similar problem. We had to climb up ladder and hose into pipe. We had lifted manhole covers and when we hosed into SV pipe u could see all the blockage being shifted through the manhole. Also try caustic soda a white vinegar down plugholes. Leave for half a hour then pour a kettle of boiling water down. This can freshen things up if its not SV pipe.