Sewage smell in house

[Toodeloo]

It reeks! But only sometimes...

The smell has been coming and going for a few months now and more often than not after it’s been raining. Most noticeable at night when no water is being used.
It’s not coming from any particular plug or area though it does smell stronger towards the floor (could just be the weight of the gas).
Only plug that sometimes drains slowly is the kitchen one. It sort of backs up, gurgles out some air bubbles and then drains no bother at all - I’ve checked the U-bend and there was no debris whatsoever.

I know I need to look into it, question is just: plumber or home insurance? And if plumber, any recommendations around north of Glasgow?

Also, it can be really bad for a couple of days and then be gone for weeks. Other times it’ll creep up a bit at different times of the day for a few days in a row. There’s no clear pattern to it.

Plumber. I think you have a drain blockage. There are also local drains specialists if you can find a recommendation from someone you know and trust. National franchises, and listings from websites where traders pay to be shown, and can write or control the reviews, are not a good source, even if the advertising website masquerades as a recommendations site.

How old is the house, is it in a terrace, what manhole covers can you see, has a new or reconfigured bathroom been put in since the house was built, has an extension or conservatory been added to block access to the drains?

I found a local one last night that seems to do a lot re drains as well so not just the typical bathroom installs etc. Will try and get in touch with them.

House is a 2 bed 1960s mid terrace. Former owners laid blockpaving and AstroTurf all over the back garden so I assume no manhole covers there. Looking at the neighbours gardens - can’t see any either. Looks like there are tiny little square covers in the back alley though, one per house.

No extension or conservatory. Bathroom replaced before I moved in but don’t think reconfigured.

I thought mAybe a block, too, weird though that the drains would be working fine then and the smell only occasional.

If the drain is partially blocked, that would explain the coming and going of the smell because things could get stuck in the partial blockage, and then loosen and be washed away. Usually a drainage specialist would put their giant blaster/sucker hose down your drain to get rid of the blockage. A plumber might not have one of those. Depends where the blockage is though. Have you spoke to neighbours to see if they have a problem? If your drains all go into a back alley then it could be blocked there. Btw if the blockage is under the boundary of your property in a pipe that exclusively serves your home then it’s your responsibility. But if the blockage is either outside the boundary of your property, or in a communal pipe which runs within the boundary of your property, then it’s the water companies responsibility to clear.

I seem to remember some work being carried out in the back alley a few months ago - wonder if that might have caused an issue somewhere? I’m not sure who it was though (could have just been BT as they were working around the area at that time).
Don’t think the neighbours have problems. One side would have dealt with it themselves quickly and the other side would have let me know and asked for help. Will check with them when I see them though.
Just hope it’s not a massive job :-/

I understand that if your vent pipe (goes up towards roof) is blocked you can have intermittent sewage smells in the house if your bath, shower and toilet all drain into the same downpipe. I don’t quite understand it all but when you use the bath or shower, does your toilet ‘gurgle’?

Nope. In fact, no smell at all from the bathroom. I’ve messaged a plumber, hopefully it’ll be an easy fix.

Get a drain blasting company in. And if you have a major sewer problem, check your home insurance as it might cover it.

Is there water in all of the traps on all plug holes and drains? If it occurs in hot dry weather it could be water evaporating out of the trap and then the smell getting through. Pour water down the plug/drain problem solved.
Outside plastic drains have a rubber bung on them if the bung goes missing you get smells

We had something like that and it was due to a leak getting into the concrete. If reccomend getting a leak specialist to look at your plumbing

If you own a cat checked under beds etc. I had similar coming and going drain smell, turned out the cat had left a dead rat under a bed. Removal of said rat cured the problem.

Blocked drain? We had this and the drains were cracked horrendously and they blocked up continually. Had to pay quite a Lot to have them lined. Find a good drains company. Good luck!

I’ve used the plunger on a perfectly functioning drain and it has so far stopped the smell for almost a day... there must be either a crack somewhere or some sort of seal missing. Hmm. Not got anyone to come out yet. Will try again and if not go through my insurance much as I tried to avoid it.

When you say “quite a lot” - how much roughly? Hundreds or thousands?

Resolution: the washing machine has been draining straight on to the floor 🤢 schoddy Connection came lose over time and has made a right stinking mud bath.