Pigletjohn or anyone with damp experience!

[spikeandbuffy]

My bathroom smells damp, like a wet towel or mildew
Nobody else can smell it but me, however I have a nose like a bloodhound
En suite bathroom with shower cubicle, toilet and sink which is all 17 years old. Everything is bone dry, and I have been round sniffing on my hands and knees

Disclaimer I am not good at this DIY stuff!

It has a extractor fan which makes no difference to the smell
A dehumidifier doesn't change it and it doesn't show high humidity
To me the smell is worse the day after I have showered at night

So far I have
Treated condensation mould behind toilet (normal, had it before and no damp smell)
Looked behind toilet and cistern with a torch (dry)
Prised off shower tray plinth (nothing but builders rubbish, dry)
Checked behind sink to find nothing but cobwebs
Resealed a part of the shower tray
The annoying thing is everything else is boxed in including behind the toilet and all pipework

I had a new shower door fitted ages ago which got this weird red mark not long after
Photos attached

I've done that, it's a really horrible rotting smell.

I haven't tried opening the traps up, I usually pull out what I can and use an old toothbrush to scrub inside the pipe.

No plants. Ive bulk ordered mr muscle drain stuff from Amazon and do every drain in the place

I've been having a similar smell only evident to me.

However I have realised that it appears every time the new(cheap and bulk bought by DH) toilet rolls are put out.

I can't smell it on them but it's like some sort of smell comes off then for the first hour and then disappears.

Is the smell present all the time or just at certain points?

I may have missed something,. but:

put clingfilm over all the plugholes and overflow holes for a day to see if it is coming up there

the red stain is often found round showers, I believe it is something living on soapy or greasy deposits plus damp

show us a pic of your extractor fan. When, and for how long, do you run it? Does it vent straight through the wall, or is there a duct, or does it go into the ceiling?

Look at the soil pipe from your WC. I expect it goes into a vertical square duct in the corner of the room. Can you see any way to open in it, such as screws? Does it smell? Are there any marks o the floor round it?

In flats, damp can come from leaks in the bathroom above. Are there any marks on the ceiling or walls? Is it a false ceiling?

I'll try and answer in order!

Red stuff - just appeared after the new shower screen was fitted, will get plumber to check that

Extractor fan pic added - I run it a LOT. It runs for 30 mins after the light is switched off and I've actually been leaving it on almost all day. For example after a shower I will run it for a good couple of hours
Straight to the outside

Toilet - would the soil stack be in this boxed bit? Pic added of where toilet is, the soil pipe thing is in there as it was replaced a few years ago following a leak from upstairs
There is access to the boxed in bit as you can see, I have removed that, stuck my head in and sniffed and nothing

Upstairs - no leak. There was a leak through the ceiling light caused by one of their taps but about 18 months ago. It was fixed and the electrics checked

The builders were shoddy (my neighbours stairs came away from the wall!) but I've been here 18 years with no previous issues

Behind the toilet is awkward and boxed in but feels totally dry and I have craned my neck with a torch at every angle as has my dad

does the extractor go straight through the wall?

edit

oh yes.

buy a joss stick, or try to find a smoker, and get them to hold a fag a few inches from the fan. Look to see if the smoke is sucked away. Go outside and see if you can smell it being blown out therough the vent

sometimes they are choked with hair, fluff or birdsnests. Looks like yours is a 100mm diameter, they are not very powerful. If yours is not working properly I can suggest a better one, but small ones are not much good. Even so, if you run it continually, it should be able to keep the bathroom dry and odour free

Very quietly (in case it starts again!) but I may have fixed it

So the screws attaching the shower screen to the wall have a red bit behind them in between the screw and the tiles, can't see what it is properly
I went investigating and the screw where the red bit is in the silicone is the only one without a cap. So I think the water has run down there, and it's red dye, and the damp is water running down there too

I removed a cap off the screw from the top of the shower where the water doesn't reach, put it on the missing one and also added a bit of sealant as a just in case right at the bottom of the screen. Will see how it is over the next couple of days!

The bit I sealed wasn't ever done when it was fitted so it probably doesn't need it but figured worth a go

OP that’s good……but let me thank piglet john and all the others who gave you advice 👍

I was coming back to say thanks and also that I've had a shower and no issue yet