There may be many reasons for unpleasant odours in the bathroom. Locating them can be difficult. However, it is worth reading the following tips to be able to remove its source and significantly improve the quality of use of your bathroom.
CHECK WASTE TRAPS
By far the most common culprit of the unpleasant smell are waste traps not working properly. The main task of the siphon is to block unsightly smells coming out of sewer pipes. Unfortunately, even such simple fixtures has their imperfections and require maintenance or replacement once in a while. Most waste traps are designed with a water seal. This means that only a small column of water protects us from odours from the sewage system. Which actually is a simple but genius solution. But, often after long time of not using the sink or shower the water from the waste trap simply evaporates completely revealing the drain pipe. Therefore, if we are leaving for a longer period, it is worth to cover the outflow with a plug.
There are also so-called dry siphons. Where the role of water seal is replaced by a special silicone or rubber seal, which opens only under the pressure of water. Unfortunately, this is also not an ideal solution. Limescale and other residues coming from a dirty water may lead the seal to not fully closing. It may then be necessary to clean or, if the easy access to gasket is not possible, completely replace the drain system.
In both cases, periodic cleaning is very desirable.
CHECK DRAINS
Another common problem that causes odours is sludge that forms directly before the siphon. The only way to protect yourself against unpleasant odours below the strainer is to periodically clean that space. It is also worth to remember about overflow holes in washbasins and space under grating of your square or linear drain in your wetroom. Very often, deposits of soap and dirty water accumulate away from our eyes, which can also smell badly.
When looking for the source of the bad fragrance it is necessary to check all pipes and drains connections to which we have access to. Particularly onerous and frequent are problems with the toilet drain connection. Errors in the installation, deposits accumulating or gasket erosion can lead to nasty leaks. If a defect is detected, it should be dealt with as soon as possible, because the total failure can be much more expensive and unpleasant.
SOIL PIPES
By far the most difficult to detect source of odours will be leaks in the soil stack pipes. Most often they are completely covered and remain beyond the reach of our eyesight. In many older buildings, cast iron pipes continue to be responsible for the discharge of sewage. They often become unsealed with age and reduce their diameters, making the flow of excrement difficult. One of the methods of detecting a fault in this part of the bathroom is observation when the odours intensifies. Usually it will be a moment after the shower, sink or toilet is used by our neighbour upstairs. Unfortunately, the removal of such a fault is very often associated with very invasive works.
VENTILATION
The efficient ventilation is an extremely important element of every bathroom. Chimney ducts provide air circulation, removing not only odours, but also water vapour formed during each bath. Poor ventilation causes two major problems. The first one is the possibility of mold or fungi appearing on the walls and ceiling. It can be a serious problem not only for the aesthetics of the room, but also for the health of users. Getting rid of mold from a damp bathroom is not a simple task and often requires the use of very radical and expensive solutions. However, before spending money on renovation or fungicides, it is worth to check for proper ventilation. The second problem is the appearance of unpleasant smells coming from our neighbours below. This is a particularly annoying problem on which we have a very limited influence.
