Plumbing

kitchen occasionally smells of sewers for a few minutes after flushing upstairs toilet

Anonymous user 28 February 2024 - 2.59 PM

I live on the top two floors of a 5 story London Victorian house. Occasionally (a few times a week) I get a smell of sewers, usually in the kitchen downstairs and usually after flushing the loo in the upstairs bathroom (which is on a macerator). It doesn't always happen, and what has been done in the toilet seems to make little difference. The smell usually only lasts a few minutes but occasionally does linger, and sometimes appears in the upstairs bathroom (esp. shower), and even the living room or hall. I have stuck my nose in the sink / shower / bath / toilets and there is nothing obvious. I put my head outside and again all seems ok. Two stench pipes rise above the top floor out of harm’s way. The kitchen (and a utility room) are new and the bathroom about 12 years old. Everything inside has a U bend. The upstairs toilet has a separate pipe to the rest of the bathroom, but they join the main drain outside next to each other. The problem seems worse since the new kitchen was put in, and my life style has changed a bit since then as my girlfriend moved in. Another minor point, if I have e.g. a shower then the bath gurgles. Any ideas what it could be, or what to do, would be very much appreciated!