Hi harold... yeah we worked the vent issues out as best she could... she does not own the property and can not even access upstairs plumbing.

Very complicated... read posts. Let us know your thoughts!

Yea, I posted , then realised that I had only read page 1. I deleated my post, but before I could delete she read the post. I reposted after reading all the post so her reply would make sense. Makes me look stupid but it is what it is.

Harold... you can never look stupid... believe me, some can.. but not you ;) Good night!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katetea

what i did today just to see if hot water would cause the smell is run the hot for a little while and then shut it off... it wasnt 5 min later and the smell is really strong. it did that everytime today. ..............

I dont know its very strange that it gets really strong after running hot water...and running cold will take the smell away. But then also it will sometimes do it without running the hot water.

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Some where later she said that cold water was only thing that would stop odor and that only lasted for a period.

Hot water heats trap and pipes. Hot water equals hot, rising air. Rising air pulls odors out of dishwasher (or washing machine). Cold water stops rising air. Could there be decaying waste food in dishwasher pump? What was "pooh" in trap? Don't know how long this has been going on. Sounds like a long time. Wonder if dishwasher has intergal disposal unit.
I wonder how that black hose stays connected.

Katetea.
Something to try. Assuming that the white ribbed hose is the dishwasher.
Remove hose, put a piece of plastic over the end of the pipe to the drain.
Reconnect dishwasher hose over the plastic. Nut should screw back on over the plastic, effectively blocking the dishwasher line.
Don't use dishwasher for a day to see if odor presist.

Put your best bonnet in the dishwasher as a reminder not to use it.

All good ideas HK. I hope she gets them. And yeah... I wondered about that "pooh" thing, too.

That best bonnet thing... very funny ;)

Hi.. we just had a plumber come by and I had ran the hot water so he could try to figure out what it is. He checked all the pipes.. they were clean he said and can't exactly figure out where its coming from. He said the best thing to do is replace all the piping under the sink to see if that takes it away, if not then it has to be a problem with the stack. Also found out that the stack ends at our floor since the ones above us is a penthouse. So to me, although I am not a plumber it seems like the odors would be coming from the stack that ends right by our kitchen sink? If that's the case, would be a major job I imagine to fix... just wanted to let you know what's going on... still no answer to it yet but hopefully will be soon!

Stack should be vented to roof. If stack is not vented, the water flowing down the drain will pull all of the water out of your trap and you will get sewer gasses. If not vented to the roof gas will come out where ever vent ends. Don't think changing pipes under sink is going to fix anything.

YUP... HK said it Kate... hey, if you want to... ask the plumber if he will install an automatic air vent in the drain line (looks like the pics I posted of vents on page #2 of this thread).

I am not sure if allowed in England... but if they are I would recommend it... cannot hurt.

This will prevent siphoning of trap we discussed earlier. I hope that does it... at least this guy is willing to look into it for you...

AND KATETEA... try what HK suggested about your dishwasher... if you have an integral disposal unit.. it could have some food particles stuck/breaking down in it and that could cause odor.

My bet at this time though is that you should replace parts and install a new automatic vent. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Thanks hkstroud, I didn't think changing them would help either, especially since they were clean, but I imagine that is what the landlord will want first. I think this is grounds to get out of our lease early! Had enough of these fumes for the past 9 months. Literally sick and tired of it.. thanks for your information!

Thanks Mass for your help too. The plumber is going to call the landlord to find out what he wants done. Im just so tired of it all, the smell, the runaournd, the nothing getting done. So its nice to be able to "vent" (ha) on here. But I truly do appreciate all of your suggestions on here! Will let you know what happens.. if??

"Also found out that the stack ends at our floor since the ones above us is a penthouse." Who told you this? The entire building gets vented to the roof, penthouse or no. Stacks terminate in the open air above the roof line of they won't work properly. I agree that replacing those pipe under the sink are a waste of someone's money. The smell isn't there with cold water, right? There is no smell at other fixtures hot or cold so its not bacteria in the water heater. I am about to say stick a fork in me cause I'm done. I have run out of logical solutions, sorry.

The plumber today said that, like he wasn't surprised as if the penthouse is different? My partner said that one of the plumbers told him that it was OK to do it this way because we were up high? Sounds like a story to me... unless they do things different here in england. Doesn't make you feel too safe though. And right the smell doesn't come with cold... the cold takes the odor away... only the hot brings it. No need to be sorry, I appreciate all the information and help! Thanks!

"smell doesnt come with cold... the cold takes the odor away... only the hot brings it" This makes me think its not a vent or a trap problem. Run a bucket of hot water and take the bucket to another room and smell it. Does tha water have the odor you are smelling?

We run the hot water and shut it off and less than 5 min the odor comes up from the sink... but I can try the bucket of hot water and see

I tried doing what you said but there is no odor to the water... I'm up to any suggestions that might help :)

Sorry but I thought that possibly you had a contaminated water supply pipe but apparently not. Maybe MASS will think of something we have not explored but this one is very, very unusual. Does the last plumber smell the odor?

Its OK... like I said it doesn't hurt to try anything. I think everyone is worn out trying to figure this one out . Its so nice that everyone has been helpful with so many different causes it could be. And yes, the plumber did smell the odor today but he can't figure out where its coming from, especially since the pipes were clean. Said he could replace them all but couldn't guarantee it would get rid of the odor, and if it doesn't then it is probably the stack. I will post on here when I do find out what it was. Thanks again!

In all of our posts I had forgotten that this is an apartment. Time to get tough with the landlord and tell him sewer gas is a health hazard and he must get this fixed maybe even mention it to your local health department and/or building inspector to see what they think.

Hi , the people that built this building came by today to see if they can figure out what the problem is, they checked the pipes and said nothing was wrong with them. I asked them about the stack not going to the roof and they told me it didn't have to , that it was sealed off? So I don't know what that means. They also looked at the side of the dishwasher, they wouldn't pull it out because they didn't install it and didn't want to chance doing something to the floor or the dishwasher. Anyway they said that by looking through to the side of the dishwasher that it didn't have a vent on it? And that is no doubt what is causing the odor when the hotwater is ran. Now its up to us to try and get the landlord (once again) to see if this is the problem. Just wanted to let you know what is going on... and on... and on... still

The person who came by was not very knowledgeable about plumbing. The vent is not on a dishwasher at all. They were blowing smoke at you. The drain pipes have vents not the individual fixtures and you can not cap of a vent stack and expect a system to work. If they built the building why would they build a vent pipe and then seal it off. I'm am so close to telling you to call the local building inspecter or health department.

Hi Katetea:

Thanks for keeping in touch.

I do not know about England plumbing, necessarily, but I do know that all fixtures need to be vented.. so when they tell you pipe doesn't have to go to roof and it is "sealed off"... they are wrong! Once again I point you to your local building/plumbing inspector...ASK HIM if vent pipe from kitchen sink can be "sealed off"...I am quite sure he will not like that.

The "vent" for dishwasher... do you think they mean a dishwasher AIR GAP fitting... some places, even here require air gap fittings to dishwashers... MOST places, however just ask plumbers to create a high loop so that water from sink can not drain back down and into dishwasher. This works just fine. Your sink looked high looped. Anyway, see what landlord says about this VENT for dishwasher... keep us posted.

Hello everyone
I think they have finally fixed the problem here! The plumber came by yesterday and put a trap on the dishwasher, kind of looks like the picture you sent on here on the first page,mass. He said that without that on it there was nothing stopping the smells coming in. Its only been one day but so far it looks good! No odors here last night after running the dishwasher and running the hot water down the sink a few times. So hopefully its fixed... finally! Once again I want to thank everyone that has replied to my questions on here.. They were all so helpful and I really do appreciate it!
~ Kate

Hmmmm.. thought the dishwasher was hooked into your kitchen sink drain trap..? Hey, I'm just glad it is fixed.. *crossing fingers*... thanks for update!

No, it was separate. The landlord had the dishwasher installed after this place was built. Im not exactly sure where the hose goes to from the dishwasher (its goes in and behind the wall) but its not connected under the sink.

Hello
This will be my last post on this question, but just wanted to let you know it IS fixed! Hard to believe it took them over 10months to figure out it was the lack of an airgap trap on the dishwasher. We are still moving in a week but at least we found out what was causing the odor.. thanks to all of your help! This is a great site! And once again, thank you so much for all your help on here!