In the ensuite there is an overpowering odour, sewerage smell, foul air.
The smell has been there ever since we moved in, straight away. House was built Sep 2010 but sat vacant till we moved in May 2011.
I complained about the issue to the builder who came around and basically said it was the sewerage system in the area and as there was a lot of new construction in the new estate it takes a while for it to settle down. He also took the cover off the waste and pulled up a bit of hair and gunk/slush from the drain and said the smell was because of this. I wasn't home at the time but my wife showed him the vanity s trap siphon noise but he didn't see an issue with it.
I have cleaned the floor waste out and flushed it with water several times but the smell stays (also used garden hose on full speed jet spray to try and clean and flush it). The smell is mainly in the ensuite but also get it in the main bathroom but not as bad. I think it is more noticeable in the ensuite because it is near where we sleep and we keep the door shut which boxes it in.
The house has a single vent pipe above the main toilet up above the tin roof, the main bathroom and toilet are next to each other and approx 12m away from the ensuite. There is no vent pipe at the ensuite.
If I look down the drain in the shower in the main bathroom, there is water that sits in the pipe. The exact same design shower in the ensuite, looking down the pipe it is bone dry (even after you have just ran water through the shower). Also in the ensuite when you run the tap of the vanity and turn it off, a few seconds later there is a gurgle and something causes the water that should be sitting in the S trap under the vanity to be sucked into the floor waste leaving the vanity S trap bone dry too. The ensuite shower, toilet and vanity get used on a daily basis.
Thirdly I believe the toilet in the ensuite is some how linked to the floor waste, because occasionally in the ensuite floor waste you can see what looks like white mushy toilet paper and nothing like that has gone down the shower or vanity drain.
I am guessing the problem is a result of:
1. vanity S trap siphoning so no water seal
2. shower drain siphoning so no water seal (-do showers have an S trap underneath or something? because the main bathroom shower has water in its pipe but the ensuite doesnt)
3. toilet backing up to the floor waste occasionally
all of these result in odour coming into the ensuite.
Does anyone know how I can fix this problem? Is this something the builder should be fixing? Does the house need a second vent pipe installed to the ensuite? Or has the plumbing been designed wrong or maybe they forgot to install the water trap in the shower drain? It passed council plumbing inspection, I asked the builder for a plan of the plumbing but he said he didn't have one. I can request it from the council if I pay the fee.
I was contemplating buying a Medidrain/Drain Mate cover for the floor waste to stop the odour, but they are $100 and it isn't going to fix the problem given the water in the traps is getting sucked out.
Below is a diagram I drew to try and explain the plumbing in the Ensuite:
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Appreciate anyone's input
also the distance could be too long or it could be blocked
