Drainage Odours
This section describes the likely reasons for drainage smells
inside and outside of buildings.
Is my health at risk from a drainage odour?
An odour can be defined as a smell that is detectable. People
have different sensitivity and tolerance to odours, and especially
where the odour appears intermittently, it can be difficult to
pinpoint the cause of the problem.
Drainage odours do not normally present an immediate health
risk to the general public but can be indicative of a drainage
problem, which may require further investigation. Sewage by its
very nature will produce odours, but in most areas will be
significantly diluted within the sewerage network.
What do I do if I suspect that the odour is coming from the
drains around my house?
The presence of sewage odours around a property can often be
caused by a drain blockage or an air or sewage leak on a foul
drainage pipe.
A local reputable drainage contractor will be able to survey
the drains for you to assess the possible causes. You can find a
number of local contractors under ‘drains’ in the local classified
directories.
For further advice regarding the responsibility for repairing
defective drains and sewers please refer to our
Building Drainage
pages.
Alternatively, you may
wish to check the drains yourself for any evidence of blockages or
leaks, which could lead to foul odours escaping into, or around,
your home.
Blockages may be apparent by changes in the normal water level
in the toilet or by gurgling sounds during flushing.
Leaks of effluent may be visible when the toilet is being
flushed but could also be hidden beneath suspended ground
floors.
Air leaks on drainage apparatus are extremely difficult to
identify but the most common forms of leak are from disused
apparatus, where the trap (or u-bend) has dried out and no longer
forms a seal, from manhole covers or from defects in the pan seal
which connects the toilet to the waste pipe.
What do
I do if I live in Council accommodation?
Maintenance of
South Lakes Housing
accommodation is arranged by their Property Services Group, who can
be contacted on 0845 057 0080.
What can I do if there appears to be no problem on my own
drains?
Generally speaking the presence of a sewage odour within a
property indicates that a defect exists on the building drainage.
However, if the odour does not appear to originate from your own
drains, or you have been unable to locate the problem you may wish
to contact an officer from the
Environmental
Health Department on 0845 050 4434 who can advise you
further.
What can I do about a smell, which is thought to originate from
the ‘main sewer’ in the road?
The Environmental Health Department do not have legislation to
deal with odours from public sewerage systems, which are owned and
maintained by United Utilities (see
Building Drainage for more information
regarding the location of public sewers).
You will need to report the problem to United Utilities
directly by contacting their Customer Services on 0845
6020406.
There are no obvious drainage faults. What else could give rise
to such a foul odour?
In areas where vermin control has been carried out it is
possible that dead rodents could give off intermittent odour over a
period of several weeks. These odours can often be confused with
sewage smells.
When this occurs within a building it is often difficult to
identify the exact location of the carcass to enable its removal.
In this case the control of the odour will be limited to the
ventilation of the property and masking the smell using air
fresheners.
In cases where dead vermin results in an odour problem the
smell should begin to diminish within 10 – 14 days.
Can I get more detailed information?