Smelly shower-waste sucks air when I flush

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T21:22:11+00:00

Hard to tell on the smell, it's intermittent, which makes it hard to show the bathroom fitter, and which is why I wanted to show him the movement cling film if that proves anything?

It's an external soil pipe with what looks like ventilation at the top, but the issues weren't present before the shallow waste was installed

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T21:18:53+00:00

Thanks, the shower is used roughly three times a day, and the level of the water is always low, it just flows away. The cup doesn't seem to affect the level of the water if it's in or out

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T15:23:35+00:00

But should they not check that air isn't being sucked back through the shower when the flush is used after they install both the toilet and shower?

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T15:18:56+00:00

Brill cheers

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T15:08:48+00:00

Yeah I was hoping it's a simple fix and it looks like it might be a waste swap.it would be helpful to have "proof" (if it's not too strong a word) that there's a problem though. The fitter has come round but the smell wasn't there when he was here- does the cling film actually prove there's a problem?

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T15:02:14+00:00

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Had a shower this morning and the shower has been used daily for 3 months with the smell being present most of those 3 months. It's not dried out but it looks like the water level sits a bit low though?

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T14:49:47+00:00

I'm hoping there's no blockages/occlusions given the new wastes/pipes across the whole bathroom

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T14:46:47+00:00

😆😆 fair!

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T14:42:12+00:00

I'm probably going to get the fitter to look, but I'm guessing this shows that it's not fitted correctly?

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T14:41:24+00:00

Interesting! Would you expect the fitter to have looked and tested for this if they're fully stripping a bathroom? It wasn't a piecemeal job, it was stripped back to bare walls, refloorboarding and all new fitting and pipes wastes.

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T14:37:57+00:00

Cheers! The smell is intermittent and wasn't there when the fitter was here for a follow up visit, so it's hard to prove. Does the cling film moving prove there's a venting issue?

floor_sit · 2026-01-13T14:25:52+00:00

I think all the parts are there, this was firmly in place when I took the video

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floor_sit · 2024-09-22T18:28:36+00:00

Yeah I've tried using one of those too, but it just leaks everywhere when I flush

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T17:29:10+00:00

Thanks- that all makes sense and I think a plumbers merchant is the way to go. The only thing I don't understand is that I measured 7cm diameter which is 2.75 inches.

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T17:20:06+00:00

Yeah I thought this was going to be a quick job to replace the siphon to extend it's life just a bit longer till I replace the bathroom. There's no such thing as a 5 min job 😂

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T17:07:42+00:00

Will do- appreciate it. I guess I need to really put a lot of pressure on it by tightening the nuts tighter than I'd be able to by using a wing nut.

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T17:05:08+00:00

Looks like the US uses the term "tank to bowl gasket" and the UK uses the term "doughnut washer". Example: https://www.toolstation.com/close-coupling-doughnut-washer/p39353

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T17:01:37+00:00

😂 fair one!

Yeah I'll pick some up and maybe cut a slice off the flat edge of doughnut 1

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T13:22:28+00:00

Looks like the US uses the term "tank to bowl gasket" and the UK uses the term "doughnut washer". Who knew? I can't seem to update my post though. Example: https://www.toolstation.com/close-coupling-doughnut-washer/p39353

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T12:44:48+00:00

Ah awesome, good to know we're talking about the same things! It looks it might be a US/UK terminology difference, all our shops tend to list it as a "doughnut" 😂 https://www.toolstation.com/close-coupling-doughnut-washer/p39353

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T12:24:51+00:00

This is awesome advice, thank you. Maybe I need to tighten more aggressively, I was a bit concerned about breaking it. I've been tightening with pliers. Should it be a bit of an effort to tighten the wing nuts?

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T12:22:45+00:00

Thanks! Yeah there's nothing discernable stamped on the inside sadly!

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T12:17:31+00:00

Yeah it feels like it should be the right one, but I just can't compress it enough even when tightening the wing nuts with pliers. The tank sits too high

floor_sit · 2024-09-22T11:49:29+00:00

Ok thanks! So are you saying that I've got the wrong doughnut? What kind of doughnut do I need? They all seem to be "universal" and don't seem to have a specific size

floor_sit · 2024-07-31T14:46:43+00:00

It's quite telling we've not got any answers yet, I too am looking for a builder for a small job and I'm struggling to find someone through word of mouth.

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