inspection chambers

[sue62]

Hi, I hope someone can advise me. We have an inspection chamber about 4feet from the house wall. It is in a really akward place on the patio - chairs either sit over it or beside it.
When we are away for couple of days we always have a stale smell in the kitchen from the drain (despite years of cleaning it etc).

Are there any regulations about how close an inspection chamber can be to a property? If it is too close who is responsible for moving it? Us, council or water company?

If it is us do we get a private builder to do it or does it have to be done by the water company
Property is about 35 years old

help please

 

[^woody^]

Of all the reasons to move a manhole, the fact that it affects patio chairs is, IMO, bottom of the list.

It is possible - will require b/regs permission, will be significant and awkward job, and could open up (literally) a can of worms

Fit an inset cover, where the paving sits in the lid and you only see the outline. Fit it flush with the surface and grease between the lid and frame to seal in any smells

Any smell in the kitchen can't be related to the manhole cover and must be a problem with a trap on your sink or washing machine etc

 

[sue62]

Hi wasn't suggesting moving it due to patio chairs! the smell in kitchen does come from outside drains. We have the stupidist systme. There is a drain immediately below our kitchen window/sink some 3 ft from the inspection chamber. the water from the dishwater internally goes into
the pipe which leads to this drain, the ater from the washing machine goes outside and then into the drain( it actually froze last winter). When the washing machine empties and goes out into the drain it then throws up a smell into the kitchen via the sink drainpipe.

I can't think of where in our garden it would go and would not welcome the prospect of it moving but have heard about gases building up in chambers and as it's so close to the house did wonder if it as too close

 

[^woody^]

Then fit a sealed cover to the gully

Smells can't come up your sink waste, as the trap under the sink plughole stops this - that is what it is there for

 

[sue62]

You are talking to me like I'm some sort of diy expert! a seal gully - I think this is a cover over the external drain.
Is that right? If so can't do this cos the water from the washing machine which is not in the kitchen but small extension next to it goes outside, runs along the outside wall and drains opening into the open drain - does that paint a clearer picture?

 

[^woody^]

Any waste pipes coming out of your kitchen should go into the gully and not over the top of it.

A sealed gully cover is a flat cover without any holes or grid like you probably have now.

If need be extend the waste pipes into the gully, and fit a sealed cover which you cut holes in for the waste pipes and then seal back up with a rubber grommet or some silicone

 

[sue62]

thanks Woody i see what you mean now. Had a look on google for "sealed gully cover" but the first few sites were allhuge things , not for domestic use.

Would you get that sort of thing at screwfix?

 

[^woody^]

It does not look like Screwfix sell these

Manufacturers include Hunter, Hepworth and Osma, so google these or look at some of the other online suppliers. Anyone selling drainage products should stock these

They are relatively expensive for what they are, and you will loose the ability to pour stuff down the drain from outside, so I would suggest sorting the waste pipe out first and see if that stops the problem. And throw some Jeyes fluid or caustic soda into the gully to clean it out

Really, there should not be much smell coming out of these gullies as they too are trapped to keep smells from escaping from the drains, and the amount of waste water retained in a gully should not cause an issue

 

[sue62]

hi again
I clean all the drains regularly with soda crystals

this is why I feel the problem is the proximity of the inspection chamber

but haven't done anything as the thought of moving it is not something I relish

 

[Nige F]

Try Jeyes Fluid I use that in my gullies . You might find the run of drain has a air admit valve on it - back inside the house.You are allowed one of these if the drain is vented to air elsewhere. I`ve got one on a run of drain, like yours with a sink gully. It smells when the WC is flushed like yours round the manhole. I also have a run of drain that`s vented to air ( above the gutter) I am going to run the soil pipe with the Air valve out to open air. Hope you can follow all this, (I`m a plumber and do this stuff easily) It`s traditional to seal a manhole lid round with a heavy grease- but that would be messy on the patio. You might be able to get a "double seal" screwed down one and replace existing one complete with new frame Soda will kill the grease not smells

 

[sue62]

sorry
don't understand all your technical stuff but will try the jeyes.

 

[Goldberg]

the water from the dishwater internally goes into the pipe which leads to this drain

Is there a trap (aka U bend) anywhere between the dishwasher waste pipe (where it enters the larger waste pipe) and the gully?

the water from the washing machine goes outside and then into the drain( it actually froze last winter).

Is there a trap (aka U bend) anywhere between the washing machine waste pipe (where it enters the larger waste pipe) and the gully?

When the washing machine empties and goes out into the drain it then throws up a smell into the kitchen via the sink drainpipe.

Dishwasher wastes often contain decomposing bits of food - how old is the diswasher waste pipe?

I can't think of where in our garden it would go and would not welcome the prospect of it moving but have heard about gases building up in chambers and as it's so close to the house did wonder if it as too close

It doesn't matter what gases build up in the underground drain, as long as there is an open soil vent, the gases can't emerge through a water seal such as a gully or a waste trap.

If you have trap missing, then you'll get smells galore.