Smell in kitchen when using washing machine

kinger8938

kinger8938

kinger8938

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23 Mar 2011
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Good afternoon!

Been noticing this lately that we get quite a waste sort of smell coming from under the kitchen sink after using the washing machine? Ive checked the filter on the machine and it was fine but cleaned it anyway, and also checked the 2 u bends under the sink, one being right in the back corner! Right pain!

Only thing i can think of is right at the back corner they have left a pipe as tall as the unit open at the top? It has a ubend at the bottom but the actual top end isnt connected. I remember thinking this was the issue a while ago so put a temporary cloth over the opening just to see as i didnt want to seal it up not knowing anything about plumbing etc

Any advice?
 
Get some cleaner liquid that you leave over night in the drainage pipe/sink. this loosens anything that's built up and gets rid of nasty smells.

Normally stuff builds up over time and this leads to clogged up u-bend pipes. When I fitted my new sink tap I took the u-bend all apart and gave it a proper clean.
 
Occasionally get it with ours. I suspect it's because of how the waste from the washing machine is plumbed into the pipework beneath the sink. Ours is plumbed as recommended which means it empties it's waste into the pipework on the kitchen side of the soil trap, so any odours come back into the kitchen via the plug-hole. It just gash design, it ought to go out via it's own pipe or the other side of the trap to stop odours coming back via the plughole. Been meaning to address it since the washer was plumbed in (about 3 years back.. LOL)
 
Sorry to dig this back up, must be something going on as when my partner drains coliflower of something down the kitchen sink the smell hangs around for ages, even until this morning!
 
kinger8938 said:
Sorry to dig this back up, must be something going on as when my partner drains coliflower of something down the kitchen sink the smell hangs around for ages, even until this morning!
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Did you have your kitchen changed in any way? Boiler etc?

Had the same, the waste pipe had cracked in the corner of the kitchen, all sorts of smells came up from the sink drain, and once the flooring was pulled up, the boards were damp away from the corner. Suspect that it was when the new boiler was fitted, someone must have put pressure on the corner bend and broke the seal.
 
The waste pipe from the washing machine should at some point be higher than the sink trap if its piped into it.. or higher than the outlet of the sink waste..

If its not then dirty water will run down from the sink into the washing machine creating a foul smell..
 
hey, yea i checked the u bends etc and all were clear, ill take a photo of the set up as im no expert :D

i dont think the open pipe right at the back is helping? its just almost as tall as the cupboard, has a u bend at the bottom but is open at the top? i remember asking about it near when we moved in and the young chap seemed sure it was supposed to be like that? maybe but seems silly to me but as i say first home and not really clued up on anything like this.

Its a new build home though we have been here almost 2 years, if its more than something basic like this would it be covered under the 2 year warrenty, im not really sure but with many things they come out to sort it.
 
kinger8938 said:
hey, yea i checked the u bends etc and all were clear, ill take a photo of the set up as im no expert :D

i dont think the open pipe right at the back is helping? its just almost as tall as the cupboard, has a u bend at the bottom but is open at the top? i remember asking about it near when we moved in and the young chap seemed sure it was supposed to be like that? maybe but seems silly to me but as i say first home and not really clued up on anything like this.

Its a new build home though we have been here almost 2 years, if its more than something basic like this would it be covered under the 2 year warrenty, im not really sure but with many things they come out to sort it.
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That's a bit of a red herring I think. It's an old style washing machine waste outlet (or used if you're nowhere near a sink waste). It's a pipe where you hook the outlet of the washing machine at the top. It has to be open to let air in as the water goes out. It's got a u-bend as that's supposed to stop any smells from getting back from the drains. It's the sort of thing that has it's own pipe to the drains and is not connected to your sink drain. This in itself is probably not the issue unless you have some sort of leak from a damaged joint or pipe.

It's possible you may just have a machine that gets smelly if you leave it damp after a wash (some have hot drum cleaning cycles to address this). Your washing machine pipes may be gunged up, or water is flowing back into the machine from washes. Most machines come with installation diagrams that show how outlet hoses should be routed (normally up the back of the machine if they don't alread start there, and then downward towards the waste). You should look and see how far off from the ideal arrangement you have your outlet pipe.
 
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Clean filter in machine
Run a boil wash cycle with half a cup of bleach inthe machine, othrwis emoty or with a few handtowels in it.
See if this improves the smell.
 
How long is the outlet pipe from machine to waste outlet?, ours smells sometimes when we haven't done any washing for a week, like when we go away, but that's because the outlet pipe is 4m long and sits on the floor so never fully drains.
 
A good chance you have a bit of a blockage further down the line. The smelly symptom occurs every so often (twice in 9 years). outside your kitchen is likely easy access to pipes, I personally just call Dial a Rod every few years to sort it out and smell goes away.
My area is older so the pipes are not in great condition (our plumber advised us to stop using washing powder too as it accelerated the issue) so there is a bigger risk of blockage and usually the blockage is always occurring further down the pipeline rather than in any of the pipes within the house
 
The pipe that's been left open at the top and isn't connected to anything could be what's venting your drainage run and it should have an aav attached to the top, if the water has been drawn out of that ubend you will be getting the smells of the drain, also if you are pouring smelly stuff down the sink it could be sitting in that ubend (depending on the arrangement) an aav would only vent one way
 
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