soil pipe and smell

[questionJB]

Hello, I'm in process of buying a small 60s bungalow and the toilet has lots of scale. The house has not been lived in for 6 months and there is beginning to be a bit of a toilet smell in the bathroom where the toilet is situated. I looked today and the soil pipe seems to be behind the toilet. There's like a clay rim dish which goes into the floor and then a more modern thinner pipe going into it. Looks like ancient practice!

Can anyone kindly advise me what this is and whether it needs to be replaced and what it will cost roughly?
My neighbour said the external soil pipes were originally abstestos but I don't seem to have one of these. Could this one be abstestos and is it likely to cause problems?

Thank you so much.

 

[clarky101]

Sounds like a normal clay drain that your toilets connected to.....like most of the houses in this country built in that time

 

[plumber0808]

The smell might be due to a basin,bath or toilet trap losing its seal as the bathroom hasn't been used for a while

running water through them will restore the trap seal

 

[questionJB]

Thank you so much. It's good to know that it is probably alright and can be left if I run water through it. Yes, it does look like a clay drain into the floor and not abstestos, but I was worried about it!:wacko:

 

[AWheating]

Asbestos tended to be used for the vent pipe sections of soil and vent installs tbh. Its probably a lack of water sealing a trap as mention by 0808.

 

[lame plumber]

more important check your water tank is clean and not full of mould before brushing your teeth in the bathroom and run the kitchen tap for a while to flush it out, then wack up the hw/heating to kill all the bugs in the hw cyl before your first bath.

 

[questionJB]

Thank you once again - the response is wonderful and it makes me feel less vulnerable in such adventures! Does it mean that there is no danger with the abstestos (possibily in the vent sections) and yes, there was a good deal of muck and cement etc in the cold water tank in the loft. So I understand that I should give everything a really good run, get water in the traps and clean out the water bugs and that everything should be alright?! That is good news!

 

[Derek Hardman]

The clay pipe may have originally been sealed with hemp and cemented over on the rim, over long periods of no use the hemp can dry out and the cement recede or crack slightly, these will allow drain pong into the room, so will the loo not having enough water in the bowl to create the seal from the trap built into the toilet.

 

[questionJB]

I certainly learnt a lot in a short time. I must get some water at least into the trap as soon as possible until I can do the other things to clean the system. I am very relieved that it will not mean replacing the soil pipe! Thank you!