Strong methane smell in room

[barbz2002]

Hi everyone

I have had a slight rotten egg smell for a few days downstairs in my house. Last night I closed all the doors to try to isolate where the smell was coming from. This morning there was no smell anywhere, except for my dining room. When I opened the door the smell was extremely pungent. It smelled of rotten eggs. The room is far away from any sinks, showers or toilets and doesn't share any walls with rooms that have those things. On the other side of the outside wall of the dining room is a lean-to that houses my boiler and there are pipes from the boiler that pass into the dining room. However it is an oil fired boiler. There is a large vent in a party wall where I think a chimney was removed. I am very worried because I have a small child and don't want him breathing in fumes. It is a rented house with a very unresponsive landlord .... Any thoughts would be so welcome. Thanks a lot.

Barbara

 

[Dotty]

Get your boiler checked and serviced. Heating oil contains sulphor which can give off an eggy smell when the boiler hasn't been cleaned or set up properly.

 

[rpm]

Get your boiler checked and serviced. Heating oil contains sulphor which can give off an eggy smell when the boiler hasn't been cleaned or set up properly.

Is there any danger to the small child that Barbz could use as a lever to get her unresponsive landlord to do something croppie? Could there be a Carbon Monoxide risk?

 

[Dotty]

Always worth a go. The eggy smell is a by product of combustion.

 

[Ermintrude]

Easy just call 0800 111 999 tell them u smell gas. 1 hour response time and it's free!

Tell them it's gas and it's in your house and strong. Don't mention drains or eggs. Just gas

 

[Dotty]

Easy just call 0800 111 999 tell them u smell gas. 1 hour response time and it's free!

Tell them it's gas and it's in your house and strong. Don't mention drains or eggs. Just gas

With an oil boiler......... They'll look even more confused than usual and strangle the chickens......

 

[wildcard]

Easy just call 0800 111 999 tell them u smell gas. 1 hour response time and it's free!

Tell them it's gas and it's in your house and strong. Don't mention drains or eggs. Just gas

Not a good idea if it's an oil boiler

 

[Ermintrude]

Gas escape in feild. There are places in Northumberland that have no mains gas but do have two steel pipes in the ground at intermediate pressure 500 yards from house. Not economic to tap and reg down. Same as bottom of team valley . Huge below ground gas accumulator and twenty or so farms on lpg!

 

[Dotty]

Gas escape in feild. There are places in Northumberland that have no mains gas but do have two steel pipes in the ground at intermediate pressure 500 yards from house. Not economic to tap and reg down. Same as bottom of team valley . Huge below ground gas accumulator and twenty or so farms on lpg!

You haven't had your medication today have you?

I can see where you're coming from but the op's best bet is first to harangue her landlord then, if that doesn't work, to threaten to call in an oftec guy then deduct his fee from her rent.

 

[rpm]

Hi everyone

I have had a slight rotten egg smell for a few days downstairs in my house. Last night I closed all the doors to try to isolate where the smell was coming from. This morning there was no smell anywhere, except for my dining room. When I opened the door the smell was extremely pungent. It smelled of rotten eggs. The room is far away from any sinks, showers or toilets and doesn't share any walls with rooms that have those things. On the other side of the outside wall of the dining room is a lean-to that houses my boiler and there are pipes from the boiler that pass into the dining room. However it is an oil fired boiler. There is a large vent in a party wall where I think a chimney was removed. I am very worried because I have a small child and don't want him breathing in fumes. It is a rented house with a very unresponsive landlord .... Any thoughts would be so welcome. Thanks a lot.

Barbara

How long have you lived there barbz and has anyone done any work there recently? If so I would tell the landlord to call them back as possibly something has been left not fully tightened.

 

[rpm]

Or has there been any tree`s come down, gardening working going on?

 

[SimonG]

Have you just had your oil tank filled?

 

[Whyme]

If i were you i wouldnt use it till its checked. if you turn it off tonight you could get a gauge in the morning if it is the boiler giving of fumes of some sort. Also you can get that type of smell if somethings died under the floor. Best advice is turn it off if worried and call somebody in.

 

[Ermintrude]

Next door ? The egg smell is sulphates?

 

[Ermintrude]

Yes but transporter will investigate if any smell of gas for free. If there is co present they will endeavour to identify and notify aswell

 

[lame plumber]

turn off the boiler for a few hours, still got the smell? if so its probably a decomposing rat or something under the floor

 

[barbz2002]

Thanks so much to everyone for the replies/suggestions. You're all so good to try to help out. I don't know if it's the boiler because it wasn't on all night and the smell was so strong this morning that my 4 year old was yelling "yuk that smells so pooey" when we tried to go in to the room (and then made a hasty retreat). My friend and I lifted the manhole cover earlier and it was as clean as could be. I checked with the neighbour on the other side of the party wall and they have no problems at all in their house. I also blocked up the air vent in the chimney wall but the smell persisted. In fact it lessened at one stage and then got stronger again without me being able to identify having done anything in that time that would have caused it such as having the boiler on or flushing the toilet etc. In fact I am wondering if it may be a dead rat....though I have never seen one around the house. I am scratching my head on this one......Totally flummoxed :confused5:

 

[Dotty]

Whereabouts are you Barbz?

One of us may not be too far away.

 

[barbz2002]

Hi Croppie. I'm in Belfast...in Northern Ireland. I suspect that I'm probably on the wrong side of a sea On a bright note, if one of you called you would probably get the same delightful treatment that my friend got earlier when he called and my son yelled excitedly "go and see our dining room....it smells of poo"

 

[Dotty]

I might be Belfast way sometime this week but I think I'm going to be more enniskillen direction all week.

I've pm'd you my number.

 

[barbz2002]

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your help. I am very relieved to say the problem is solved. I am also very embarrassed to say that it was not a plumbing problem at all. The problem was located in a vase at the top of a tall bookcase that for some reason had the old flowers removed weeks ago but had not been emptied of the stagnant water. A combination of dead leaves from the flowers that were in the water and the water itself made for a noxious combination that was on the verge of driving me crazy.

It is lovely that people are so thoughtful and so helpful to others.....even to very silly people

Thank you

Barbara

 

[rpm]

Good of you to come back and tell us what it was, so many people don`t bother.

 

[parkesy_plumb]

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your help. I am very relieved to say the problem is solved. I am also very embarrassed to say that it was not a plumbing problem at all. The problem was located in a vase at the top of a tall bookcase that for some reason had the old flowers removed weeks ago but had not been emptied of the stagnant water. A combination of dead leaves from the flowers that were in the water and the water itself made for a noxious combination that was on the verge of driving me crazy.



It is lovely that people are so thoughtful and so helpful to others.....even to very silly people

Thank you

Barbara

well at least you have croppies number now ...

 

[jtsplumbing]

That's it then !! it was just a ruse to get Croppies number, him being such a good looking chap

 

[Rickster123]

Alls well that ends well. Keep croppies number, he loves a call out!