"Lobster" wrote in
:

"iamaran" wrote in message
. 1.4...
After some cajoling, the company sent a plumber over. He found that
this was indeed the case, and that all the water from the kitchen
sink has been going straight down. We have no basement or cellar.

Where on earth has the water been going, so that you weren't aware of
it? What sort of floor do you have in the kitchen, do you have
floorboards with an air gap beneath? Has the water been pooling under
there, and/or soaking timbers or something?

David




Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Straight down is the answer. Yes, there are floorboards with a smallish
gap underneath. Not a huge amount of water down there; it seems to have
been draining away pretty well.

The smell has not been at the back of the house where the kitchen is,
but at the front, so I didn't suspect this at all. That's why I was
unblocking the outside drains by hand!

I do feel a bit stupid having never noticed that the kitchen sink didn't
drain out, but like I say I don't run out and check the drain when I
empty the washing-up bowl.

Now it's sunk in a little I'm a bit concerned about the health aspects
for our little 'un.

By the way it is a 1930s house, and the outflow pipe is copper, though
the new u-bend etc in the kitchen are plastic.