ELLETHEKITTY
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Hello. Im renting a very cheap basement and am trying to eliminate odour coming from the bathroom. I dont have alot of cash, or landlord support to do serious repairs, but probably simple bandaids to try to cover the problem until I can leave. First, I thought the smell was from the carpets in the main room, so then I ripped them out. i found, to my astonishment, that under the carpet the floor is chippboard over a layer of styrofoam, and dirt underneath.
The floor is rotting around the bathroom, which is the only room that I beleive is concrete. I dont know if it was rotting because of a previous backup, or a leak, but I think a backup occured a long time ago. The wood is still wet due to recent activity in the abthroom, so its safe to say that there is too much moisture in there. Ive removed the rotten wood and caulked the seams to the room to keep bugs and soil out. Im getting a free dehumidifier from a friend. Now Im assuming I should deal wih this pump.
In the bathroom room is a pump. I think its just an ejector pump because it runs when I turn on taps and flush the toilet. I dont know how a sump pump would work in a wood basement... but Im no expert. Its just a guess.
The pump itself I dont see, its down in a hole, with a lose lid, out of which comes one black plastic pipe that leads into a wall, and a hole from which two eletric cords come out. I hope the pipe is a vent, but I have no way of knowing. What Ive done so far is dump Vanish toilet bowl cleaner down the hole, and I gather from a posting on here that I should silocone it shut.
The rest of the moisture in the bathroom that gathers smells like sewage, but I don't know if thats from the just the vapours, or if there is a leak. There is no visible leak atound the lid, infact there is a good margin befor water starts. BUt there could be leaks in the walls, which show considerable rot.
I cant do proper fixes, I just need to know what I should be dumping down there. I dont know if enzyme stuff is safe now that Ive dumped Vanish down there. I live in Toronto Canada, and don't know what kind of sewer system there is-and I dont have the skill or cash to look at traps or valves. Any advice?
The floor is rotting around the bathroom, which is the only room that I beleive is concrete. I dont know if it was rotting because of a previous backup, or a leak, but I think a backup occured a long time ago. The wood is still wet due to recent activity in the abthroom, so its safe to say that there is too much moisture in there. Ive removed the rotten wood and caulked the seams to the room to keep bugs and soil out. Im getting a free dehumidifier from a friend. Now Im assuming I should deal wih this pump.
In the bathroom room is a pump. I think its just an ejector pump because it runs when I turn on taps and flush the toilet. I dont know how a sump pump would work in a wood basement... but Im no expert. Its just a guess.
The pump itself I dont see, its down in a hole, with a lose lid, out of which comes one black plastic pipe that leads into a wall, and a hole from which two eletric cords come out. I hope the pipe is a vent, but I have no way of knowing. What Ive done so far is dump Vanish toilet bowl cleaner down the hole, and I gather from a posting on here that I should silocone it shut.
The rest of the moisture in the bathroom that gathers smells like sewage, but I don't know if thats from the just the vapours, or if there is a leak. There is no visible leak atound the lid, infact there is a good margin befor water starts. BUt there could be leaks in the walls, which show considerable rot.
I cant do proper fixes, I just need to know what I should be dumping down there. I dont know if enzyme stuff is safe now that Ive dumped Vanish down there. I live in Toronto Canada, and don't know what kind of sewer system there is-and I dont have the skill or cash to look at traps or valves. Any advice?
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