Small problem, big stink

Last week we had a breakthrough solving a pervasive odour that had been habitually invading our office reception area. A strong smell of sewer would waft through the lobby, every couple of days, usually around mid-morning.

This irritating smell would trigger a circuit of filling floor drains throughout the building, assuming one of the P-traps was drying up and letting sewer gas up through the floor.

And so the cycle continued, until last week.

We had to shut our meeting room door, as the smell was particularly potent in this simple small space. No obvious vents, no obvious drains.

Unwilling to leave this problem unresolved, Carmen and I sniffed our way around the building until Carmen found a spot on the wall where a plumbing cover was hiding a wall opening.

Removing the one screw holding this cap we immediately found the culprit. An access plug on a plumbing stack had been trimmed off by a plumber trying to get an inspection plate to fit properly. Unfortunately while trimming down the plug he had failed to notice that he had created a new hole from which sewer gas could freely travel.

I was immediately furious at myself for not getting to the root of this problem sooner, and instead putting up with rank odor on repeat, toxifying our work air. 

Eight months and hundreds of smells later, a two dollar cap fixed the problem permanently.

Making the time to deal with ‘smelly’ issues is often easier than you’d think, and the environment is so much fresher on the other side. 

• Now that’s a peak ethos.