Bathroom, kitchen, the whole house or the yard. Four quick questions give the likely cause, what to check first, who to call and what it usually costs in Ipswich.
Rotten eggs near the gas meter, a bottle or an appliance is a gas leak, not a drain. Gas off, windows open, call a gas fitter.
Walk room to room. The bathroom, the kitchen, the whole house or outside each point to a different cause.
Run each tap and the shower for a minute, flush the toilet, and pour a bucket of water into each floor waste.
Gurgling, slow drains, a wet patch in the yard, or a smell that comes after rain. Note them for the plumber.
Typical Ipswich ranges from the price guide Sink blocked as well? Start here
| Job | Typical range | When |
|---|---|---|
| Clear a simple blockage | $100–$200 | A smelly kitchen or laundry trap past what you can reach |
| Blocked drain clear | $180–$550 | Gurgling and slow drains with the smell |
| Camera inspection | $250–$350 | Smells after rain, outside, or that keep coming back |
| Toilet seal or leak repair | $150–$350 | A smell at the base of the toilet |
| Plumber’s call-out and first hour | $170–$300 | Finding a vent, trap or valve fault |
Sewage from a manhole or the street, or the same smell next door, means the sewer main is blocked or overflowing, not your drain. It is Urban Utilities’ to fix, 24 hours a day. Use as little water as you can until they have been.
Typical cost: Nothing to you if the fault is in the main.
On a septic tank or treatment plant, a sewage smell with gurgling drains, a wet patch in the yard or a smell outside usually means the tank is full or the system has stopped working. Check the treatment plant’s alarm light and that its power is on. A full tank is pumped out by a licensed liquid waste contractor; a plumber checks the drains into it.
Typical cost: Pump-outs are priced by tank size, so ask for a quote. A plumber’s call-out is typically $170–$300 including the first hour.
Gurgling or slow drains with a smell mean the drain is partly blocked. Water backing up pushes sewer gas past the water seals in the traps, and it gets worse until the drain blocks completely. A plumber clears it and, if it keeps happening, checks it with a camera.
Typical cost: $180–$550 for most Ipswich drain clears; $250–$350 for a camera inspection.
A sewer smell that comes with rain usually means stormwater or groundwater is getting into the sewer: through a cracked pipe, a root-damaged joint, or a downpipe or yard drain connected to the sewer by mistake. The sewer fills and pushes gas back up through the lowest drains. A camera inspection finds where the water gets in.
Typical cost: $250–$350 for a camera inspection; $1,000–$3,000 if a section of pipe has to be dug up and replaced.
Every drain has a trap that holds water to block sewer gas. In a room that isn’t used much, or after you have been away, that water evaporates, and floor wastes in showers and laundries dry out first. Run each tap and the shower for a minute, flush the toilet, and pour a bucket of water into the floor waste. If the smell has gone in an hour, that was it.
Typical cost: Free. If a trap keeps drying out within days, a plumber can check it and the vent: $170–$300 including the first hour.
With no gurgling and no blockage, a bathroom sewer smell usually comes from a floor waste that has lost its water seal, or a toilet whose seal at the floor or wall has failed. A smell around the base of the toilet, a toilet that rocks, or a damp floor beside it points to the seal. Top up the floor waste with a bucket of water first; if the smell stays, a plumber reseats the toilet or fixes the waste.
Typical cost: $150–$350 to repair a leaking toilet or its seal.
A smell from a kitchen sink or laundry that still drains is usually fat and food in the trap, or the dishwasher or washing machine hose. Clean the trap over a bucket, check the machine’s hose is looped up high and not pushed down into the waste pipe, and run hot tap water with dishwashing liquid. If it still smells, the drain beyond may be coated in fat and need jetting.
Typical cost: Free to try; $100–$200 if a plumber clears it.
A smell through the house, or one that comes when water drains or the toilet flushes, often means the drain can’t breathe. Without air from the vent pipe on the roof, or from an air admittance valve under a sink, draining water sucks the water out of the other traps and lets gas in. A basin that gurgles after a flush is the clue. A plumber checks the vent and the valves.
Typical cost: $170–$300 including the first hour for a plumber to find it.
Outside, find the overflow relief gully: the grated drain near the house. Its grate should sit loose, a little above the ground, and not be buried or sealed over. A wet, green or sunken patch over the sewer line points to a broken pipe. A vent pipe that ends near a window or deck can also blow the smell back in. A camera inspection finds a cracked or root-damaged pipe.
Typical cost: $250–$350 for a camera inspection; $1,000–$3,000 if a section has to be dug up and replaced.
Usually a floor waste or a trap that has dried out, so sewer gas comes straight up, or a failed seal under the toilet. Pour a bucket of water into the floor waste and run every tap. If the smell stays, or the toilet rocks, a plumber reseats the toilet or fixes the waste.
Rainwater is getting into the sewer, through a cracked or root-damaged pipe or a downpipe connected to it, and the full sewer pushes gas back up. A camera inspection finds where.
The faint smell from a dried-out trap is mostly unpleasant. A strong smell that won’t go away should be found and fixed: open the windows meanwhile. If it smells like rotten eggs near the gas meter, a bottle or an appliance, treat it as a gas leak.
Pipes, traps, seals and vents on your property are a licensed plumber’s job and the owner’s cost. If sewage comes from a manhole or the street, or the neighbours have it too, call Urban Utilities on 13 23 64.
A plumber’s call-out with the first hour is typically $170–$300 in Ipswich. A camera inspection is $250–$350 when the drain is clear and accessible.
Send where it is, when it comes and your suburb. A licensed local plumber who covers your area gets back to you with a price before any work starts.