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Odd Bathroom Odors

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  mdshunk 
#1 ·
I am sure I will get a hard time for this one, but here goes. My main bathroom seems to be developing a "sewer" smell. It's not really strong but everytime you go in it it smells like someone just recently used it. At first I thought that was what was causing it but that is not the case.
I am not sure what other details you guys will need to help me find the culprit but please let me know. The shower in the bathroom is used very rarely because the walls are leaking and I do not have the cash for a full remodel at the moment. Also, the house was built in 1985.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
#7 ·
Unless the entire base of the toilet is sealed all around against the floor with caulk, you may be able to detect if it's leaking.
Is the toilet over a basement or crawlspace? If it is, you should be able to see if the wax ring seal is leaking from underneath.
If the toilet seal isn't leaking, you may have a partially clogged vent pipe, which means that you need to go up ont he roof above that bathroom and check the top of the vent pipe for leaves, debris, etc., clean it out, and flush it down with a water hose sprayer.
Good Luck!
Mike
 
#9 ·
Your comment that the bathroom smells "like it was recently used" would make me think wax seal on the toilet is broken. Urine smell is different than sewer gas smell. For less than $10 and about an hours work, you can change the wax seal and bolts out (I always replace the bolts) and know that it is no longer the problem. You can also try pouring a 1 part bleach and 4 part water mixture down each drain to kill any bacteria that MAY be the problem.
 
#10 ·
The house is built on a slab, so no way to tell if anything is leaking from underneath. All the grout lines in the tile right around the base look dry...so today I'm gonna get up on the roof and check the vent. I really appreciate all the suggestions.
 
#11 ·
If you are unable to narrow down the culprit after all these checks, there is one more definitive troubleshooting step that can be taken. Many plumbers that do a lot of sewer and drain cleaning have a sort of "fog machine" that they can pump harmless smoke into the DWV system. This will help declare every leak in the system, and particularly larger ones that are causing your odor issue.
 
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