Smell from Universal-Rundle Toilet

Thought my experience with battling a smell from a Universal-Rundle toilet I have might be of interest to ya'll.

I'm sure that this toilet was just a contractor grade cheapie put in when the house was new, as it matches our other two toilets. Toilet is prone to clogging. Several days after clearing a clog, we began to notice a foul odor from the toilet. Cleaned and cleaned the bowl to no avail.

I then got a mirror and looked up under/inside the rim...this area was very cruddy. I then compared the water flow in the bowl to the flow in our other non-stinking toilet. The stinking toilet flow would not completely rinse the bowl...in fact it would leave the front of the bowl dry. As a result, any material deposited under the rim during a clog would not get rinsed from there, causing bad odors.

I read somewhere that muriatic acid can be used to clean the water path inside the toilet, so I used plumbers putty to seal off the entire rim, then poured acid (very carefully, while wearing PPE) into the rim via the tank.

I let this sit for awhile....this did take care of the problem....for a little while...but I'm back where I started with a stinky toilet.

This toilet does not have holes under the rim from which the rinse water flows, all the water comes from the rear of the rim...apparently "stuff" builds up under the rim and disrupts the water flow.

In the very near future, this toilet will be replaced by either a Drake, or a AS Cadet 3. Closest Toto dealer to where I live is 60 miles.

It's amazing how you can take a clog free/odor free toilet for granted.

Anyone else have trouble with their U-R brand toilets?

The UR toilets that were installed in my neighborhood are junk. I have 3 toilets in my house and at some point will have to spend somewhere around $1000 to buy new ones, not to mention find time to install them. Mine and my neighbors all smell like urine.

This is a clear cut case where a company should step up and recall them. The sewer smell has to be potentially harmful with long-term exposure.

I am not sure if they are even aware of the problem, but with the cost of homes constantly going up, there should be no excuse for garbage toilets.

Thank you!

I have just moved into a house that has 2 Universal Rundle toilets, installed 10 years ago when the house was built. The one in the powder room (used less) is fine, but the one in the master bath STINKS. It is especially bad when the bathroom is hot and moist (say during a bath or shower). The smell is clearly coming from under the rim. Thanks for clarifying what the problem is. Now I know what to look out for when I buy a new toilet.

Thanks to everyone...
I have the same problem. I just bought my house and don't know the age of the toilet. At first I was cleaning this toilet twice a day. Glad to know it is the toilet and not me. I will have this toilet replaced as soon as possible.

Are you sure the smell is coming from inside the toilet. You said it was prone to clogging - I'm wondering if your unclogging (Plunging) of the toilet could have blown out the wax seal. Is the bottom of the toilet completely caulked all the way around? If not, and you have a bad wax ring too, maybe your smelling sewer gas.