Faint Sewer Smell

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Well jadnashua,

If memory serves me correctly, the floor and flange are not meeting as they should. As a matter of fact the new subflooring is roughly a half an inch or more away from the flange. It feels like the installers cut a big hole in the subflooring and cut the vinyl right up against the flange So I'm thinking I need to remove additional subflooring (the new stuff) in the shape of the bottom of the toliet, to get down to the orginal subfloor. Then proceed from that point, I just don't want my wife to see me cutting into her new flooring

Thanks

Duan

 

[Jadnashua]

How far below the finished floor does the flange sit now?

Many people use two wax rings to make up the space, but that leaves you open for more frequent failures. Also, as noted, if the toilet rocks at all, your seal will be broken.

Ideally, the flange is mounted where it should be. Then, you will have most of the wax thickness squeezed out when setting the toilet. A deep wax ring is more prone to "blowout" iff you ever do need to use a plunger on the toilet.

You could try one of the waxless seals made by Fluidmaster or Fernco. These have a horn on the bottom that fits inside of the drain. If the toilet has leaked from the flange seal, then the smell may be in the flooring, and either an enzyme cleaner/deodorizer and or some bleach may help. When you take the toilet up, look for any indication that the subflooring has gotten wet.

Do you have access to the plumbing under the toilet? Is it plastic? You could cut out the existing, add a riser, patch the subflooring, and put a new flange on at the proper height.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Hello jadnashua,

I would say the new subfloor is right at the half way mark on the flange, maybe a hair lower.

Believe it or not I bought two wax rings, one extra thick reinforced, & one regular. After cleaning the channel on the bottom of the toliet I could'nt imagine two wax rings in that small of a cavity, as a matter of fact I thought the extra thick one may have been too much. But I used it anyway The toliet is level and doesn't rock at all. Which wasn't the case for my down stairs toliet, which rocked like a rocking chair, but strangely enough never produced any sewer gas? The issue with that one was who ever did the tile floor did a really bad job. The toliet rocked after the edge of one tile gave way.

I'll take a look for one of those waxless seals.

I have yet to look at the subfloor, however I will today or tomorrow. Which enzyme should I look for?

This toliet is on the second floor, so in theory I should be able to get to its pipes. However, I've yet to find the ceiling access point that will allow me into the first floor's ceiling

Thanks for all the help

Duan

 

[Jadnashua]

I'm not sure of any brand names, but check out the cleaning section of the grocery or a pet store. I know I've seen some in the warehouse stores like Costco and Samsclub.

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Floor leveler?

Hello All,

Ok, I've pulled the toliet again and taken a closer look at my situation. I traced the bottom of the toliet and cut away the vinyl flooring and this is what I found. Liquid floor leveler towards the front of the toliet, and a somewhat crude hole cut into the new subflooring. Attached are a couple pics

Duan

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Last Image

I noticed some water on the right side of the toliet, (slight moisture)

Thanks
Duan

 

[Jadnashua]

Any fungi, mold, etc. will propagate in the moisture. In order to get rid of the smell, you need to first dry it out, then , maybe treat it will some bleach and/or an enzymatic cleaner. If the toilet isn't leaking, it could be condensation running off of the thing. You need to elinimate the moisture. Got some kids that splash in the tub?

Once you resolve this, it is recommended that you caulk around the toilet (except at the back). This will do two things: help hold it in place (this helps prevent breaking the wax seal if someone knocks or falls against the thing), and keeps misdirected streams of god knows what from running under the thing.

Instead of a wax ring, you could try one of the waxless jobs from either Fluidmaster of Fernco.

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Hello jadnashua,

Ok, I was wrong about the moisture on the side. Once I got back in there it turned out to be the glue for the vinyl The only moisture came from my five year old helping me drain the water This is where I stand right now, I have a regular sized wax ring, the flooring around the toliet is back down to the orginal subfloor (now I can see the bottom of the flange), so here are my questions:

1) Use the reg. wax ring or get a ringless seal?
2) How do level the toilet? (put level on seat, 1/3 was behind the non-level side of the bar)

TIA
Duan

 

[Jadnashua]

You don't absolutely need level, but you need flat it can't rock. If you want level, you can use anything thatwon't have problems. SOme people use coins, they make plastic shims for this purpose, but a shim is sometimes hard, since it doesn't have that much surface area. The trick to this, though, is that you need to arrange the shims prior to setting the toilet down if you are using a wax ring, as the back and forth to move it around to get level will likely break the seal. Then you pull it back up, keeping all of th eshims in place (a real trick sometimes) put on the wax ring, then reset it.

This is where the waxless seal makes life easier, since you can move it around while trying to shim it level. Once you have it secure and level, put in some caulk after tightening down the anchor bolts.

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Waxless seal

Ok Jim,

You've convinced me to try the waxless gasket. I found the Fluidmaster at Lowes. I really like the idea that it says on the package that the o-ring will block sewer gases As for our toliet, I'm pretty sure it won't rock. Especially now that it has it's own trench to sit in I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

Duan

 

[Jadnashua]

Any toilet seal worth its salt won't pass gasses or fluids. Wax has been used for probably over a century. It has its limitations, but it is both cheap and usually works.

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

90 degree turn

Ok, Jim

I've cleaned both the bottom of the toliet and the flange. Upon pulling the rag out I see that my pipe make a 90 degree turn In the trouble shooting section of the directions say that "should the toliet rock" The drain pipe makes 90 degree turn so the the Bowl Gasket bottoms out. I can touch the bend of the drain with my putty knife Should I not use this gasket?

Thanks,
Duan

P.s.
I'll measure the length of the gasket's collar.

 

[Jadnashua]

Depending on the depth of the bend, it may not work...back to wax if that is the case.

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Back to Wax

Well Jim,

It looks like I'm headed back to wax I just wish I hadn't cleaned the flange so, that thing looks brand new Oh, well I just want the sewer gas and this situation to become a distant memory I'll pick up a wax ring this afternoon, I think this may be either number four or five

Duan

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Last Question - Hopefully

Why should I not caulk the rear of the toliet?

Duan

 

[SteveW]

As I've learned at this site, if you leave the back of the toilet uncaulked, it gives you a fighting chance to discover a leaking wax seal. If you caulk around the total perimeter of the toilet base, and you have a leak, it may do some major damage before you become aware of it.

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Why thank you SteveW,

I didn't know that Well, last night I faced the moment of truth! Wax ring number four went on last night. This go round I "felt" as if I got a good seal/seating. I did have some wax come out of the left bolt hole, but it wasn't alot. As of this morning no sewer smell. Fingers crossing that I'll be able to say the same Friday morning!

Thanks

Duan

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

Scent Free-Friday!!

It looks like it worked This morning still no sewer smell, the smell generally shows itself on the second day, I figured three days would be a good test

Thank you everyone for your advise and pointers!

Now on to the next plumbing challenge

Duan

 

[SteveW]

Congratulations! It's very satisfying when it works out in the end.

 

[DIY-JourneyMan]

It's Back - I think?!?

Hello All,

After returning from an extended weekend, and my wife says she smells the sewer gas again I can't confirm or deny the gas because I've yet to smell it. Since she gets home before I do the exhaust fan in the bath is going well before I return So now what I caulked three sides of the base leaving the back untouched. Should I pull everything apart and install two wax rings? I'm thinking along the lines of a reinforced ring on the toliet's flange and a regular wax ring on the closet flange Or am I dealing with a problem that needs a new toliet or professional plumber?

Thanks,

Duan