Mystery odor

Ballvalve · Dec 31, 2009

Sewer gas -septic smell invading a bathroom on an intermittent basis. Started a year ago, stopped, back again part time.

Shower, 2 sinks and a toilet in this bathroom. Traps are full. Toilet replaced about 3 years ago. Where to start? poor seal at wax ring, with some intermittent "back" pressure from the city mains? Under slab leak? - Desert climate, slab on grade.

Does the average plumber have a sniffer or some system to zone in on the locale without tearing into stuff?

SteveW · Dec 31, 2009

ballvalve said:
Sewer gas -septic smell invading a bathroom on an intermittent basis. Started a year ago, stopped, back again part time.

Shower, 2 sinks and a toilet in this bathroom. Traps are full. Toilet replaced about 3 years ago. Where to start? poor seal at wax ring, with some intermittent "back" pressure from the city mains? Under slab leak? - Desert climate, slab on grade.

Does the average plumber have a sniffer or some system to zone in on the locale without tearing into stuff?

Not a pro, but have dealt with this in my home. Two common possibilities come to mind:

--sink overflows have smelly gunk in them (flush with water, and possibly a bleach solution);

--sink tailpiece has gunk stuck to the sides above the trap (clean with a bottle brush -- but whatever you do, do this UNDER A LARGE TOWEL so you don't spray smelly black sink gunk all over your bathroom like I did).

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

RTAPlumbing · Jan 1, 2010

I have ran into odor problems before. Check all traps and vents make sure they all penetrate through the roof. Camera all line vents and drains to se if you see any broken pipes. If still no luck the ultimate test is smoke bombs. Make sure you get the good ones from the hvac supply store. drop them down the vent lines and look for smoke if you see nothing it isn't a problem in your plumbing system.

SteveW · Jan 7, 2010

Soooo, ballvalve, any news on this situation?
Tried these suggestions yet?
Worked? didn't help?

Runs with Bison · Jan 7, 2010

The only time I had this sewer gas odor problem the wax ring was no longer making a good seal.

Mystery odor

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