Sewer Gas Smell When Sink Used
Sewer Gas Smell When Sink Used
Quick Column Summary:
- Sewer smell from vents after master sink used
- Probably biofilm
- Clean with a bottle brush
- Use Stain Solver, oxygen bleach
J. A. Coffey, Jr. has a stinky problem when he runs water in his master bath sinks. His problem was featured in the July 16, 2014 AsktheBuilder Newsletter.
Heck, let him tell you:
"Sewer gas smell when master bath sinks used. Smell comes through air vents. Had plumber in and he did smoke test. Could not find leak. What's next? Another plumber or demolition??"
Here's my answer do J. A. and it doesn't involve a sledge hammer.
J. A. guess what? You should have come here to my website before calling in that plumber. You could have saved yourself some sweet moola.
I suspect your issue is just a biofilm coating on the sides of the sink tailpiece pipes that extend from the base of the sink to the p-traps under the sink.
These often get coated with a yucky black goo that can liberate horrible odor molecules into the air when you run water.
If you could see the odor molecules, they'd be spewing from the tiny overflow hole at the top of the sink.
I'd get a bottle brush that has an 1.5-inch diameter and some of my Stain Solver.
Here's a typical bottle brush. it's a long narrow brush. The longer the handle the better. Photo credit: Tim Carter
Mix up 12 ounces of HOT water with one tablespoon of my Stain Solver and stir until dissolved.
Remove the drain stopper in the sink and clean it with the solution and the brush. Re-install the nut and lever back into the tailpiece WITHOUT the stopper in place.
Dip the brush in the solution of Stain Solver and shove the brush up and down in the drain. Be sure the brush is long enough to reach down to the p-trap.
Turn on the water in the sink and move the brush up and down until the sides of the tailpiece are like new.
You'll then have no odor.
Watch this video to see how Tim SOLVED a problem in minutes!
1. Pet care stores often carry l-o-n-g bottle brushes that reach into large pet water bottles. Worth having one even if you don't use a bottle to give your pets water.
2. My sinks are all new and I can't get the pop-up stoppers out of them. How do I do it?
You need to read my past column about how to remove a drain stopper. Look at the photo in this column.
Another source of odour from a sink ,I have found, is from the overflow hole. This gets just enough moisture to grow excellent mould and mildew in the dark crevice of the overflow. I use a long small aquarium pipe cleaner with a cleaning solution and all smells usually disappear .
Save some stainsolver solution to pour down the overflow vent. If water has overflowed once or twice, there could be some "Yuk" in the overflow passage. Also if you have a drain that hasn't been used in a long time, like a floor drain in a basement, all the water in the trap could evaporate, allowing smells from the sewer or septic system to get in the house. The solution is to pour some water in in once in a while.
Why not remove the p-traps and clean them out the same way or even just replace them. Mine just screw on and off and I think the pvc pipe is very inexpensive.
The same issue can cause a washing machine to have a horrible odor. I called a plumber to see if the machine was failing to drain properly or had mildew outside the tub. No on all counts. Then I realized it was the drain pipe and trap.
Is that also the case for a dishwasher ? One day after it was been run it's already smelly!
Sounds like a drain hose issue and biofilm on the tailpiece of the sink.
Tim: I need to gain some knowledge.. I Live in a house that was built in the 50's. One of the prior owners painted all the interior doors with shellac. It has a very rough finish. My wife hates it. She wants all the doors re-done with a satin varnish. I have looked on you tube where I found some guy removing shellac from a gun stock. He burnt the shellac then blew out the flame and then wiped of the shellac. I don't think I want to burn all my doors. I need some help. Thanks in advance. Stewart
Stewart, have you ever heard of paint stripper? Try some! It works on shellac too. Just read the label to make sure it does.