Sewer Gas Odor


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Old 02-05-05, 11:13 AM
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Question Sewer Gas Odor

I bought one story two bath home as is with strong odor in hall bath,consisting of toilet,sink and shower.was told hall bath had a reroute.Master bath is fine. I cannot get rid of the smell in hall bath,Can't tell if it comes from shower,sink or toilet.I have ckecked the roof vent,it is clear.Could it be that when they did a reroute under this bath,they did not put in a peetrap?Or can I use a Studor Vent,that I,ve read about? Any ideas on how to fix my problem is greatly apprecated.Thanks Ginger
 
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Old 02-05-05, 11:29 AM
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If a trap was not installed then a Studor valve will be of no help. You should be able to see a trap under the bath sink.(one down) If it is the toilet, you can pour a bucket of water into the bowl and note the level of the water (pencil mark) and see if it goes down after an hour or so. (two down). That leaves the tub if all else stays the same. Plug off the drain on the tub and fill with enough water to cover the drain.Stuff a rag into the overflow. See if the odor persists.(3 down) This should let you know where the problem is. Then you have to go from there. Reply back with any other questions you may have. Good luck.
 
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Old 02-05-05, 02:24 PM
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Thanks for your swift reply,1.sink has a Ptrap.2.pored water in toilet,after an hour it was at the same level,which was at the bottom of the bowl,I guess that means I move on to 3.But I have a shower stall,no tub,so no way to keep the water in. what do i do now? Thanks for your help,Ginger
 
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Old 02-05-05, 03:08 PM
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Shine a flashlight down the shower drain. You should see water in the trap. If you don't, there may not be a trap (whoa), or it isn't properly vented and the trap water may be being siphoned out.
Unusual.
Mike
 
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Old 02-05-05, 03:13 PM
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You should be able to see water standing in the trap of the shower. Use a flashlight and look into the shower drain. If there is a trap you will see the water. If there is no trap, the water will not be standing there. To see if the sewer gas is coming from the shower drain you can use a wet wash cloth or other similar thick material. Set this over the drain opening and see if the smell dissapears.

The gas could also be coming from under the toilet. A defective or worn out wax seal will cause the problem you are describing. There may or may not be water present on the floor. Sometimes the only proof you have of a wax seal failure is the horrible obnoxious odor. The toilet is the trap that prevents the smell from coming up through the toilet. The wax seal is what keeps the smell from coming out of the pipe that the toilets connected to.

Good luck and keep us posted as to what you find.

"Ping" Mike got me again
 
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Old 02-05-05, 04:12 PM
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Well Guys, what do you make of this? I took the drain cover off and got out the flashlight and looked down the hole,not a pretty sight for a lady to see,the original drain pipe is all corroded,I assume its made of cast iron, but goes down about 14" then there is a pvc pipe that looks like it might be attacted by one of those rubber sleeve things.the pvc comes up at a slight angle there is no water standing from what I can see.the pvc looks to be about 2.5" Like I said,With the pvc going down at an angle,I can't tell if there is a trap.This shower sits right next to an outside wall,it would'nt take a whole lot to dig under the foundation,but then what? Thank you all for the feedback!Ginger
 
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Old 02-05-05, 04:24 PM
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If there is a way to access the bottom of the shower(where the pipes are) I would cut out a section of the pipe and install a trap. This may not be an easy job depending on the configuration of the pipe, however this does need to be done. Sewer gas entering the home presents a very dangerous problem. What you may want to do until you can get this fixed is buy a flat rubber stopper that lays on top of the drain. These stoppers are about 6" in diameter. This will keep the sewer gas from coming up through the pipe and entering your home. If you can't find one of these stoppers, you can use anything that will cover the drain and has a small amount of weight to it. Make sure you put this back every time you finish using the shower.

Good luck
 
 

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