Bathroom Funky Odor?

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rsingh6675

Recycles dryer sheets
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We have a bathroom that isn't used much in last 10+ years. All of a sudden the bathroom is having a funky smell. We tried to clean all the sinks, bathtub and shower faucets with baking soda and vinegar several times. We called Rotler Pesticide guy. He couldn't figure out the source of smell. We don't know who to call next to figure it out. Has anyone had this kind of problem and how was it solved.
We will appreciate your suggestions.
 
Speaking from experience here ... check all your drywall to see if anything is wet. You may have a pinhole leak in a pipe that's not near the bathroom. The smell of wet insulation travels through duct work.
 
latexman said:
Be sure all the P traps have water in them or sewer gases and odors will back into the bathroom.
Click to expand...
This maybe all it is. Recommended to run water flush toilet on a regular basis to keep traps full of water is a great ideal.
 
We have a small 1/2 bath with similar problem.
Every few months I take some bleach or pine sol water, fill the sink and let it go into the overflow holes. Then I refill and let it drain down the sink in a big whoosh.
Seems to help get rid of the sewer gas smell/build up.
 
latexman said:
Be sure all the P traps have water in them or sewer gases and odors will back into the bathroom.
Click to expand...
I have mine on my call file to fill once a month by running water for a couple minutes at locations within the house that don't get used frequently to prevent this issue.

It is odd that the cleaning step didn't resolve the issue provided that you actually flushed enough water don't the drain to turn-over the nasty p-trap water and get it out there. If you added some vinegar, but not enough to turn it over, all you would do is acidify the sewer gas (sulfides and mercaptans) and make them even more volatile and smelly.
 
Agree with everyone on p-traps. You need to flush them thoroughly as in 5 gallon buckets to assure that everything is flushed out of them. Residual gunk inside of the trap may be creating a gooey composting that is generating the odor. Use some commercial drain cleaner treatment to cleanse the innards of the trap.
 
And make sure all your traps are now PVC and not the chromed brass type. These metals give off and odor as they slowly rust and oxidize.
 
When we bought our house 20+ years ago, the previous homeowner told us to run water thru the showers, tub, sinks, and clothes washer drain monthly or we would notice sewer smells. We noticed the odor one time a few years into home ownership. We ran a bunch of water thru the different drains and then setup a monthly reminder in Quicken. No problems since then.
 
Again on the P traps, we also have a seldom-used bathroom downstairs with a bathtub that is virtually never used. I have to make it a point once a month or so to run a few gallons from the faucet. We figured that one out when DW was complaining about the odor.
 
If none of the above works, some kinds of mold have a bad odor. You might want to get checked for that.
 
Check all the vents external to the house. Roof, dryer, bathroom vents, etc. It's bird nesting season, I've had them build inside a vent and they can smell nasty.
 
I had a toilet leak and moldy floor boards under it.
get a moisture meter with prongs and test wall and floor
 
Simple to tell if it's p trap --- keep sink stopper in for several hours and run the fan a bit to vent, keep door closed. Come back and if no smell, open the sink stopper and put your nose down to the sink drain. I had the same problem and assumed it was the toilet, but no.

Another idea to deal with this is one of those enzyme drain cleaners that are supposed to deal with the bio-whatever that's causing the stink.
 
If you stop up the sink, you should also plug the overflow opening. I had a problem and it ended up being in the overflow drain path.
 
I have not seen anybody mention a dead animal in the wall... it can happen...

I had a squirrel that had found an air vent that it shimmied down that was no longer connected to anything but it was not inside the wall... I heard it running back and forth... was worried what I would do... I went outside to check the pipe and low and behold, it found its way out!!! Saw it pop out and RUN like crazy away from the house... had that replace when I got a new roof...
 
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