[3KP]

I went to a customers house today. They called in for a sewer smell. I got there could smell the sewer gas. All P-traps had water in them. (sorry I'm not really to much into service work more remodeling and new construction. Any advise would be great!

 

[uaplumber]

Is the washing machine hooked up? Hidden floor drain? New dishwasher hookup with out trap? Those are most common I see.

 

[Marlin]

Clean out or house trap missing a cap? Are their galvanized pipes in the walls which could have rotted away? You're sure the traps are full? Give each one a sniff. Is it stronger in one spot then another?

 

[Plasticman]

Usually when that happens in my area, it is either raining or was raining. I end up re-sealing the toilet, which makes the home owner feel like I done something to solve the problem. Like you, I am no service guy but after the toilet fix, they don't call back. Knock on wood. lol

 

[Ron]

Crawl space, if there, check it.

 

[pzmember]

those can be tough all the advice is good, hell 2 weeks ago i found one that had been bugging these people for 6 months. turned out it was a hole eaten away in the cast iron where pipe went into the san tee for the toilet, and they only noticed it on windy days. and i was the 5th plumber there for it, i was the only dummy who would open up the wall. good luck.

 

[service guy]

I've been on a lot of these calls. The majority of them are from a bad seal under the toilet. That is the first thing I check, sniff around the base of the bowls, check if any are rocking.

 

[Redwood]

I've been on a lot of these calls. The majority of them are from a bad seal under the toilet. That is the first thing I check, sniff around the base of the bowls, check if any are rocking.

Same here! Run some water in a remote location walk around and listen. Sound will show you a dry trap...

Make sure the toilets are sequre and if they are loose reset them.

Hairballs under lav pop-ups and in tub and shower drains can be pretty funky. Sometimes it may be a funky mud lined shower pan.

When you run out of the obvious I usually push for a smoke test.

 

[Cal]

I usually find a bad wax seal OR a cracked toilet flange . That one is a BI***H to find but will allow a bad sewer smell .

Cal

 

[user4]

A tip for you service guys, a combustible gas detector will pick up sewer gas around the base of a toilet. I have a TIF Industries model 8800.

 

[Proud Plumber]

This is along shot.... but I once had a sewer gas smell coming from a kitchen sink. I replaced , checked traps I did the whole check list. I finally opened up the wall and found three drywall screws and a small crack on the stack. I didn't think a minor little crack or a couple of screww holes could do it but it did.

 

[Redwood]

I once had a call for sewer stink in a 1st floor bathroom. In the attic I found a vent that was open and never connected through the roof.
There was no smell on the 2nd floor.
Go figure!

It was a modular home and they missed the conection.

 

[rocksteady]

everything that has been said is good. check cleanout caps that might be inside. i've seen them leak sewer gas. closet wax does a good job of sealing them up. guest bathrooms are notorious for dry traps. look under the washing machine for a floor drain.






paul

 

[3KP]

Seal

I thought about the wax ring not sealing up to. But in my little mind I figure it would leak when I flush the toilet. I remember back to my apprentice days. There was this custom home that the company I worked for did. Had a bad sewer smell we went there more times than I could count on fingers and toes. Come to find out the guy that installed the TP holder screwed right into a pipe.

I'm going back tomorrow around 5:30pm Hopefully I can find it and save the Day! LOL

 

[rocksteady]

wax rings can leak sewer gas and not water. they do it all the time.

i would say that 8 times out of 10 when i go out on these calls there's no smell when i'm there. the homeowner can't smell it and neither can i, so i just go down the list of probably causes. wax seals and dry traps are high on the list. all sorts of wierd things could be going on though. i suppose even an airgap r/o faucet with the drain tied in before the trap could do it. i love these kinds of calls when they're solved and you have the answer. when you're scratching your noggin they can be frustrating as anything though. let us know what you find.





paul

 

[Plumberman]

Had one last year. HO thought it was his water heater, wound up being a busted drain under the house. A WHOLE lot of Bio-Clean saved the day. And of course fixing the break.

 

[RHplumbing]

I agree with every one , and also plumberman , most of the time around here , if it is not the toilet , routed vent pipe , ect , it is usally a craked building drain under the basement floor , so get your cameria , , and jackhammer and make losts of money

 

[kellybhutchings]

You should perform a smoke test.

 

[Cal]

I usually have a smoke AFTER finding the leak

 

[CentralPlumbing]

Drain Vents

I have found on a couple of occasions that the vents on the roof were installed too low or too close to an evap cooler or a bathroom fan vent and the smell was being drawn back into the house that way.