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February 14, 2008
Strong Sewer Odor from Bathroom Sink
Help!!! When I came home tonight, I noticed a strong, horrible sewer odor in my bathroom. I'm pretty sure it is coming from the bathroom sink.
The same exact thing happened about a year ago and drove me insane because I could not figure out where it was coming from and didn't know what to do. I basically scrubbed my entire bathroom with bleach and water (even though it was already clean) and poured bleach down all of the drains. None of this seemed to help but after a few days the smell did eventually disappear as mysteriously as it came.
The odor seems much worse this time. Does anyone have any ideas why this is happening and if there is anything I can try to do until I call maintenance tomorrow and they get around to checking it out? The maintenance department of my coop will probably not consider this an emergency and will not rush right over.
Thank you.
Comments
Look and see if your sink drain has a trap. If you don't have one, that's the problem. The trap keeps the sewer gas from coming up. No amount of cleaning will help, it's a plumbing problem.
Posted by: Rick at February 14, 2008 5:50 AM
That's what I was thinking. Shouldn't th shower have a trap too?
Posted by: Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy at February 14, 2008 9:15 AM
Does it only seem to happen after there has been heavy rain? Could be sewer water from the mains backing into your house when they become overtaxed with rain water.
Posted by: Left Hook at February 14, 2008 9:49 AM
Stop taking a crap in your sink - Then everything should be fine.
Posted by: guest at February 14, 2008 9:51 AM
Thanks. I called maintenance and they said they will flush the lines - whatever that means. It still stinks like hell and I plan on calling them back before the end of the day to see what is going on. I hate to think what's going on down in the basement area and now wish I lived on the second floor instead of the first.
Posted by: guest at February 14, 2008 1:10 PM
The smell is sewer gas that is usually vented out side the building near the roof or sometimes out front as well. You should have whats' called a p trap under your sink that always has a little water in it that acts like a dam or trap to prevent the gas from backing up into the building. If there is no u shaped bend in the pipes it may not be plumbed correctly. I suspect the heavy rain is the cause. Sometimes a heavy surge of water like from a roof drain can overload the main sewer line and blow the water out of the traps allowing gas to come in. The other thing could be that the basement is full of crap from some street back up. Ask your super to check out your place as the gas is unhealthy.
Posted by: guest at February 14, 2008 4:16 PM
The Smell could be coming from the vent in the sink, this is the small hole in the front top of the sink. You would get a smell if the bathroom door remains closed through out the day. The smell comes from build up in the top half of the drain that builds up from soap. You will need to fill the sink with water to make sure the vent is working and the pour a little bit of bleach down thevent and don't use the sink for a little while.
Posted by: guest at February 17, 2008 8:45 PM
The Smell could be coming from the vent in the sink, this is the small hole in the front top of the sink. You would get a smell if the bathroom door remains closed through out the day. The smell comes from build up in the top half of the drain that builds up from soap. You will need to fill the sink with water to make sure the vent is working and the pour a little bit of bleach down thevent and don't use the sink for a little while.
Posted by: guest at February 17, 2008 8:45 PM
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