2 smells coming from drains....

[Yarg28]

I recently moved into a 40+ year old home. It has a full bath up and a half bath down (bi-level home).

The sink in the upstairs bathroom emits a sort of sulphur smell after water has run 10 seconds or so. the water does not smell. It seems like the smell only has a chance to show up once there has been some drainage. It only smells odd for a few seconds and either its going away or i just get used to it really quickly.

The sink in the basement emits a sort of dirt smell. Dirt like fresh dirt from a garden that has been tilled. The water does not smell. Its definitely showing up after the sink has been running for a few seconds and then goes away pretty quickly.

both smells listed above always occur if the sink has not run for a while.

I havent worried too much about it because the water seems fine but i'm ready to end it.

I post here because i had a plumber out to work on a water heater and when i showed them the sinks and asked their opinion it was kind of along the lines of "it's no big deal, i wouldnt worry about it..."

The problem is..i didnt ask if he'd worry about it. I AM worried about it and i want it eliminated. I dont know if he just didnt know or if he just didnt want to fight with it. Either way, totally unaccetptable to me.

Any advice or ideas on what is causing these smells? What needs to happen to fix it? I will call another plumber but i want to be armed a little better if possible.

thanks

 

[Redwood]

Sulfur Reducing Bacteria

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Yarg28]

thanks for the reply. I did a little research and most of what i found was relative to well water sources and/or water heaters.

I'm on a city water supply and i get the smell even when i use cold water only.

Your answer was short; does the Sulfur Reducing Bacteria also get into pipes?

I also never smell it in teh shower at all...ever.

Still not sure what to do :/

thanks for reply though. its a good start.

 

[Redwood]

Well the answer was the easy part. Finding where it resides and killing it is not that easy.
If its just one faucet soaking the faucet spout, aeator and drain may kill it.
at least 10 minutes in a sanitizing bleach solution.