Please help. I live in a townhouse. The spare bathroom, second floor, has not been used for 3 years, though the toilet is flushed weekly. No prblem, no stink for 3 years. I recently painted, and regrouted the tile in the tub area. After all was done I ran water and cleaned the room using the tub. I had no problem, no odor. About 2 months later sewer gas was coming up tub drain. I ran water and odor gone. But now I must run water 2 times a week for odor not to return. What happened? I don't beleive I have a P-trap, I believe the tub pipe run uder the floor and connects with the tiolet and goes from there. Went on the roof to see if vent was clogged with a nest or? nothing unusual. Why did I go from no problem to a stinky issue? I vacation, turn off water at main valve and turn on when I return 2-3 weeks following. But now if I leave for a week the bathroom will stink. I also poured some oil down drain, this had no effect. Any help would be appreciated!!!
sewer odor from tub
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Jadnashua
Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Oil in the drain is a bad thing. Being organic, it can feed microbes to perpetuate the smells. Plus, it could be illegal.
If your tub doesn't have a trap, it is not installed up to code. It also needs to be vented properly. It could have a p-trap and not bevented, so that when the toilet is flushed, some of the water is pulled from the trap. Eventually, it can leak sewer gasses into the room. Sometimes there is a hair and soap scum accumulation in the tub drain. When fully wetted, it may be blocked, but as it dries out and until it gets fully dry, it will smell, and when fully dried out, it is likely the trap is open again, so sewer gasses come out as well.
Try cleaning the drain, use some hot water and some dish soap to try to get rid of the oil. You may have to run a snake through it.
If you don't want to play with a drain that won't be used for a long time, RV antifreeze can be poured down the drain to fill the trap. This both won't freeze or evaporate as quickly as water would. Dont' use auto antifreeze.
If your tub doesn't have a trap, it is not installed up to code. It also needs to be vented properly. It could have a p-trap and not bevented, so that when the toilet is flushed, some of the water is pulled from the trap. Eventually, it can leak sewer gasses into the room. Sometimes there is a hair and soap scum accumulation in the tub drain. When fully wetted, it may be blocked, but as it dries out and until it gets fully dry, it will smell, and when fully dried out, it is likely the trap is open again, so sewer gasses come out as well.
Try cleaning the drain, use some hot water and some dish soap to try to get rid of the oil. You may have to run a snake through it.
If you don't want to play with a drain that won't be used for a long time, RV antifreeze can be poured down the drain to fill the trap. This both won't freeze or evaporate as quickly as water would. Dont' use auto antifreeze.
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Thank you I will try that. I only put a small amount of oil down the drain. Have since washed with hot water and dish soap. I am so surprised because I never had a problem until recent. Having to run water every few days is a pain. I was wondering if I had a small leak and the water was not only evaporating but leaking out? I do not see water stains anywhere. If I let is go completly dry, not toilet flushing, sink running or tub running will the smell go away, or will it make it worse. I can try the RV antifreeze. Is that ok for the pipes and safety? Thanks for you help!
No. I don't think much went down the drain. I had the tub covered with a sheet and disposed of the water outside. After I wiped down the walls on the final cleaning, I think I removed all the sheets and did allow that water down the drain. Help.
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