dglsconklin
New Member
Bought a 1950s Cape last August and immediately remodeled the main floor bathroom. Put a new toilet in (a cheap dual-flush model from Sam's Club--which might be the problem but I'll continue) and had some water around the base after a few days. Since the pipe is cast iron leading to PVC in the basement, I changed to an Oatey 4 inch cast iron replacement, which has the Allen screws inside to form a tight seal. Got a thicker ring as well and it formed a good seal and I've seen no water.
For the next month or so, I noticed sewer smells on and off at the base of the toilet, but never any water on the floor. I started to notice that the sewer smell was only noticable on days when the outside temperature was around 60 degrees. When fall turned to winter and the temp hovered around 40, the smell went away completely. Kicked up again in Spring. I redid the caulk at the base of the toilet at the beginning of summer, but the smell was fading at that point anyway. Now I'm sitting here on a crisp late-summer day and it smells again.
At this point I have to think the smell is directly related to the temperature because it didn't smell all summer until today, the first day it dropped below 70 degrees. Does this make sense? Something to do with the vent pipe? It's driving me crazy, and I'm not against calling a plumber but if it's something I can do myself I'd rather. Thanks all!
For the next month or so, I noticed sewer smells on and off at the base of the toilet, but never any water on the floor. I started to notice that the sewer smell was only noticable on days when the outside temperature was around 60 degrees. When fall turned to winter and the temp hovered around 40, the smell went away completely. Kicked up again in Spring. I redid the caulk at the base of the toilet at the beginning of summer, but the smell was fading at that point anyway. Now I'm sitting here on a crisp late-summer day and it smells again.
At this point I have to think the smell is directly related to the temperature because it didn't smell all summer until today, the first day it dropped below 70 degrees. Does this make sense? Something to do with the vent pipe? It's driving me crazy, and I'm not against calling a plumber but if it's something I can do myself I'd rather. Thanks all!