Sudden sewer smell in bathroom

[digdugger]

Hi, started noticing over the last 2 weeks a really stinky sewer smell in bathroom. 1980's house, tiny (1/2) bathroom. There is no sink in bathroom, just the toilet and the bathtub. Tub drains fine and toilet flushes fine. (although I periodically every couple months have to clean ladies' long hair out of bathtub drain, and lately when running bath faucet the tub gathers less than an inch of bubbly,soapy looking water, but when I divert to shower it drains fine-- also I noticed by a drip trail it appears some shampoo seems to have leaked down the drain.)

Toilet is small one-piece toilet. Toilet is caulked around the base. Should i remove some caulk to see if any sewer liquid leaks out ? (in case wax seal damaged, though toilet does NOT rock that we notice...) Or just lift the whole damn thing up and check, replacing the wax ring even if no leakage found)

What about flushing the roof vent pipe with a garden hose in case there's any blockage? (though it's desert here so we have few birds and no trees so no real roof debris) Sink in outer bathroom area drains fine, as well as toilet downstream from that. (Very small house so I assume there's only one MAIN drain pipe running throughout the house, and that the kitchen and garage sinks (not in line with the main) just drain into it from branch pipes.)

 

[Reach4]

Cover the toilet with a cheap plastic dropcloth. Weight down the edges.

After time, sniff under the plastic. Is the smell strong there? It will be if the toilet seal is the problem.

If smell under the plastic, gather a new supply line and wax ring(s). Get some shims. Read up on the process. Lift the toilet. Place shims. Place wax. Drop toilet, and secure.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[digdugger]

Cover the toilet with a cheap plastic dropcloth. Weight down the edges.

After time, sniff under the plastic. Is the smell strong there? It will be if the toilet seal is the problem.

If smell under the plastic, gather a new supply line and wax ring(s). Get some shims. Read up on the process. Lift the toilet. Place shims. Place wax. Drop toilet, and secure.

Thanks, makes sense what you say about using the plastic. I'll air out the smelly surrounding bathroom air after sealing the toilet, before checking under the plastic. I watched a video on Youtube, a guy was shimming an existing toilet. From what I gather, they're needed if any gaps are around the base where it contacts the floor. But you say "Place shims. Place wax. Drop toilet". I interpret that as: Figure out where on the floor the shims will need to be (where there are gaps on toilet), set them there, lift up toilet carefully so not to move shims, install wax, set toilet down carefully so again not to move shims, then secure? Maybe superglue shims to floor to prevent bumping them?

 

[Reach4]

I interpret that as: Figure out where on the floor the shims will need to be (where there are gaps on toilet), set them there, lift up toilet carefully so not to move shims, install wax, set toilet down carefully so again not to move shims, then secure? Maybe superglue shims to floor to prevent bumping them?

Mostly. I would not use a glue that would cause a problem for a future replacement where the new toilet may not have the same shape on the bottom.

There is more than one way. Find where shims need to be to not rock, letting them stick out. Mark toilet edge and shim placement. Lift toilet and cut shims to prevent sticking out. If needed, hold shims in place with tape that will be hidden once dropped.

Place wax. Drop toilet.

If you use a Unifit or waxless seal, you can add shims when you like. Those have resilient seals, and don't have characteristic of wax. The pros can use wax very quickly.

 

[Jadnashua]

A wax ring is not a spring, so if the toilet can move at all, rock one way, compress the wax, rock back the other way, open up a gap. That's why you need to figure out where to put the shims to hold it stable BEFORE you set the toilet down on the wax ring, so that usually requires placing it twice. If you're really lucky, the floor and bottom of the toilet are perfect, and it doesn't need any shims...lots of luck with that, especially if the floor is tiled.

It sounds like there's some backup in your tub/shower. The flow is limited when using the shower, so it can keep up. Running it directly into the tub uses the maximum volume, and it sounds like it can't. It should be able to handle either situation.

 

[digdugger]

A wax ring is not a spring, so if the toilet can move at all, rock one way, compress the wax, rock back the other way, open up a gap. That's why you need to figure out where to put the shims to hold it stable BEFORE you set the toilet down on the wax ring, so that usually requires placing it twice. If you're really lucky, the floor and bottom of the toilet are perfect, and it doesn't need any shims...lots of luck with that, especially if the floor is tiled.

It sounds like there's some backup in your tub/shower. The flow is limited when using the shower, so it can keep up. Running it directly into the tub uses the maximum volume, and it sounds like it can't. It should be able to handle either situation.

I thought since the shampoo or whatever spill in the tub drain, that's making the water foam up, maybe the bubbles are creating an air pocket, preventing the proper water level in any trap in pipes under the floor. Was crossing my fingers hoping that once the soap finally washes away it would drain better (and along with that the odor, since I'm sure toilet/tub share same main drain. Also the tub faucet blows water straight down on the drain of the tub. I think that alone would prevent efficient drainage, as there's little air getting around the tub drain with that water pouring down on top of it.

Floor is tiled. Maybe there are existing shims under toilet. I will buy new ones and a wax ring & toilet bolts, anyhow. Do you prefer mounting wax on the toilet , or the floor flange? Seems there's 2 schools of thought on this.

 

[digdugger]

Do you think it's worth trying my toilet auger?

 

[WJcandee]

Among pros, there's basically one school of thought: the wax goes on the flange. Just drop the wax on the flange (after cleaning off the old stuff).

For noobs, it's a lot easier to position the toilet over the wax and hole without worrying that the wax is gonna fall off the toilet while you're moving it.

95 percent of the time, if you have the smell and you're running water regularly through the tub (i.e. the trap hasn't dried out from being left for two weeks), it's the toilet seal. And it's no big deal. Doesn't mean you have a "leak" or anything, since the purpose of the wax is primarily to hold back gas, not water. It just wears out after a while.

If this is your first time doing this, you might consider a SaniSeal or the Korky Waxless Toilet seal, because they give you the opportunity to move the toilet a little or lift it back up if you need to. Once you smush the toilet down on fresh wax, you can't move it at all because it is likely to break the seal. Most pros are comfortable with wax, and it's cheaper, but then again they know how to put the toilet down perfectly the first time...

 

[digdugger]

If this is your first time doing this, you might consider a SaniSeal or the Korky Waxless Toilet seal, because they give you the opportunity to move the toilet a little or lift it back up if you need to.

Thanks , but are those reliable long term? I seem to remember a plumber in these forums laughing at how many synthetic seals he was replacing in some apartments or homes and how much money that was making him...

 

[Jadnashua]

FWIW, they've uncovered some stuff sealed with wax from ancient Egypt and the contents were in pristine state. Wax in this application works. A typical home won't get hot enough to melt it, and it's pretty inert. The seal will fail if the toilet moves and potentially blow out if you really aggressively plunge the toilet. It's too early to tell about most of the waxless seals. They can be handy if you remove your toilet frequently to say repaint or, if you have a clog

 

[digdugger]

Well guys i did nothing and smell mysteriously disappeared the last couple days. Maybe a partial clog? I do think the toilet flushes a little better now. Will keep your tips on hand though.

 

[WJcandee]

I have had the SaniSeal in one installation for 5 years now with zero issues.