The drain in the floor of my bathroom SMEELS LIKE SEWAGE! HELP!?

Question

We just moved into our new house a month ago ...

There has been a terrible smell upstairs, and I have tracked it down to the drain in the floor of our master bath.

Is it okay to put bleach down to cut the smell? Or is there something else I can do myself with out having to ring a plumber

PLEASE ADVISE!!!! Thanks for any / all advice on this matter

I was wondering why the former owners lit flowery candles during all the open for inspections.... Now I know!

WOW thanks everyone for your suggestions re: my smelly bathroom floor drain. Just an update:

* apparently my husband HAS been pouring water down the drain, regularly, to no avail. He also claims that, altho the drain is in the middle of the floor (in front of the toilet), that the sink drains through that drain, so it should be getting water going thru regularly.

* we're not sure if there's a trap or not - our last resort will be to get a plumber to go into the floor

*my husband put duct tape over the drain which has temporarily stopped the stink! (gotta love that duct tape!)

*MOST SIGNIFICANTLY - perhaps - is that whilst outside yesterday, in the first day of very hot weather, I was sitting on our deck directly below where the master bath is. Then, I SMELLED THE SAME SEWAGE STINK OUTSIDE!!! The husband said it has something to do with vents outside, but IT WAS GROSS.

Again I REALLY appreciate all of your suggestions. Any more in light of above updates would be v.appreciated

Answer 1

they make a piece called a back-flow preventer
they come in 2, 3, and 4" sizes
it looks like a rubber doughnut and has one way gate in the centre
you install it so it will open if water goes down, but it blocks the smell from coming up
but this is by no means a proper fix
sounds like the whole thing is wrong and should be fixed

Answer 2

If the smell is really bad then you probably have a drain problem. If the bathroom was remodeled not too long ago, someone may not have installed a P-trap, which stops sewer gases from coming up.
If the bathroom is original and has never had any drain work done to it, then most likely its not a P-trap issue. Because it would of had that problem from the beginning, and its a rookie move to forget the p-trap. If there is a p-trap under the drain then you probably have hair or gunk rotting around or stuck in the p-trap/top of the drain.

If your floor is on the first floor then you can crawl under the house and check to see if there is a ptrap under the drain pipe that connects to your floor drain. A P-Trap looks like the one under your sink. Every drain in the house has one, or should have one.

Also bleach will not hurt your pipes.

Answer 3

I've been doing plumbing for 30+ yrs and have never heard of a drain in the middle of the floor on a two story house in the bathroom....but if this is correct then you have 2 options --- to open up the floor in the bathrm or if you can get to the drain from underneath( ceiling under the upstairs bathrm) and get access that way. It's sounds like there is no trap on that floor drain if there was then you would not get any sewer gas out of it. the trap is made to hold some wtr in it to stop the sewer gas from coming out. You may want to check the seal on the toilet. If the wax on the toilet has failed then you may be getting sewer gas from there into the room. this would be the cheaper way to go first------if you know how to re-set a toilet then do it yourself if not then call a plumber and tell you would like them to re-set a toilet you can buy the wax ring and bolts at the local DIY store and cut down the cost

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
The drain in the floor of my bathroom SMEELS LIKE SEWAGE! HELP!?
We just moved into our new house a month ago ...

There has been a terrible smell upstairs, and I have tracked it down to the drain in the floor of our master bath.

Is it okay to put bleach down to cut the smell? Or is there something else I can do myself with out having to ring a...

Answer 5

I would suggest that you check the traps in the drains of all things upstairs. It sounds to me as if you might have a crack in one of your traps causing the water that prevents that to drip out opening the line for sewage gasses.

Are there any stains on the ceilings below that? If so, that is probably your problem.

How long was the house empty before you bought it. The water in the trap can evaporate out, opening your line for sewage gasses.

Your sinks will have the trap in the vanity right under the sink. the tub and the toilet have theirs below the flooring.

This could be an expensive and somewhat difficult thing to repair. If you have to get between the floor of the upstairs and the ceiling of the room below it, you will have to cut into the drywall, or plaster, to replace it. If it is drywall and your ceiling does not have popcorn on it or something, you can cut out a square.

I would advice you get a plumber to go in there and fix the piping problem. If you have any pluck, you can repair the drywall after he is gone, saving you some bucks. It is a messy job (the drywall), lots of dust and stuff, but not hard to do.

Answer 6

It sounds like the gas trap of your plumbing is faulty. All cesspools have a gas trap placed at a certain angle, so the odor of anaerobic bacteria that normally dwells in the sewage line will not escape. If you don't have the time or inclination to tear up the bathroom floor to have the plumbing checked, Clorox or Pine-sol will reduce the smell if used daily, especially after showering. Another solution is buying a rubber cover for the shower drain when not in use. (you can even get them in dollar stores) Good luck! And do call your land person to resolve this situation, if that is at all possible. It is good to return to a home that smells nice after a long day!

Answer 7

Smelly Drains Bathroom

Answer 8

If you have a floor drain in your bathroom that smells it means the P-trap has dried out. Simply pour a couple of litres of water into the drain. This will provide a water seal that will stop the sewer gas. Once a month pour more water into the drain.

Answer 9

I think the guys have it right here. A dry trap is almost ALWAYS the culprit. Just pour a glass of water in the floor drain once a week and you should never have a problem.

That's all there is to it.

Answer 10

Try this first.

Most likely, the trap has dried up - pour some water down the drain - if this takes care of the problem, you will need to do this on a regular basis.

worth a try.