We have a 2 story home, 1 year old, crawl space, no basement. Our main level 1/2 bath is the only bathroom in the house that smells like a sewer when the water in the sink is turned on. I can usually only smell it when the water is running, and it seems to be getting worse over time.

We recently had a plumber at our house who looked into another problem. Our master bath toilet tank upstairs was sounding like it was filling up with water when you would run water or flush in another part of the house, or in the sink in the master bath. The plumber said the seals were bad or something so he replaced all of them and then adjusted the tank water level some. It's better but not great. I've tried reading all of the threads on this subject before asking... but is there a vent that is stopped up that I should try looking at or do I need to pour bleach down this sink? It's definitely the smell of a sewer and not a foul egg smell.

Thanks,

Scott

Hi Scott,
As a rule hair will build up on the lever that pops up the stopper.Over time hair builds up and starts to smell. Pull the stopper out and shine a light down in the drain. About 6" down you will see a small rod. If it has hair, fish it out with a bent coathanger. Now take 1/2 bottle of bleach and pour it down the drain and let it set overnight. Next morning flush the mess out with 2 pans of boiling water. This's important! The bleach makes the hair slippery and starts to disolve it and the boiling water will metl the grease and flush it away. Sometimes when the plumber installs the lavatory he will tie the stopper down. If that's the case and you can't pull it out let me give you directions on how to do it. : Push down on the plumger so that the stopper pops up. Underneath the lavatory ahead of the clip you will see a knurled nut,(Leave the clip on)Now back the nut out until it's free but don't pull it all the way out. Now while you are pulling up on the stopper GENTLY pull the rod back until the stopper clears, stop! Now screw the nut back in place and just snug it up with a pair of pliers. When you clear the drain just drop the stopper back in. Some plumbers lock the stopper in when they install the fixture. I never have for it makes it impossible for the home owner to clean the drain.
Good luck, Tom