We just moved into a brand new house on a concrete slab in Concord, North Carolina in September 2007. We have a sewer smell coming from the first floor bathroom that we were told is coming from the shower/tub since we don't use it at all (we do use the toilet and the sink in this bathroom).

A plumber came out and ran the water in the tub and also removed the toilet from the floor and replaced the wax seal. We were told to run the water occasionally in the tub to correct the problem. We have not tried to do this yet and the smell is still there. Would you agree with their recommendation or does this sound like the warranty folks are just trying to avoid a problem. I hate to waste water like this, especially during this severe drought we are having.

If you disagree with the plumber's assessment, what else could it be?

Thanks in advance for your input...

Paul

You should be running water in all water spigots at least once a week to help prevent possible legionnaires disease. There is legionella bacteria in all water, whether it be city or country. I work at a retirement home, and recently we had three residents come down with legionnaires disease, a couple of months apart, one of them died. We finally figured out that there was a bathroom in the basement that they had stopped at that wasn't used often, and because of the water sitting in the spigots so long, the bacteria built up and they ended up breathing in the bacteria and getting sick. Here is a link about that:
Legionellosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionellosis)

As to the other, I really don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to do it for a few weeks/months to see if it works. If not, you can always call the plumber and let him know the problem didn't go away.

Go with what your plumber recommended. You are mot talking about a lot of water here. If you want, take a cup of water and add some lemon juice to it. It will give you a fresh smell, however change the water frequently so mold will not grow. Or use a few drops of bleach in a cup of water.