Recently I've noticed a strong septic odor emanating from the toilet in my basement bathroom. It appears that the odor, regardless of how clean the toilet is, fails to go away. Could this be a problem in the pipes? I have never had a problem w/clogging etc. I have a shower in the same bathroom but no odor seems to be coming from its drain pipe. The sink does not seem to have any odor either. Please advise. Do I need to call a plumber?? Thanks.

Does the toilet rock? Typically an odor means the wax seal is not intact.

The toilet does not rock. It appears to be stable. The odor is new, having lived in this house for several years and not noticing a problem before. Thanks for your responses.

Fleo1996

Doug may have something here. A wax seal can prevent water leaks but still allow sewer gas to escape. Another might be back pressure caused by a partial clog is sending sewer gas back up the line where it comes out the bowl as a bubble. Both guesses are off the top of my head. This is one of those cases where you almost have to be there. Good luck. Tom

Thanks Tom for your prompt response. It sounds like I may have to call in a plumber and splurge (sp?) with the cost to come to a conclusion w/this. Good day.

Have you checked for dead critters? I'm going to tell you about a remedy that I heard from an older lady that actually worked. If the plumbing seems intact, try this first. Without being there I do not really know if you have a plumbing problem. A smoke test would reveal an odor or vapor leak though
Anyway, I was telling an older lady about a cat urine problem. She told me that a small bowl of vinegar placed on the floor in the general vicinity of the odor would remove the odor permanantly. It took about 3-4 days but it did. I have told this to others and they tried it on various odors and it worked every time. I don't know how it worked but I do know it worked.