I have an issue going on in my vanity, the cupboard is giving off this horrible smell. It's not mould it's something strong, it is some sort of chemical smell. One of the previous owners of my home had placed some tiles on the bottom of the vanity and I thought perhaps, since they were placed directly onto the presswood that it may have gotten wet and this mixed with the glue and this is where the smell is coming from. I pulled up these tiles, they were very easy to come up but still very sticky and if you touch the glue it can quickly stick to your fingers, which surprises me since I have lived here for 5 years. I thought a quick fix was to remove the shelf of the vanity, remember this is the bottom of the shelf that the eye can see, so had it pulled out today. Underneath is an open space and low and behold there are two tiles, same as was on the bottom shelf, however there is a strip about 32 X 5 " wide in the very front that is full of this stick glue but it is not covered with tile, these tiles are actually placed on the subfloor. I noticed right away that the smell was not gone what so ever from the vanity cupboard, and I suspect it will never go away. Before I had the shelf removed I tried scrubbing it with hot soapy water and bleach, then I tired using goo be gone thinking if I removed the glue I would removed the problem, after that I tried scrubbing in hot water and wood soap, some glue appeared to be gone but the vanity soon filled up with this smell. Now I see that putting a new bottom into it is not going to work because the problem seems to be on the subfloor. I have not idea what kind of tiles these are, looks like vinly and they were glued down but the subfloor was glued and not tiles were installed. It would be impossible to hose down this area but I am just very upset as to how to get rid of the smell.

Hi NLGirl

When I hear "horrible smell" under a vanity cabinet my first thought is that you might have a defective AAV (air admittance valve)... see image below (some are black, too). These AAVs are mechanical vents that are legal or illegal in terms of plumbing codes that vary state to state. When an AAV fails it can allow sewer gasses to escape into the home. It is why they are always kept readily accessible.

If you have an AAV then most likely the spring mechanism has failed and you will need to replace the unit. The good news is that these AAVs usually just spin out counterclockwise and are cheap and quickly available at all home improvement stores. Purchase some kind of thread sealant to put on the threads prior to installing the new AAV.

If you don't have an AAV, then this certainly is harder to help with from here... ;)

Back to you...

Mark

Hi NLGirl

When I hear "horrible smell" under a vanity cabinet my first thought is that you might have a defective AAV (air admittance valve)...see image below (some are black, too). These AAVs are mechanical vents that are legal or illegal in terms of plumbing codes that vary state to state. When an AAV fails it can allow sewer gasses to escape into the home. It is why they are always kept readily accessible.

If you have an AAV then most likely the spring mechanism has failed and you will need to replace the unit. The good news is that these AAVs usually just spin out counterclockwise and are cheap and quickly available at all home improvement stores. Purchase some kind of thread sealant to put on the threads prior to installing the new AAV.

If you don't have an AAV, then this certainly is harder to help with from here...;)

Back to you...

Mark

Hi Mark:

Thanks for response. I don't have an AAV, we here in Canada have a stink Pipe. However I think the smell is from glue that was left uncovered. At first I removed these tiles from the shelf and the glue that was on them smelled horrible, and after cleaning and scrubbing the shelf I decided to have it torn out and a new one put in. However under that shelf I found the same tiles on the sub floor, however this glue was on the sub floor and it was not covered with tiles. Who knows they probably glued the entire area and ran out of tiles. I sprinkled the floor last night with baking soda and it did absorbe some of the smell. My repairs man is here and I suggested him putting a piece of new subfloor on the untiled area. I am having a new subfloor installed in my upper bathroom so I am hoping to have a small piece left over enough to cover this area on the other bathroom. If that does not solve the problem then I have no idea how to fix it, only to take the subfloor out and that will be impossible. I felt all along it was more of a toxic smell than a sewer type smell. I will find out later if the new piece of subfloor will take care of the smell.

Hi Mark:

Thanks for response. I don't have an AAV, we here in Canada have a stink Pipe. However I think the smell is from glue that was left uncovered. At first I removed these tiles from the shelf and the glue that was on them smelled horrible, and after cleaning and scrubbing the shelf I decided to have it torn out and a new one put in. However under that shelf I found the same tiles on the sub floor, however this glue was on the sub floor and it was not covered with tiles. Who knows they probably glued the entire area and ran out of tiles. I sprinkled the floor last night with baking soda and it did absorbe some of the smell. My repairs man is here and I suggested him putting a piece of new subfloor on the untiled area. I am having a new subfloor installed in my upper bathroom so I am hoping to have a small piece left over enough to cover this area on the other bathroom. If that does not solve the problem then I have no idea how to fix it, only to take the subfloor out and that will be impossible. I felt all along it was more of a toxic smell than a sewer type smell. I will find out later if the new piece of subfloor will take care of the smell.

UpDate: New piece of subfloor laid to cover exposed glue and old tiles, new shelf installed, no smell directly under that area, however much to my disappointment the vanity is still filled with the horrible smell. I sniffed the area and it feels to me like its coming more from the left side of the vanity that's against the wall. I see no drips or leaks or hear any noises, my drain is clean. It would appear to be a mystery, I only smell the smell when I open the vanity door.