I've had a sewer odor from all three toliets in my 2 year old house for about 1 1/2 yrs now. We are on public sewer and the builder is stumped (he hasn't however, been in the house to smell for himself) It seems to get worse when it rains... any suggestions? I'm concerned that my 5 year old son is breathing these fumes. It's only the toliets... no other water smells. The builder said the house was built with a double trap system(?) which should make this impossible.

Please help me figure where I should pursue this... :eek:

Hi Jen,

" The builder said the house was built with a double trap system(?)which should make this impossible."
I'd really be interested in the builders explanation of that statement since it's
Illegal to double trap a fixture.

Where is the odor worse? The tank? The bowl? The base of the bowl? You smell it more when it rains because the heavier air brings the gas lower. Snof around and get back to me. Regards, Tom

The smell is in the bowl... the tank smells fine... it doesn't really seem to be the water that smells, but the bowl discolors very quickly below the water line. I'm not sure the builder even checked the vents, which is odd because he's very quick to fix any other problems we have. I could be wrong about the double trap, maybe I misunderstood. Let me know what you think.

Jen,

I should have asked. Are you on a pump or city water? Does everything drain and flush OK? No gurgles or bubbles? Try this. Tonight before you go to bed take a gallon of bleach and pour a third of it in each toilet and let it set overnight. Next morning see if they don't smell better. Regards, Tom

City water.. no other problems.. no bubbling or gurgling. I'll try the bleach thing and let you know. Thanks.