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JenniferTX77 · Sep 27, 2005, 11:30 AM

I really hope someone can help me here... I think my husband and I have tried EVERYTHING! We have a sewar smell coming from our toilet. We have a concrete floor and the carpet has been removed. We have replaced the wax ring 3 times. We have caulked the falange and the smell still broke through. We took the toilet out and noticed the toilet had the same smell so we bought a new toilet. Smell is here worse then ever! Our toilet is confined on the first floor in it's own little room in the bathroom and the smell is only located there. My husband looked down the wall at the pipe and there is no odor and the pipe is tightly connected. I don't know what else to look at! This has been going on for a year! HELP!!

speedball1 · Sep 28, 2005, 02:44 PM

Hi Jenifer,

Smells are difficult to track down without being there to sniff and snort around. No smell from the tank, just the bowl? Try this. Tonight before you go to bed dip and sponge as much water out of the bowl as possible.
Then dump a gallon of bleach in the bowl so some siphons on through. Let it set overnight and flush away in the morning. Smell better now? Regards, Tom

milkmanswife · Sep 30, 2005, 12:15 PM

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Hi Jen. My hubby and I had the same problem and we also went through two new rings. He went to the hardware and bought this big round waxy thing to hold the ring more secure and it took the sewage smell right away. He is at work right now but if you want to email me; when he arrives home I can have him let your hubby know exactly what he did to take care of the problem!. Let me know. My name is kim I am at [email protected] in there!

theBigkill · Oct 3, 2005, 07:10 PM

*hard for me to explain, speedball if you can understand what I'm getting at maybe you can articulate this for me*
It's a long shot and it doesn't happen often but it could be a defective or damaged bowl, if you notice where the water is discharged into the bowl through the little holes around the rim of the toilet, sometimes from the manufacturer there can be a crack or even a hole in the internal wall inside the bowl separating the cavity behind those holes and the downstream end of the s-trap within the bowl. Normally the "s-trap" in the bowl would prevent any sewer gas from escaping the soil pipe but in this case the gas would totally bypass the trap and leak through the crack, those little holes in the bowl and then cause that foul odour.

I can't really suggest any real practical way to even test this theory without really feeling inside the toilet itself but I have seen this happen before in my *years* of experience (yeah I'm a 3rd year apprentice) lol

speedball1 · Oct 4, 2005, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by theBigkill

*hard for me to explain, speedball if you can understand what im getting at maybe you can articulate this for me*
its a long shot and it doesnt happen often but it could be a defective or damaged bowl, if you notice where the water is discharged into the bowl through the little holes around the rim of the toilet, sometimes from the manufacturer there can be a crack or even a hole in the internal wall inside the bowl separating the cavity behind those holes and the downstream end of the s-trap within the bowl. normally the "s-trap" in the bowl would prevent any sewer gas from escaping the soil pipe but in this case the gas would totally bypass the trap and leak through the crack, those little holes in the bowl and then cause that foul odour.

i can't really suggest any real practical way to even test this theory without really feeling inside the toilet itself but i have seen this happen before in my *years* of experience (yeah im a 3rd year apprentice) lol

Good reasoning on your part, Killer! A well thought out solution! I consider you a welcome addition to the experts on this group. Your answers are well thought out,(even if I may disagree with some of them) and I think that hanging around here might give you a little added experience. Have you any idea how many apprentices I've trained and sent on their way in 50 years out in the field?

Although I'v never run into this exact situation, I know that sometimes is casting a bowl there will be a bubble in the casting. Instead of junking the bowl the manufacture will float a porcelain patch over that hole in the bowl.
Occasionally that patch will come loose and allow the trap level in the bowl to drop past the point where sewer gas escapes.
How ever this is not the case here since the asker bought and installed a new toilet and the smell came back in full force.
Since they've checked or replaced everything around the toilet it might be time to look elsewhere. The drain pipes under the floor or the vent pipes in the wall would be a good place to start. Regards, Tom

theBigkill · Oct 5, 2005, 02:17 PM

Hey thanks speedball! Yeah that's why I was interested in this forum. I figure just going through some of the questions here would give me a little extra practice and expand my problem solving skills. This is the trade I chose and ill be damned if I don't want to be as good as I possibly can at it.

Ali_in_Germany · Nov 14, 2011, 03:33 PM

I have exactly the same problem as above. The plumber replaced the T shaped pipe connecting to upstairs and wash basin and it still stinks. He cannot figure it out. There is no sign of leakage. Just this awful smell. Everything was brand new 8 years ago.

mb29 · Sep 7, 2013, 12:31 AM

Try putting in drainx. When I do this, the smell goes off for a few days and then comes back and cycle is continued. I also use an automatic scent spray that helps a lot.

Mike45plus · Sep 7, 2013, 04:43 AM

I suggest removing the toilet, and sealing the drain connection at the floor with a water tight plug, if you still have an odor, the smell is probably coming from another source / place...

hkstroud · Sep 7, 2013, 05:01 AM

Two year old thread.