I have had about ten plumbers here. No one can figure out what this is...
We purchased the home two years ago--it has been ongoing since that time. House is fifty years old. Previous owners rehabbed the bathroom in 1998. We do not have the odor in the winter. Only in the spring and summer. It is especially bad on stormy days (like today). It isn't a sewer odor--just a very strong unpleasant "metallic" odor --one plumber described it kind of like a sewer gas but not exactly (natural gas leak has been ruled out). Two suggested a crack in the vent pipe somewhere--we had a peppermint test (dump peppermint oil down vent pipe and follow with hot water) but we smelled nothing in the house. Another has suggested opening walls and conducting a "smoke" test. We have spent about $2,000 already trying to diagnose this problem.

The odor gives me a nasty headache in the back of my head.

Any suggestions??

D you have any fixtures that aren't in use? Do you have a basement with a floor drain? Has any one checked the attic for a open vent? Smells and weird noises are the hardest to track down if you're not there to do it.
Good luck, Tom

Hiya Mr. Super plumber!

Basement floor drain was the first thing checked by my dad (electrician who owns a few small rental houses). Then he checked all the usual suspects--make sure they have traps, wax seal--he was stumped. I've had a guy climb into the attic to follow the vent. He is due to come back and conduct this smoke test next week. Would that find an open vent? Also--not sure what you mean when you say "fixtures that are not in use"... do you mean perhaps a pipe behind the wall? I am going to ask where you are located... if you don't mind. Depending on how far you are (and if you are inclined to do so) I may pay to fly you out here to fix it (we are in Chicago). Dead serious. I'll pay your hotel, food --everything. I cannot deal with this odor any longer. I cannot find a plumber who will take ownership of the issue. From what I can gather--if it isn't straight forward people just aren't interested in trouble shooting. My concern here is for my health. This headache is killing me. It goes away when I leave the house and slowly creeps back as soon as I get home. My lungs hurt from this odor as well.

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Originally Posted by laurajenny

Hiya Mr. Super plumber!

Basement floor drain was the first thing checked by my dad (electrician who owns a few small rental houses). Then he checked all the usual suspects--make sure they have traps, wax seal--he was stumped. I've had a guy climb into the attic to follow the vent. He is due to come back and conduct this smoke test next week. Would that find an open vent? Also--not sure what you mean when you say "fixtures that are not in use"......do you mean perhaps a pipe behind the wall? I am going to ask where you are located....if you don't mind. Depending on how far you are (and if you are inclined to do so) I may pay to fly you out here to fix it (we are in Chicago). Dead serious. I'll pay your hotel, food --everything. I cannot deal with this odor any longer. I cannot find a plumber who will take ownership of the issue. From what I can gather--if it isn't straight forward people just aren't interested in trouble shooting. My concern here is for my health. This headache is killing me. It goes away when I leave the house and slowly creeps back as soon as I get home. My lungs hurt from this odor as well.

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I know you checked the obvious floor drains in the basement, but check to see if there are any floor drains you might have missed -- Under the clotheswasher, under some shelving or maybe behind the hot water tank.

Also, from the headaches you describe, has anyone checked for the presence of carbon monoxide -- Maybe from an improperly vented gas hot water tank, furnace or gas clothes dryer.

Was the house originally heated with fuel oil -- It could be that the old fuel oil tank has rotted out and fills up with water, and is offgassing either through the tanks vent, or an improperly capped off feed or return line -- These would be 1/2" OD copper lines coming up through the floor or wall next to the furnace.

Just some things to look into.

Please let me know how you solved the metallic odor that causes headaches because I have this problem too. It seemed to start after I replaced the fill valve in the toilet. I don't notice the odor in the other bathroom or from the kitchen tap. Thanks!

This problem was never solved, at least not here. Laura ask this question many months ago and never followed up. Look farther the a replaced ballcock for your odor problem. For openers I would replace the wax seal in the toilet.
Any bubbling or flush problems with that toilet? Have you checked everything that growler and I suggested? Regards, Tom

I have a basement floor drain and I have flushed it with hot water. The house is entirely electric, so the gas or oil heat (carbon monoxide) is not an issue. I don't have any fixtures that are not in use.
I thought if the toilet seal wasn't working properly, there would be a sewer odor. This is definitely metallic and even by this afternoon my mouth still has the taste in it.
We are having a pretty severe drought now, but I would expect to experience problems all over the house with odors if it were a water problem.

Metallic? This sounds like overheated motor windings. You're going to hafta sniff back to the source. Just snort around appliances and air conditioning motors to see if the smell's stronger. Good luck, Tom

A plumber came yesterday and re-installed the fill valve and put in a new flapper. He put a paper towel at the base of the toilet and discovered a very slow leak. He replaced the wax seal and said that the old one was black. He thinks the smell is more like mildew and I can agree. Kind of dirt-like but with a metallic tinge. I am allergic to molds and still couldn't sleep in the bedroom which is adjacent to the bath because there is still a faint odor and I was having trouble breathing. Do you think the odor will just eventually disappear? I cleaned the bathroom really well last night to help get rid of any mold spores.

I know what the cause of the odor is. It is due to chloroamines or disinfectants in public water supplies and/or chlorine related products in toilet bowl cleaners degrading the flapper. The chlorine significantly degrades the plasticiers in most flappers. This problem which is degrading the flapper is caused by a chemical reaction and first turned up in low flush toilets in California. I have a paper highlighting the problem and describing the testing by many corporations to determine a solution to the problem.

I cannot get the link to the actual website to send you but I can email you the paper if you email me or you can do a Google search for the paper entitled "Toilet Flapper Materials Integrity Test by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California May 1998"

Once again big business sweeps the seriousness of adverese health effects from it's products under the rug. These chemicals becoming airborne from the degrading flapper carry detrimental health effects.


vinnie the plumber

Just a couple of days ago I too, have noticed a terrible metallic smell in my bedroom.I live downstairs in the basement area in some new rooms which were just built a little less than a year ago.Theres the basement ares which only has a woodstove, clutter but no water source.from there you enter my living room area which is an older part of the basement, then you get to my small hallway and bathroom and then the bedroom.We had a friend add a central heating unit which is hard for me to explain.There's a unit outside and a unit inside my bedroom closet.There's also a washer and dryer in the closet.I have detected mold on the walls in the closet once but not since I've started leaving the door open during the days.There's also no window in the closet or bathroom.I didn't start noticing the metallic smell until recently and I assume it's due to the heater running.Is there anything I can do? Does anyone know what could be causing it?