I live Tuesday - Friday in old 2-story rent house. When I return each week, the water in all sinks, toilets and showers smell like sewer. Nobody in neighborhood has problem but me. After running water for awhile in each fixture, smell goes away. This problem has been ongoing since I moved in a year ago. Could it be a venting problem? I don't have washer/dryer, but there are hookups and former tenant said her clothes smelled bad from time to time. Please help me diagnose this problem! Thanks!

Most bad odors in bathroom drains come from rotting hair mixed with grease from the soap. Try this. Tonight before you go to bed pour 1/2 gallon of bleach down each smelly drain and let it set overnight. Next morning flush it down with a few large pans of boiling water. The bleach will start to dissolve and soften the hair and make it slippery and the boiling water will melt the grease and flush the mess out into the main. Now see if that smelly drain doesn't smell sweeter? Hope this helps . Tom

I had a similar problem, but not in the toilet. Still, I wonder if the toilet could seem to smell from tub smells nearby.

I was away from my apartment for about a year, and when I came back, the tap water smelled sulfurous. A Mass. Water agency says on the Internet that if your hot water heater water isn't heated for a long time or used/flushed for a long time, organisms may grow in there and make the water smell like sewage.

It SAYS drinking the water isn't a health hazard. We thought it was the city water and that there would be no problem if the city hadn't announced one. Also, at some spas, the water smells of sulfur, but the water's fine to drink. So we drank it. Kind of worrying. But we feel fine and have no digestive or bowel changes that we can see, so it's probably just fine as they say. Kind of disgusting, though.

Anyway, I'm going to turn the heater on high and flush the hot water it through kitchen and bathroom sink and shower faucets and hope the smell goes away. If your hot water doesn't get hot enough to kill the bugs when you're using it, you could have the hot water heater on and still have the organisms--bacteria or whatever they are.

This may be what's happening at your place if there's water from the water heater in the tap water you're smelling. It shouldn't be in the toilet, but the toilet may have its own smells.

Hi seascape and welcome to The Plumbing Page at AskMeHelpDesk.com You are responding to a 2 year old dead thread Please check the date before you post. Thanks,

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I'm going to turn the heater on high and flush the hot water it through kitchen and bathroom sink and shower

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That's NOT how tow to flush your heater,



For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by FLUSHING NOT DRAINING on a regular schedule.

Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) followed by white or yellow grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes.

Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures that are affected . Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back together the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it.
Also think about replacing the heater anode rod. Let me know if it solved your problem. Good luck, Tom

Thanks--will flush it the right way and then will drain it. Makes sense that emptying from the bottom will do a better job getting rid of the nasty sediment, too!

I'm thinking about an on-demand water heater because I'm away most of the time and only one spigot is in use at a time. I think I see how they work and how they're selected and installed, but I'm worried about things like scale and durability. What do you think about those? Thanks!

It's not necessary to drain your heater if you flush it under pressure. In your case I think a tankless water heater would be just dandy, I hope when you leave you turn the power and water off. It's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy, Good luck, Tom