Hopefully I've finally ended the saga of the swamp gas smell in the bathroom........ For about a month we've had a swamp gas (sewer) smell emanating from the bathroom, occasionally strong, sometimes non existent. Had contacted the property manager who sent out a repairman but he couldn't smell anything and couldn't find anything. A week later we demanded he come back and replace the wax ring which he did but he used the cheap small ring with a flange. Well, it knocked the smell down for a few days but it came back just as strong, okay, he comes back with a can of Flex Seal (as seen on TV) goes under the house and sprays all the waste line joints just in case. Note: DO NOT use this stuff indoors with out opening every door and window with fans blowing out!!!!!!!!
Nope, doesn't work, I know it's the tiny wax ring but he swears it will do the job. I Just finished putting another small wax ring (no flange) on top of the one he installed and reinstalled the toilet. Now it's a waiting game to see if I was correct.......
Sewer gas smell can also come from a dry trap on the sink or tub, since they're all tapped into the same drain and vent. I'd wait until I smelled it than just go around smelling drains. The offending drain should be REAL easy to find.
First thing I did, only one bathroom and we obviously use it frequently, no dry traps.
What are the age of the pipes and what kind are they?
Given the polar vortex last winter it is possible that the water in one of the traps froze and made a hairline crack in one of the pipes. When the weather warms up the crack opens and you smell the sewer. If this crack is in the toilet trap under the floor boards it is going to be very hard to spot.
The pipes are relatively new and have been checked plus sealed by the maintenance guy with Flex seal just in case. No cracks found (yes one of the first things I thought of). BTW, still no smell, pretty much what I first thought, the replacement wax ring was too small.
Many people still use the old standard, small, thin wax rings with new toilets, the modern base design usually means those old wax rings will not completely fill the void allowing gas and water to escape. When I pulled the toilet to add the other ring the floor was wet under the toilet, very telling. I also knew this would be the case when the maintenance man reinstalled the toilet earlier and he didn't have to push the toilet down, flattening out the wax to fill the void.
Hint, use he thick wax rings, not the old thin ones unless the old thin ones are doubled.
