It is good to be back! I know you missed this grumpy plumber. I've been getting this question a lot recently so I hope this helps fix the sewer smell in your bathroom. Move videos are coming out so click subscribe for more professional plumbing advice from The Grumpy Plumber.
****This was extremely helpful! Sewer gas smell in my home had become so bad I had to send my wife and kids away for a night. Kept pouring bleach down the drain because that's what a plumber told me. Three bathrooms, sewer gass smell only coming from the 2 I remodeld and put new floor down a few years back. I went to the plumbing supply store to pick up the new toliet flange extender. Not only did they not have what I needed but all the staff tried to tell me I had multiple different issues with the stack or trap or busted line somewhere and that a new flange and better seal was not going to fix my problem. I left extremely frustrated, but then I remembered the Grumpy Plumber's voice in my head being very persistant. I went to Home Depot got the flange and a new wax ring. I fixed toliets in my home in about 90 minutes. Smell completely gone after just one day. So glad I stuck to my guns and listened to the Grumpy plumber. I've suffered with this ordor on and off for years! So thankful for you and this channel -Old histrocial homeowner in Detroit.
Michael D Matthis, thanks so much for this response to our video! You made my day. This is why I’m doing these videos. Appreciate you for sharing your experience.
Just had sewage smells like you described and I was guessing that the smell was coming from this area and you’ve made me certain that this is exactly the problems I’m having here in Japan,. Thank you so much.
I’ve been smelling rotten eggs for a few days in my downstairs bathroom. After seeing your video I turned the water on in the shower and the rotten smell stopped. Your video saved me money. I was thinking that I needed to hire a plumber. Thank you for the video.
I don't have a sewer smell in my bathroom, I just like to watch your videos, I am in awe of a plumber and an electrician, second only to a carpenter. I have learned out of necessity to be a "learn how to do it yourself" kind of person. Not too many disasters fortunately. Keep up the good work, the information you give is so helpful and useful. Sending happy thoughts to you and your family from Southern California.
I had a bad seal. A wax ring never worked. Replaced it twice. Height was good. So I used a Sani Seal foam wax ring on try number three. Foam is also common in trailers. It worked great.
Thank you Grumpy Plumber - your advise solved my problem! I poured water in the sink and the bathtub and the smell went away!! Thanks again! You/re the best!
Dad is a flippin genius. I always wondered what an easy fix would be for a low flange. I don’t trust the extension kits. I feel like they’ll eventually leak if you get an overflow.
Thank you. I'm a grumpy electrician.😠 Your video not only made me look smarter than I am: I completed one of the many "honey-do" tasks in record time. All the best to you and yours. Be well
Here's one for you. I'm sitting in a nursing home with my mother. I've noticed ever since she's been here there's sewer gas fumes in the bathroom. I spoke with an employee here. Was told they had flushed the lines lately. I'm not the only one who's noticed. My Dad was a plumber for many years. He opened up a sewer line, the fumes came out, he went running for the outdoors. Passed out, fell off the porch landed in the yard. He spent two days in bed. 🤦🤔
Lynn Clark, sorry to hear about that! Those fumes are potent. I bet the problem with your mother’s bathroom is with the toilet. The repair man is probably caulking the base of the toilet instead of resetting the toilet with new wax rings. You should never smell sewer gas in a building period.
caulking does make a huge difference in reinforcing the stability of the toilet. use clear caulking and go from bolt to bolt, which still allows for seeing a leak at the back. if you make aas small of bead as possible while still contacting the floor and the toilet, most of the time you cant notice the caulking unless youre looking for it , and does wonders if the bolts ever start to loosen off, toilet won’t rock, so it wont come of the seal. also is a big help for cleaning around the toilet, making sure dribbles dont make it underneath the toilet that will start to smell after a while.
Thanks for the in depth info! I hope you still check this link. I had my plumber out last winter, before he moved. He removed the toilet, replaced the wax ring, etc. He came right before he moved. Days later the smell was back. I put up w/ it, not knowing what to do. Summer came and smell diminished and then disappeared. Weather now cooling to the 50’s at night-it’s back w/ vengeance. I think it’s worse at night. The toilet area is separate, and the door closes. I run water all the time in toilets,tubs, showers, and the sinks. There is a small one inch area the original plumbers did not bead w/ caulk, and yes, I can smell it coming from there. I bought some caulk, but now I’m not sure I should seal that tiny area because you mentioned thumbs down on caulking. Help!? I think I need a master plumber, like you.
N, it’s probably the toilet flange that is sitting below the finished floor level that is probably causing the smell. It will possibly seal with two wax rings. If not, you need to raise the flange. Do not ever use three wax rings. One more thing, the caulk does not stop the smell so it is not a solution.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Hi! You’re so kind to reply!! I’m not too tech savvy, and forgot to check replies. Darn! I called a master plumber, and three days later still hadn’t heard back. I took a sharp edged envelope and went around the toilet. It slid in lots of gaps where there was no caulk. (My guy didn’t re-caulk last year.) Yesterday afternoon, I bought caulk and applied as I saw on youtube. Last night the smell went from 100% nasty to 1 1/2 % barely detectable. So, you’re saying this solution may not hold up. Rats! I’ll keep an eye on it. Again, thanks so very much for replying. Now i know what will help my problem.
Hi, it’s N again. I went back and did my nightly sniff, and I want to report to you that you are so right. The smell is definitely worse than last night. I hope I didn’t screw things up by caulking. I’m amazed, like the gas is wearing a watch. Decides to visit at exactly 7pm (Midwest). Packs it’s bags and is gone in the morning, only to repeat same scenario. My best, kind sir-
HELP !! Whenever WIND BLOWS HARD, (which is becoming more common here in Mn) our home STINKS with sewer gas smell! No RU-vid has addressed this! I’m GOING TO TRUST this seasoned Veteran plumber will know answer IMMEDIATELY! Much thanks!!
Sheila Smith, first question…are you on a septic tank? If you are, you need to open one of the lids on the tank closest to the house. You’ll see the pipe coming from the house. You need to add a 90 degree elbow on the end of the pipe. You’ll want the elbow to go a couple of inches below the water line. That will stop the sewer smell. I’ve only encountered this problem on septic systems. I hope you understand what needs to be done. Thanks for trusting me to help.
Thanks for the information. I see you are keeping warm out in the West. It is currently 54F in central Michigan and I bet you don't miss that steady cooling down much which is underway now. 😉
I am a contractor and we’re dealing with this problem on a vacation building at a ski resort in Maine. Plumber has done his investigation, all came clean. Because we have a hole in the floor underneath the vanity sink, I have to add other considerations to this problem. My theory is that perhaps someone damaged a wet vent pipe on units bellow and the smell is coming up that hole. Some times it gets worse. I heard the cabinet installers complaining of a poppy dipper smell as they made their way into the building, but there’s a daycare on the first floor.. so that’s a lot of 💩. Gotta figure that one. Any clues ?
Jose Goncalves, the first thing I would do is remove the toilets and see if the toilet flange is below the finished floor. If it’s more than a half an inch, use a repair flange and not a repair ring. Try to get it flush with the finished floor or above the finished floor about a quarter inch. Check all the drains and make sure there is water in all the traps. Make sure there is not a floor drain like under a water heater or washing machine that needs water in it. If everything is good in these areas, it might be the hole under the vanity sink.
This is extremely helpful, thank you. (Also I accidentally hit the dislike button, but cleared that and hit like, and don't know if it still sent that feedback to you. I definitely like this video and your content.)
Not sewer gas, but I have a son who hasn’t mastered peeing. Bad urine smell even though toilet is routinely cleaned. Caulked “just” the front of the toilet to make cleaning more efficient and this solved the odor problem. Back of toilet isn’t caulked so I can identify water just in case wax ring or flange fails
Did you know that Mr. Crapper invented the toilet bowl and you was a die-hard fixer of Mr.Crappers products all your life....lol ! Mr.Crapper thanks you very much. ;-))
Paul Baran, if the water level in your toilet bowl is too low, that could be the reason you are getting that smell. The fill valve should have a 1/4” tube going into the flush valve. That is where the flapper is attached. You want the water level in the tank one inch from the top of the overflow tube.
OK, I've got a bit of a different sewer smell problem. I just remodeled our upstairs bathroom an installed a new power source toilet from Lowes. Ours doesn't smell around the base, but does smell when U lift the lid to do u'r business. An the second U flush & drop the lid the smell stops until its used again. Can U shed some light on why this is happening? Thanks for u'r time.
Maddawg5354, your problem sounds like it could be that the water level in the bowl is below the discharge opening. It’s either that the water is draining out of the bowl by a defect in the pottery or you have a vent problem. When another fixture is being used, it’s siphoning the water out of the bowl.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber, Thanks for the input, I'll check the water level & see if that helps. Our old toilet didn't do this & the one down stairs is fine, so like U say it's either the water level or being this is Lowes cheapest toilet it could be defective. Thanks Again!
Gee, I wish I looked up that question before I had a new flange put in. Not that it costed a whole lot of money but the odor is still there. They are telling me that the floor was not level and it has been gutted out in 2003 and tiled but who noticed that the floor wasn't level. Back then, no odor but recently, I painted walls and the toilet moved and that was the start of it. Now, since the new flange was put in, the bowl doesn't move any longer but can still smell that odor. I caulked it like they said and that is when I saw how unlevel the bowl was. I guess my question is what now!? The flange is sitting directly on the floor. I watched them do it. My floor is unlevel. However, I noticed that when I move the top of the tank, the smell gets worst. Is it possible that the smell is coming from the rust in the tank itself? Thanks for your time.
@@lisasclafani5185 even though they raised the flange, did they use one or two wax rings? Caulk will not stop the smell. Can you remove the toilet tank and install a new gasket between the tank and the bowl? Then clean the tank off when you have it removed. Make sure you have all the water out of the tank before removing it. Back to the unlevel floor, did they shim the toilet bowl to level it? If so, they might not have a good seal between the wax ring and the bowl. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Having the same problem in master bathroom. 1. Have a nasty smell coming from toilet. 2. When I flush the water level is very low have to flush a second time to get the water to normal level in toilet. 3. Have to hold handle to complete flush. What would you say is issue with toilet ?
David Gold, the toilet tank water level should be 3/4” below the overflow tube. The flapper on the flush valve could be worn out and closing too quickly. There is a tube on the fill valve that goes into the overflow tube. You want to make sure it is connected. If you are getting a gurgling sound when you flush the toilet, you might have a plugged vent. The water level in the toilet bowl should be about a half an inch above the outlet. That might be one reason for the smell. If none of these seem to be a problem, you need to reset the toilet and make sure you use two wax rings.
I live on the top floor of 16 floor apartment building and my toilet is cloudy along with a sewer gas smell after I come home 12 hours later. This is a flushometer toilet so perhaps the wax ring? The smell dissipates after flushing the toilet so maybe a hole in the pipe in the wall ? Thanks again GP!
I guess it depends on what location you live in different States have different manufacturers . If it helps we have proflo products in this area we use. They make a pretty good remodel If flanch especially if you're connecting to cast iron stacks
I had a vanity installed in my bathroom and they did not put dry wall about a small patch that was removed when replacing the old one. Instead of patching the wall, they just put the vanity back. When I mentioned it to them they told me not to worry since the vanity is covering that area. Should this be a concern or is it done just like that?
@@TeresaAllen-j1r if you have a 4” flange with a 4” pipe connected to it, you can cut the old flange off flush with the floor and install an internal flange that will fit into the 4” pipe. Another name for it is a street flange. That is probably where the sewer smell could come from.
The smell coming in my bathroom in the mornings is a acetone/paint thinner smell...I am worried becaue it sometimes builds up in the hallways...such a mystery!
if my wax ring is bad I would be able to smell it if I get down and sniff around the base of the toilet right? I dont see any leaks or smell anything down there. I have a nasty smell in my small bathroom and cant figure out where it coming from.
William Bang, I would pull the toilet and see if the floor is rotting under the toilet. If this is a fairly new smell, don’t rule out that something like a mouse might have died in the wall. That smell could be a lot stronger than a sewer smell. You need to do some research on the smell and find the problem before you hire someone to come over. He’ll just stand there and scratch his head and give you a bill.
Need a lil advice..I have a small bathroom so My toilet is in infront of the bathroom sink. I tore down a closet thats was in the other room to make the bathroom bigger, but i want to remove my bathroom sink from the front to the side where i tore down the wall. I saw that the sink was connected to the vent a little bit more than 1ft...how far can i go away from the vent?
Hey I like your videos, thanks for all your helpful knowledge & I just subbed after trying to find an answer to the following question. Basic details, I live in Alaska where the ground water temperature is nice & cold, community treated & pumped water system. My regular tank water heater percolates quite a bit after the wife's long showers if hot water is ran - however It also peculates when purely cold water is ran? I suspect something's not quite right with pressure?
Calvin Campbell, when you take out hot water from a water heater, cold water enters to the lower third of the tank. It percolates when the water is heating because it brings the burner on after you use around five gallons of water. The percolating does not cause any damage to the heater. Thanks for subscribing.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber and thanks for your reply! Was simply puzzled why peculation is triggered again when only cold water is ran (after the tank calmed down). I assumed trapped air or backflow.
@@Gr8ful7 if the toilet rocks, you would want to replace the bolts and the wax ring. If you smell an odor, replace the wax rings. If you’re seeing water at the base of the toilet when you flush, replace the rings. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.
Hello, i have a sewer gas smell coming from the bottom of my toilet. I've tried everything. Someone told me to put caulking around the toilet and cover it untill plumber comes. I was hoping this video would help me but you said no caulking at all. 😩 What should I do untill plumber comes ? We keep the door closed but you can smell it now in the laundry room from the ceiling vent. I need help pleasee.
Angela, do NOT caulk the toilet as the smell will come through the caulk. You might leave the bathroom fan on, put a towel around the base of the door. These ideas might not work. The toilet needs to be fixed. When the plumber comes, you want to make sure that he doesn’t install more than two wax rings to seal the toilet. If the existing flange sits more than 3/4” to 1” below the finished floor, the plumber needs to raise it to a 1/4” above the finished floor or even with the finished floor. He needs to use the flange I showed in my video. Do not use repair rings.
We don’t sell these repair flanges. You can find them at Fergusons, Home Depot, Lowes, and probably a good neighborhood hardware store. The brands I like are Sioux Chief and Oatey.
@@DIEGOHOMEGIRL are there any floor drains in the basement? Are there any old sinks or toilets in the basement? Is there an old washing machine drain? Pour 2 cups of RV antifreeze in each drain. Look for any cracked pipes. Make sure the clean out plug to the sewer line is not loose. Make sure you don’t have a gas leak as that can smell like sewer gas too. I hope this helps as you didn’t give me much information.
I have a cabin that is not in use at this time, no water running to it, but recently there is a bad sewer smell from the toilet. Ex says to add antifreeze to stop the back flow from the main septic line on the property (my home) He said its dry and needs to be filled to keep back flow smell from the toilet... Help!
Your ex is correct. Antifreeze works well because it does not evaporate. You should also use about a cup full in the bathroom sink drain, bathtub or shower drain, and the kitchen sink drain.
🔴Please help. We moved into our home when winter hit. Since it hit -40 weather our bathroom has become unbearable to be in. And a second bathroom is starting to smell. Another plumber told me it could be frozen over vents on our roof. This true?
The toilet got clogged so I unclogged it but after that there was sewer smell that hasn’t gone away. What do you think got damaged in the process of unclogging it? I just used a plunger. Toilet is flushing fine.
I did this exactly to a T and I still have a problem. The smell is only when we use the shower in this bathroom. This bathroom is closest to the septic tank. The tank has been serviced last year. I have 2 sinks in this bathroom, should I try to clean the traps in those? Toilet: flange replaced due to having a crack, wax ring was blown out. New bolts, new wax ring just put on, new flange, toilet is a year old. Shower: p trap, water is clean, tried baking soda and white vinegar with no luck. When the shower is in use, it smells like shampoo that has a very foul odor. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Open the septic tank up, put an elbow on the inlet pipe so it breaks just below the water line and that will stop sewer gas from coming back into the house. P.S. Use an elbow and not a T on the inlet pipe in the septic tank. Give that a try and let me know if that worked.
I was trying to find the link to where I would be able to purchase the Sioux Chief repair flange but I don’t see it in your description. Is the Sioux Chief flange the push tite that I would want? Thank you
Usually you can find the Sioux Chief or Oatey products at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Either one will work and they have different types depending on the size drain pipe you have on your toilet.
Please help. I’ve been going crazy for months. We get this horrible smell in our hallway by our hallway bathroom. It only comes at night and disappears in the morning. We had to get new ac ducts and no smell through the house. Only by the bathroom. But the odor is so strong and makes no sense that it disappears too.
Have you gotten down on the floor and smelled the base of the toilet? Start there. You might need to reset the toilet and make sure the flange is even or 1/4” above the finished floor.
burton m, you should pull the toilet and check to see if the flange is even with the floor or a 1/4” above the finish floor. If not, put a repair flange on it and a new wax ring. You might check and see if the overflow on the bathroom sink is draining. Way to check is to fill the sink and let the water drain through the hole. Maybe add Clorox to the water to clean it. Make sure no one is urinating on the floor.
We just paid lots of bucks for plumber to do smoke test for a sewer gas smell in our master bathroom. We use this bathroom everyday, so no dry traps. Smoke test showed no breach in system. So deflated. We had to move to different bedroom as we can't even stay in the master suite.
S Lee, were you there when the plumber did the smoke test? Is there a window in the bathroom? Is there a vent fan? Is there a studor vent in the system? Have you checked the attic? Has the toilet been pulled to see if the flange is below the floor level? If it is, it has to be raised. If the toilet is caulked, you can get a smell through the caulk but you won’t get smoke. First thing I would have done was get on the floor and smell around the base of the toilet. These are some things you should look for. If you discover the problem, then call someone who can fix it. I never found a smoke test that worked to find the problem.I hope these ideas help you out. Please let me know how it worked out.
Hi my plumber used the methane gas detector and found no leak in the toilet , sink or the shower drain , after watching your video should I just get him to open up and change the wax ring anyway ? The smell persist despite my bleach/ vinegar/baking soda flush
A buddy of mine dumped weed down the sink and now the toilet and shower are clogged and we have to keep the door closed due to the fact it smells like your straight up in the sewers, any tips?😂 sink was clogged but I took the plunger to the shower and it pushed all the weed up through the sink now the sink is in clogged.
So we still have the sewage odor. Talked with two other plumbers and they assured me that smoke test worked and it was pretty much a definitive test and that I may have a dead mouse in wall. I asked the one plumber, on the phone.....if a dead mouse is in may wall then why did the smell get worse last weekend after we put baking soda and white vinegar down our drains. His response was pretty much that he did not know and could not answer that. UGH!
I have a weird one. My toilet has a moldy musty smell when the lid is up. If you keep the lid closed, no smell. It's not a sewer gas smell. The toilet is fairly new.
I have one toilet on the main level and two toilets on the 2nd floor. This house was constructed 20 years ago, same toilets. The bathroom toilet on the main level clogs easily but what’s bad is the toilet smells bad…like some recently pooped. Is this what this video is talking about? Smells like poop is clogged in the pipes. Help please.
If there is adequate water in the bowl, water level should be 1/2” above the bowl outlet. That stops the smell of sewer gas. If someone flushes the upstairs toilet and the water in the downstairs bowl empties out, then you smell sewer gas. If that happens, you have a venting problem which will require a professional to find out if you have a plugged vent. Or, if that is not happening, you might try a new toilet.
Kel, maybe the flange is sitting too far below the finished floor level. If the flange is below the floor, they should use no more than two wax rings or raise the flange so it is sitting on the finished floor. When you use three or more wax rings, you don’t get a good seal. I would call them back. Caulk is not a solution. The smell will go through the caulk.
I have a strong sewer smell in the toilet room that comes and goes. It is not constant. To get rid of the odor, I flush the toilet a few times and the smell goes away for a few weeks. Then the smell returns and I go through the process of flushing the toilet and venting the room. Do you have any suggestions for what may be causing the issue? Thank you.
Sherri Khan, does this room have a sink and tub/shower? If it does and you don’t use this room everyday, add RV antifreeze to the toilet bowl and the sink drain and shower drain. Antifreeze does not evaporate. If that’s not the problem, the next thing to try is reset the toilet but make sure the toilet flange is flush to the floor or a quarter inch above it. Use one to two wax rings, no more. Caulk around the toilet base does not stop the odor. Hopefully this helps.
I have a strong sewer like smell only when I take a long shower. The smell seems to be from the toilet though? I have no idea if the problem is the shower or the toilet and I have no idea where to start to try to fix it… help
Check the toilet by smelling the base at the floor. You would probably smell that sewer smell shower or not. You might have a plugged vent that is causing that smell. When smelling the sewer smell,check the water level in the toilet bowl and see if the water level has gone way down. That would tell you that you have a vent problem. Also, smell the bathroom sink drain and see if there is an odor. That would tell you it’s a vent problem. Check these ideas out.
I need some help. We have this awful sewer smell in the bathroom. The Plummer came out and resealed the Clean out plugs, cleaned the sink, with some chemicals to get it nice and clean then replaced the Wax seals for the toilet. The SMELL is still coming back. I have no clue what to do now. I’ve paid 500 dollars and the bath room still stinks. I have a 2 story house on a slap, 10 year old house. 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath, the 1/2 bath is downstairs and is the only place the smell is coming from. Also the smell was coming from the toilet, there is no shower in this bathroom. Any advise I’d truly appreciate.
S S, when the plumber replaced the wax ring, did you notice if the closet flange was below the finished floor? A way to check to see if there is a good seal on the toilet is to get your nose right down on the floor by the toilet bowl. Sid you smell sewer gas, you don’t have a good seal. Caulk will not seal the toilet base. If you smell the gas, you need to pull the toilet, install a repair closet flange that sits on the finished floor so the flange is a quarter inch above the finished floor. Add one to two wax rings and that will make a good seal. If it smells like urine, it probably is the gasket that sits between the bowl and the tank that needs to be replaced. I think your problem is that the closet flange is sitting too far below the finished floor. More than two wax rings do not make a good seal. Do not use closet flange rings because they don’t seal. Repair closet flanges have a longer pipe with a gasket that goes into the old pipe to make a good seal. For that $500 fee, you might want to call that plumber back as it should come with a guarantee, not excuses.
Your video example shows a repair flange inserted inside a 4 in pipe. What if your drain pipe is only 3 in, is there a repair flange for this situation? And will the repair flange take up too much space so that clogs are more likely? Thanks.@@TheGrumpyPlumber
@vdinhq, there is a repair closet flange for 3” but I don’t know where you could find one. When you use two wax rings and you set the bowl on the wax, do you feel the bowl going into the wax? They do make thicker wax rings. If you can find them, use two of the thicker ones.
