Sour bathroom drain smell
 

I am new to TV. I live in Dunedin. Occasionally, I detect a sour smell in the master bath. I have used vinegar and baking soda to clean the drain but the smell just returns. Never had this problem in any of my other homes. Several friends say they have experienced the same. Why does this plague my FL bathroom drains?

try some bleach

If you fill the sink (?), does it drain quickly, or slowly? If slowly, you may have a partial blockage. I saw one of these do it yourself plastic drain cleaners (ACE hardware I think). These are inserted, and pulled back out and the hooks grab the clog and pull it out. You could also try one of the chemical drain cleaners. The other possibility might be a clogged vent pipe. This will probably need a plumber to verify.
Hope this helps.

Periodically, I have the same thing happen in my shower stall drain. Two weeks ago we had a plumber do some work in the bathroom and I asked him about it. He told me it is probably standing water in the "S" pipe under the shower stall. He suggested I pour a cup of bleach into the shower drain and leave that for several hours, if that does not work he suggested using up to a whole bottle of bleach and leaving it to kill off the mold spores that grow up the pipe from the "S" bend. I mentioned vinegar and he said it just is not strong enough to kill mold at the source.

His answer to me is that Florida grows mold period, nothing we can do about it. Heat and humidity equals mold!

Sewer Gas Vent Pipe not install correctly
 

I am almost sure if you check under one of the sinks in the master bathroom you will find the builder put in one vent value which is allow under the law... These vents only cost about $5.00 vs running both sink vents to adjoin in the attic and run out through the roof as it is suppose to be done.. I have tried buying a little more expensive vents (about 8 in high ) at Lowes for about $25.00... no help... let me tell you... you are smelling raw sewer gas coming up through your sink instead of being vented to the roof.. The plumbing companies know this and the builder knows this... but $5.00 and get it passed by the Inspectors is better than
$100.00... they will tell you to put this and that and clean your drains and believe me ... they really know or should know at the very least.. (I know as a former Builder/Contractor myself... Now its a good idea to clean your drain properly on a regular schedule but you can do that all day long... and the next morning there is that dam sewer smell again.. We are stuck with this problem as there is little or no way possible to correct at this stage of the game unless you can get a vent pipe to the attic to adjoin the other larger vent pipe there.

I sometimes get an odor in our bathroom sink as well. I have a small plunger I bought at Home Depot for about $2.50. It's bright yellow and works perfectly for the sinks. I plug the run-off hole with a wash cloth, fill the sink 3/4 with hot water and while holding the stopper open with one hand, I plunge with the other. It's amazing the black gunk that will come out, mostly in my husbands sink and I think it has to do with his shaving cream. I also have a spray bottle in our shower, filled half with water and half Clorox which I spray down the walls and floor at least once a week so mold does not form. Both work like a charm.

The vent under the sink is called a studor vent.It is like a check valve, it lets air into the sanitary drain and then closes so no gases can enter the room.They work very well and sometimes safer than a vent through the roof as air only enters the studor vent. A s-trap is not on the shower they are N/A.You have a p-trap just like under the sink but glued PVC. Most likely 2" pvc.

We will see more posts like this as people return to unoccupied houses where mold has grown in the dark, warm, slimy pipes. Bring on the bleach.

Thanks Stdole. I too was a contractor up north and familiar with all the trades. I would never have allowed, nor the plumbing inspector, this system of venting. I was surprised to see the vent you spoke of. Needed to get down on floor to see it. Will bring this up with inspector when doing my final first year warranty review. Several of my friends down here in Dunedin are experiencing the same problem.

Sewer Vent
 

Wow, the things you learn on this forum.
House is almost 3 years old and no smells but I had to go look. Each bathroom has one. I wonder if there are any more in the house/attic.

Studor Air Admittance Valves - YouTube

I've always had to put Drane-O down our master bath sink about once a month because it started to drane very slow, but never in the guest bathroom. I started thinking the same thing, that gel shaving cream might be the reason. I switched to Barbasol about two months ago and no more slow drane. What's even better is Barbasol is only about $1.50 a can and lasts twice as long as Edge and shaves just as good.

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