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Plumbing Bathrooms Wisconsin

New home build bathroom/toilet odor

3 years ago

Our home is a new build and we just moved in in mid-December. Immediately after the house was completed there has been a mild but definitely noticeable sewage-type odor coming from the guest bathroom, seemingly the toilet.
Initially we chalked it up to the new toilet/plumbing but as the weeks go by the scent is unchanged. There have been no issues with it being used and there don't appear to be any leaks.
We read online the odor could potentially be related to an improperly installed toilet. Thoughts?

Comments (5)

catbuilder
3 years ago
It sounds like the toilet is not sealed properly. The wax ring is for stopping sewer gas from entering the home. It's entirely possible for sewer gas to leak into the home without water leaking.
Jenny Ross
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you!
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jemdandy
3 years ago
The paths that sewer gas can may enter a bathroom is through the drains of the toilet, lavatory, or bath/shower. I would not suspect the toilet since water traps are built-in to that appliance. Water traps for the lavatory and tub or shower drain are constructed by the plumbing. Look under the sink to see if it has a trap. It will be difficult to see under the tub or shower floor, but look down the drains of these for standing water. These traps are standard and building inspectors should have looked for these, but these are so common those could have been over-looked.

The other possibility is faulty vents or lack of a vent. The bathroom drains should be vented to the outside of the house, usually up the inside of a wall and through the roof. A differential pressure can develop between the street sewer and outer space. One source is wind. If the vent is plugged or improperly installed, wind gusts can slush the water back and forth in the traps and flush out enough water to break the water seal. After that, sewer gas can enter the room.

If your sense of smell is keen enough, you may be able to tell by which source the gas is entering the room.

By the way, sewer gas is combustible. It can be ignited if its concentration becomes great enough.
Bruce in Northern Virginia
3 years ago
Mix up a 50/50 solution of bleach and water, and use it to make sure the sink and shower traps are flushed and filled. That should kill residual bacteria in the trap, and ensure there is water enough to seal the P-trap. Then pour the same solution into the toilet and flush it to clean residue out of the soil pipe. If all that does not get the room smelling better, you may have an issue with the plumbing vent.

If you go up into the attic you should be able to see the vent line coming up out of the bathroom. Or maybe you took pictures during the build. Make sure this pipe either connects into the main soil stack, or has its own exit through through the roof. If you live in a windy area, also consider the possibility that wind is blowing down the stack and stopping it from properly venting.

Bruce
David Hanson
3 years ago
sounds to my like it might be a cracked vent pipe....

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