Bathroom vent pipe smells

[tsmart]

Hi folks. 1957 concrete block florida house.
Bathroom gets septic smell ONLY when it's cool, gloomy, humid day. Because low pressure weather pushes air down, I believe I have a vent pipe leak. Our small attic (3/12 pitch)does not smell, ever. Maybe a nail hole in the pipe, who knows. No leaves in pipe. Any ideas short of a plumber?

 

[TLGriff]

Is there a floor drain or a shower that doesn't get used often? Traps can dry out.

 

[stokefire7]

Cast iron drains ?

 

[stokefire7]

When was the last time you had your pop up assembly and tailpiece apart ?

 

[59 wagon man]

vent is probably galvanized. since you don't want to call the plumber here is what we do
smoke test or water test

 

[Balvar24]

Is there a floor drain or a shower that doesn't get used often? Traps can dry out.

Most likely culprit.

 

[machsnell]

Most likely culprit.

Yup happened to me. I run that shower every couple weeks to make sure trap is full

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[tsmart]

I'm sure theres water in all p traps...

 

[tsmart]

2 years ago, its pvc.

 

[tsmart]

Can the vent pipe rust an interior hole?? House is very near beach

 

[flat350]

Bad wax ring on the toilet maybe?

 

[pcmeiners]

Likely a trap, if you do not use a sanitary device often dump a small amount of oil in drain after use, 1/2 once. Perhaps someone in pure laziness disconnected the vent pipe in the wall.

 

[stokefire7]

2 years ago, its pvc.

I missed something. 2 years ago what ?

 

[stokefire7]

can the vent pipe rust an interior hole?? House is very near beach

pvc ?

 

[stokefire7]

Can the vent pipe rust an interior hole?? House is very near beach

Cast iron can "flake" due to lack of air flow/movement.

 

[stokefire7]

Your pop up is pvc and it was two years ago. Gothca. They can get pretty slimy .

 

[stokefire7]

Vanity or wall hung lav ?

 

[tsmart]

I missed something. 2 years ago what ?

2 years ago I changed out p trap below sink, its pvc now

 

[tsmart]

Pedestal sink

 

[stokefire7]

What's on the other side of it ?

 

[The Cobbler]

I've seen the overflow of lav sinks smell from soap & **** backed up into them

 

[wssix99]

I'm sure theres water in all p traps...

If you don't have a floor drain, the first thing you need to do is run water through all your traps and see if that makes the smell go away.

^ If it does, then you could be dealing with a mechanical vent (design of the thing) problem causing your traps to empty under certain conditions.

If the smell stays then there could be a problem like you are thinking.

 

[59 wagon man]

residential homes do not normally have floor drains. Been working in fla now for 20 yrs . Is the vent in the bathroom 3" or smaller. 2" and under is usually galvanized pipe caulked right into the cast iron tap tee used to pickup the lav sink which wet vents the entire bathroom. yes the gaivinized gets holes in it

 

[wssix99]

residential homes do not normally have floor drains.

hugh??? how else do 'ya all go to the bathroom?

 

[malibu101]

I've seen the overflow of lav sinks smell from soap & **** backed up into them

X2.

I too have seen/smelled this.

 

[knotdust]

Walked in my moms house the other day and smelled sewer gas. There is a stool and sink upstairs that is hardly used. Went and checked and there wasn't much water in the stool. Flushed and ran water into the sink to fill the trap. Smell went away.

 

[malibu101]

On floor drains.....
I work in commercial buildings. Sometimes there is a report of sewer smell in a bathroom. These bathrooms have ceramic tile floors/walls and floor drains.

Some housekeepers dump more water down floor drains than others.

 

[John in OH]

Toilet wax seal may have dried out and cracked since 1957.

 

[Brad Beam]

Bad wax ring on the toilet maybe?

^^^This

 

[tsmart]

Kitchen is on other side

 

[tsmart]

Toilet was new, grouted to tile floor. Again, this only happens when cool, foggy, rain, and always stops when it gets sunny again

 

[goneflyin2002]

Just replaced my 3" copper vent pipe. Full of holes, all within the wall.
No more smells.

 

[stokefire7]

Kitchen is on other side

No smell in the kitchen during one of your low pressure events ?

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Somehow under very specific barometric conditions you're getting septic gas seeping back through the lowest point in your system. Gas is going to follow the path of least resistance. The pressure differential inside your house vs. outside caused by barometric pressure might be enough to cause a restriction of the septic gases leaving the vent pipe, and they then might be seeping back into your house...through a wax seal (maybe the toilet shifted recently and you have a liability) or a dry drain.

Does your vent pipe have any kind of a horizontal run on the attic before it leaves the house? It should be angled slightly upward so any rain that enters will drain down. If it's not you might be getting a water blockage in that vent pipe when it rains? Birds's nests partly blocking that vent pipe? Is the vent pipe big enough? I think 3" is standard...I went to a 4" pipe a few years ago because I was having a similar problem.

Is this happening on cold and rainy days...or cold, rainy, and WINDY days? Wind can cause pressure differentials as it blows across vent pipes, and that might then have something to do with your problem.

 

[Harley94]

Make sure the trap joint under the sink is tight. I chased that smell in our guest bath for two weeks thinking it was dried out trap or clogged vent, when it was a connection under sink that needed tightening.
Put a tablespoon of cooking oil in traps that don't get used much. Keeps the water from drying out.

 

[VM Builders]

There is a smoke test that plumbers can do to see where the smell is coming from. Try that if you can get a plumber.

 

[flat350]

There is a smoke test that plumbers can do to see where the smell is coming from. Try that if you can get a plumber.

Don't need to use smoke,have somebody stay up on the roof (he has to stay on the roof because the smell will be on him)and drop some oil of peppermint down the stack,you'll smell it in the house where the leak is if there is one.