Why Does My Bathroom Smell So Bad?
If you’ve ever walked into your bathroom and wondered why it smells like you’ve stepped into an underground sewer, don’t be too alarmed – this is normal. It’s not good, but it’s relatively normal. It may not be an issue that you need to call your local plumber for though – here are a few reasons for unsavoury smells in the bathroom:
Dry floor waste: If you have a bathroom that is infrequently used or you’ve recently bought a house where the bathroom hasn’t been used for a while, you should check to see that there is a water seal in the floor waste. To do this, shine a torch down the grate – if you can see water, the floor waste is sealed. If you can see down the pipe, the floor waste is dry and allowing the main sewer gases to escape through the drain. In order to create a water seal, you will need to run the shower, basin or bath that is connected to the drain so that the floor waste fills with water. If the floor waste is in an unused bathroom (or one that is used for storage), fill a bucket with water and pour it down the grate.
Blocked basin trap: Occasionally basin traps can get blocked up over time, from toothpaste and hair. Bacteria that form from the blockage can cause an odour in the bathroom. In order to fix this, you will either need to clean the basin trap (including the plug and waste) or replace the trap with a new one.
Perished rubber seal on toilet waste: An unconcealed toilet trap has a rubber seal on the toilet waste, otherwise known as a pan collar – occasionally the rubber seal perishes over time, which allows sewer gases to escape into the air. In this case, you should call your plumber to fix it, as they will need to replace the seal, which is not something you should attempt on your own, as you will need to take out the toilet pan.
Lack of ventilation: A steamy, closed up bathroom creates the ideal environment for mould and mildew to form. Thus, in order to avoid this you should have a window opening while showering, or turn on the exhaust fan to suck up the steam. A water leak within the bathroom walls can also form mould – in this case you will need to get a plumber to locate the source of the leak and fix it to prevent further mould issues
Partially blocked toilet: I guess this is the most obvious deduction – a toilet with the contents still partially contained in the toilet bowl and left to fester will end up making a nasty smell. You can plunge the toilet yourself to unblock it, but if that doesn’t work you will need to call a plumber to use a jett rodder or drain cleaning machine to blast the effluent away.
