Gerritt Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 I have a smelly issue perhaps a bit of advice? A bit of background... I live in the country have a well and have hard water, the water is filtered through a softener.... I have an issue with only ONE sink in the house.... in the ensuite. There is a foul odour whenever the water is ran... be it hot or cold.. almost like a sulphur smell. It is only happening to this one sink... none of the others have this issue... I only have two guesses... as to what is could be.... A cheater vent (unknown if one is installed) or just a stinky drain?? Or could it be the water....??? Anyone have any ideas before I start ripping out the walls ?? G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC1OZ Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 I'm not plumber, but I know you can get one of those one way valves for the sinks drain pipe. This way water goes down, and vapors coming up would be trapped. (probably the red green solution) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 How about, does the water hot/cold in the ensuite get used frequently or not? How about after a day or two of no use, you put the stopper in the sink and then run the water, both hot/cold and see if the smell is there. My suspecting the P trap may be partially bunged up and something is festering in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnine Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Gerritt I have two B-in-Laws that are plumbers (union) and do side jobs, cheap. And they both live in Mount Hope. If you end up needing professional help let me know and I will provide a phone number. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) If it's just that sink I would think it's crud buildup in your trap. I heard if you try putting a tablespoon of baking soda into the drain then slowly pour in 1/4 cup of vinegar and let it stand for 30 minutes. Next run run hot water through the drain, that may help eliminate the odour. Try doing that once a week for a couple weeks. Or just take the trap off and give her a thorough cleaning or buy some over the counter stuff. Edited July 21, 2009 by Hooked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattletrap2 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) Gerritt, Until our two plumbing maestros from Virginia get here, I'll take a shot at it! LOL. I'm sure they will have your answer (probably out doing what they do best right now!), but until then... I have seen this many times. There is an organism that gives off a "waste" that will give well water a sulfur smell. It is not an actual sulfur mineral that you smell. A little bleach will usually take care of killing it. If you have a water sediment filter in the basement, you can empty this and add the bleach there. It will travel through your entire system. Do this and allow it to sit in the pipes for as long as you can (several hours), and then run the water to clear everything out. The bacteria could be in your pipes. Water heaters are famous for this. You may have to repeat the process a couple of times, but it will work. I have also had the problem of one sink trap being bunged up with crud that smells horrible. Just pull the entire trap off and flush it out with hot soapy water and maybe a little bleach here too. The well water issue can crop up from time to time and you just have to deal with it. Some areas are worse than others. My Mother-in-Law has a particularly bad problem wit this in Flesherton. I don't know if it is harmful, but don't think so. The strange thing is that she even has a UV sterilizer in the main line and still has troubles. As a side note, if the sulfur smell comes back over and over again, you can try changing the sacrificial anode on the tank from zinc or magnesium to aluminum. Most of the time, it is most noticeable from the hot water tap. Good luck! Edited July 21, 2009 by Rattletrap2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikehunter Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Check the overflow on your sink, if it has one. This is where the odor is probably coming from. Maybe the baking soda advise may work? What happens is crud develops in the passageway and if you have the type of sink where the overflow inlet is on the front of the sink, nearest you, the odor will be more noticeable. We had that problem in the last place we lived but it didn't become noticeable until the weeks before we moved out so I let the next guy deal with it. Could try pouring bleach down it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigger Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Pull off the trap and give it a thorough cleaning. Theres lots of stuff that can accumulate in there from your shavings to the missus' hair. That + product can result in some real funky smells. Has this been a problem for awhile or just started? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Check the overflow on your sink, if it has one. This is where the odor is probably coming from. Maybe the baking soda advise may work? What happens is crud develops in the passageway and if you have the type of sink where the overflow inlet is on the front of the sink, nearest you, the odor will be more noticeable. We had that problem in the last place we lived but it didn't become noticeable until the weeks before we moved out so I let the next guy deal with it. Could try pouring bleach down it? Congratulations Pikehunter you get the prize. The key to the puzzle was that it was happening only at one sink. The odor that is occurring is all of the nasty chemicals we combine to make ourselves beautiful. The sink has two passages for water to escape from one is the stopper at the bottom and that goes down to the trap and down the drain line. The other one is the overflow that is an inter passage that gets gunk in and decomposes to give us that sulfur odor. The answer is to close the drain plug and fill the sink up to the overflow then add 2 oz of bleach as you slowly continue filling the sink. You want the water to flow down the overflow for 5 minutes without overflowing the sink. Then drain sink and repeat if needed in 24 hours. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handlebarz Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 I was going to suggest stop going pee in the sink out there you never know where it may drain a friends basement stunk to high heck we messed around to find the problem some one finally found out that the sink drains into the floor for the sump pump after a few weeks and how ever many bottles of bleach it was good as new but the joke still goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve barrett Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Hi Gerrit. Not really a plummer but sometimes when the back of the p trap is too high going out the back of the wall sometimes a little air manages to come back up into the sink when the taps are turned on. I had this happen a few times .The water going out the drain will allow air to pass back up the sink.Only a suggestion.Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerritt Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Thank you all for the replies... Never even thought of the overflow! I have removed the trap several times etc... to no avail... I will definatly try the suggestion of cleaning the over flow! Thanks guys! One more question.... Will the bleach not destroy the good bacteria in my septic tank and bed? G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 2 OZ of bleach will be diluted more than enough. no worries. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daplumma Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Check the overflow on your sink, if it has one. This is where the odor is probably coming from. Maybe the baking soda advise may work? What happens is crud develops in the passageway and if you have the type of sink where the overflow inlet is on the front of the sink, nearest you, the odor will be more noticeable. We had that problem in the last place we lived but it didn't become noticeable until the weeks before we moved out so I let the next guy deal with it. Could try pouring bleach down it? Ding Ding Ding..Winner winner chicken dinner!Stpper the sink,filler up and add some bleach so it spills down the overflow.Careful ,not too much bleach if you are on septic.Vinegar and or baking soda may also work.Love the bubbles. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daplumma Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Just read Arts reply...Nevermind. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLofchik Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I was going to suggest stop going pee in the sink....... You know you're in a classy place when you call up the front desk about a leaky tap...... "I got a leak in my sink" "Aw right, go ahead".................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC1OZ Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 You know you're in a classy place when you call up the front desk about a leaky tap...... "I got a leak in my sink" "Aw right, go ahead".................. LMAO, best joke ever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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