timmeh Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hey guys, Got a plumbing question for anyone who may be able to provide help. I've got a chlorine smell in one of the upstairs toilets. The sink and shower in that bathroom seem fine though and I don't smell it in any other toilet or any part of the house. I've just bought the house so I don't know about the history. Also this toilet has a water saving device inside the tank (though the tank itself doesn't really smell). I found the device at home depot and the guy there told me that shouldn't be the issue. Any one have any ideas what it could be? I'm kinda puzzled that it's only the one toilet that has the smell. The other 2 toilets don't have the water saver so it's got me thinking that could be the reason but I don't know. Thanks, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Have you tried to flush the toilet lately? :rofl2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 The water supplied to the toilet is the same water provided to all of the fixtures in the house. You should check the tank to see if it has a chlorine tablet in the tank. If you find one their pick it up and trash it do not try to flush it thru to the bowl. If the tank is clear then take a rag and hot water and wipe down the toilet completely front and back around the base I mean everywhere. The water saver flusher is not causing the odor so you can disregard that as a piece of the puzzle. Since you don't smell the odor in the tank we can disregard the water as the culprit. The final area to look for is anywhere around the toilet like a deodorizer block behind or stuck under the tank (remember you wiped down the toilet completely right )or the window sill etc. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmeh Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thanks Art, I will give it a good clean and see what happens. There is a slight smell in the tank but doesn't seem to be nearly as strong as the bowl itself. I have had the water tested by the company that rents our water softener and it seems consistent with the rest of the house so I'm assuming it's not the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancur373 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I work for a large municipality water dept. Did you move from a house that had well water? We find this a common problem with people who weren't used to the chlorine smell. Also what municipality do you work for? Most municipalities will check it out free of charge. Now what is your biggest concern? the smell or high chlorine residuals? If the water is chlorinated as opposed to chloraminated there has been no unsafe upper free chlorine residual set. The smell appears when the chlorine oxidizes in the air from standing water. Usually just a normal turn over in the water will relieve this. Flush a little more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmeh Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Gave it a good clean and didn't find any tablets or blocks anywhere. Is it possible the previous owners used something to clean that could have caused this. Our previous place was in the city as well so it's not a new thing. We're in Cambridge so I'm going to give them a shout tomorrow and see what they say. Concern is that neither of the other toilets has the smell. Nor does any of the other sinks or shower. So i'm not sure why just this toilet would have that. Also don't really like the smell and just want to make sure it's not harmful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancur373 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Gave it a good clean and didn't find any tablets or blocks anywhere. Is it possible the previous owners used something to clean that could have caused this. Our previous place was in the city as well so it's not a new thing. We're in Cambridge so I'm going to give them a shout tomorrow and see what they say. Concern is that neither of the other toilets has the smell. Nor does any of the other sinks or shower. So i'm not sure why just this toilet would have that. Also don't really like the smell and just want to make sure it's not harmful. It is an isolated problem. Only cleaner that would cause this smell is bleach as it has a 5% chlorine content. But chlorine will go away over a short time frame. Previous owner will not be the problem. Just try flushing more frequently just to see if this helps. As i stated earlier you can only smell chlorine in water when it is oxidizing in the air. Then it is not in the water. Also as I said earlier this particular incident is not harmful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmeh Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 It is an isolated problem. Only cleaner that would cause this smell is bleach as it has a 5% chlorine content. But chlorine will go away over a short time frame. Previous owner will not be the problem. Just try flushing more frequently just to see if this helps. As i stated earlier you can only smell chlorine in water when it is oxidizing in the air. Then it is not in the water. Also as I said earlier this particular incident is not harmful. I pretty sure the smell is chlorine but is there anything else that smells similar that it could be? Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Nancur373 I cleaned up the thread but boy can you fill a trashcan... Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishing 24/7 Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 grab 100$ buy a new toilette install toilette smell gone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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