Sewage odor in bathroom?

Question

There is a sewage smell coming from my bathroom sink. It has been there for the past two months--I've been procrastinating in getting a plumber out. We are on a city sewer system. Is there anything I can do to get that smell out or do I have to call a plumber?

Answer 1

You may want to call a plumber. If the city sewer is having problems, it is possible that it can back up into your home, and you are responsible for taking care of it (if you own your home.) This happened to some friends of mine, and trust me, you want to catch the problem before it backs up into your sink or the rest of your plumbing! A plumber can let you know if the issue is with your plumbing or the city sewers. Good luck. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

call the plumber.  That could become quite dangerous.

Answer 3

The Venting is not working properly-sewer gas is entering somehow. Call a Plumber, City is only responsible for hookup beyond driveway where I live.

Answer 4

It may be just stinky sludge buildup inside the drain pipes.  Pour bleach down the drain and also some in the overflow hole.  Open you windows and let it sit for a while then flush it with water.  This is most likely is the cause.  I have to do this with my sinks every couple of months.

If however, you still smell something the next day you may be getting sewer gas back up from the the sewer.  The P-trap (j-bend) drain pipe under the sink is supposed to stop the gases.  If the P-trap has water in it the gases can't go past that point.  It is not very common that real sewer gas escape back into the home when you have P-traps.

Answer 5

Possibly just gunk build up on the sink side of the trap, but first look under sink in trap area to make sure you do not have a leak that is draining the trap and making a nasty mess.  Ok, if that looks good, pull out the retractable stopper and that will be nasty, clean it off with a putty knife and throw that gunk in the trash can; not down the drain.  Next take a coat hanger and cut it up, into a probe wire with a tightly bent hook on it, very small, insert this down the drain and using a flashlight try to find and pull up any gunk and hair etc. that  is caught in the piping ahead of the trap.  Remove all this c**p and trash can again! Now with thte water running on HOT use the wire hook to stir around in the drain, kind of scraping the pipe walls to loosen the gunk and it should flush  on down.  Go to your local hardware store and buy some anarobic, bacterial drain cleaner. Should be in the section with the stuff people use to flush down the toilet for septic tank maintenance.  After doing all this; your smell should be gone and stay gone with a little continued maintenance with the drain cleaner.  If this does not do it you need a plumber, it is a piping problem.

Answer 6

try pouring a cup of bleach down the drain that should help,how close is your sink to your toliet? it may be coming from it