Comments on: Bought house. Sewer smell in bathroom. less if bathtub drain closed. vent shows through roof. tub gurggles?

By: Valentin 145

Valentin 145 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:31:30 +0000

If the tub gurgles when other drains are used, it is a vent problem. The tub may not be connected to the vent system. Check the vent pipe on the roof and remove anything you can by hand. Then flush with a garden hose. If you live in an area where it gets cold in the winter, do not put screen over the vent pipe. It will collect moisture and freeze. Then you will be trying to get onto the roof in the winter to clear it. If the house was empty for a period of time, the tub trap water probably evaporated, but this does not cause the gurgling.

By: Kelan Leach

Kelan Leach — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:04:34 +0000

2 causes for this problem.

1. The vent stack is plugged by yellow jackets nest or other obstruction …. run garden hose down it to clear it. Put screen over it to keep it clear.

2. No P trap on the drain to hold water and prevent sewer gas from coming into the house. Purchase a P trap and crawl under the house and install a P trap on the drain.

By: Gauge Ratcliffe

Gauge Ratcliffe — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:35:26 +0000

The sewer smell I can answer, the other not so much. The sewer smell is acutally sewer gases coming through the drain. To alleviate this, fill the tub with a little bit of water. The objective here is to fill the ‘goose neck’ with water. The ‘goose neck, is that part of the drain that traps a little bit of water to eliminate sewer gases. It sounds like the water in the drain has evapourated, however, this is easy to fix.

Hope this helps.

By: Irene Cole

Irene Cole — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:34:48 +0000

There needs to be a trap on the lower pipe. Try at lowes, they will tell you and show you what you need. Had the same problem.