About speedball1 Expertise About me: My Plumbing Expertise: I retired from plumbing after a lifetime in the trade. all phases from service and upkeep to construction, both residential and commercial. I am qualified to do anything in plumbing from fixing a leaky faucet to drafting a set of plans for a commercial shopping center and supervising the construction. My last five years were spent as a trouble shooter for a large plumbing company. I took on all my companys complaints. I have been a expert on the plumbing page at Askme.com. In a field of 200 experts my rating was number one. You may also find me at Answerway.com and AskMe Help Desk.com. This is fun for me and if I can help anybody out that`s iceing on the cake. Degrees & Certifications: As for degrees, I don`t have any. Just a Journeymans ticket, but hey! How about fifty years experience?
Experience Life Experience? Hmmmmmmm! Ran away at 15 and joined a carnival, Navy at 17 Merchant marine at 19 I've had a hellava life.
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Followup To
Question - Tom,
Thanks for the timely response. I checked the pop up and it has been riding on the rod;the rod is white plastic and very clean. If i put a half gallon of bleach down the drain , won't most of it just go down the drain with the exception of that which stays in the trap? By the way the the surface of the water level is visible about 6-7 inches below the rod if that's worth anything.How do I get the bleach up to the level where the rod is entering w/o taking off the trap and plugging the pipe?
Just below the chrome ring that sits at the bottom of the bowl is the start of the copper or brass tube that goes down to the trap. At the top of this tube there are 4 holes at the 3,6 9,&12 position. I stuck a cue tip in there and it came out with a black substance on them and it did not smell so good. I can also see some of the plumber's putty.
At one time I pulled the trap,stuck a large bucket under the sink and ran alot of water . Result- no smell. For what this is worth!
Also the other sink does exhibit the same smells but infrequently.
Thanks for hanging in there on this with me.Let me know if this info may steer us in another direction. I'm all for trying the bleach but wanted to feed you this info back before I did.
Thanks again,
Pat
I have a dual sink vanity in the master bath which is part of a master suite added 3 years ago (1st floor).
After about 2 months I started to get a foul smell from the drain of 1 sink staring approx. 15 seconds after the water was turned on. It continues for about 30-45 seconds and disappears. Subsequent water turn ons/offs do not cause a recurrence unless I wait about 5-10 minutes and the smell starts again.
The plumber who installed all this has come up with no solution. The vent pipe to the roof is new and clean, the trap is not being siphoned of water, the overflow tube (plastic type with this type of Corian sink) has been both cleaned and replaced, and there is an auxiliarry vent system under the other sink as a precaution. I have used drano, vinegar, bleach, etc. and get temporary relief for 3-15 uses but the drain is not clogged. The stand alone shower and the tub each have no drain smells when the water is used and the toilet runs fine. The alternate sink gets the problem occasionally. The sanitary line to the sewer has been cleaned.
The last plumber suggested that the drain pipe fitting to the sink's trap may be emitting an odor due to the type of plumbers putty used in installation and suggested replacing it and using silicone. This seems like a "reach" to me.
I just discovered your web site today and after looking at your credentials, I just had to send you a message. If this stumps you ,I'm beginning to think the bathroom may be posessed!!!
I would very much appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks for your time in reading this.
Pat
Answer -
Good morning Pat, Tippty tap! Tippty tap tap tap! That's the sound of your plumber tapdancing away from a question he had no idea of how to answer. Plumbers putty?Nah! If it were why don't both drains smell bad ? I'm suprised your plumber didn't tell you how bad hair buildup can smell when it starts to rot. Hair mixed with grease from soap can get caught on the pop-up operating lever located a few inches below the stopper. Your plumber DID pull the stoppers out and check didn't he? If not then It's an easy job for a home owner. Remove the stopper and shine a light down into the drain. You will see a small rod a few inches down. This is the rod that pushes the stopper up. If there is hair build up down there, fish it out. Now pour a 1/2 gallon of bleach down there and let it sit over night. Next morning flush it out with a pan of boiling water. This will loosen and flush out any grease that's left and leave your drain smelling nice and clean. Some times a plumber will tie down the stopper so it can't be pulled out. Not to worry. Just click on back and I'll walk you through the procedure. I never tie a stopper down on a new installation so it can't be pulled and cleaned. Follow my instructions and we'll have that stinky drain smelling like a rose. Let me give you instructions now instead of later. Your stopper has a opening at the base that the rod goes through so that it can't be pulled out. To defeat this and pull the stopper look under the sink and follow the pop up lever down to the rod. You will see a knurled nut. Now push the pop up knob so the stopper is in the up position. While holding the stopper in one hand, slowly back the nut out untill it's clear,(You may need to free it up with a pair of pliers) Carefull! You don't want to pull it all the way out. Now, GENTLY pull back on the rod while pulling upwards on the stopper. As soon as the stopper clears STOP and turn the nut back in hand tight or tight enough to hold the plunger rod up. From here on in you will let the stopper ride on top of the rod instead of tying it down. I Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply. Tom
Answer Since you've already checked for built up hair and from what you have discribed I wouldn't look for a "easy fix". It sounds like you have build up OK but on the insides of the pop-up itself and the chrome tail piece, (The pipe that connects to the trap). If this were my service call and you had tried every thing in the book to get rid of the smell then I would go after the source. I would unhook the trap and scour the pop up and the tailpiece with a bunched rag loaded with a degreaser and scour the insides of the pipe and clean it outgood. Then I would block the bottom of the tail piece and fill the pop up with boiling water to loosen ang grease that may be left. Drain the water out and replace it with bleach and let it set for a few hours. At the same time you have it out check the top end of the trap for any smelly stuff that may be in there. You've tried everything else. It's time to take drastic action. Clean out everything in there that doesn't belong, and that includes any plumbers putty you may find. Removing the "black stuff" (grease) should also remove the smell. Good luck, Let me know how it turns out. Tom
