Foul Smell In Bathroom

[Northtrail09]

I have a 09 Northtrail 31 QBS TT. More often than not, after a day or two camping we always get a foul smell in the bathroom. It appears the toilet seals hold water and there is no leak. Where could the smell be entering the camper? All other areas of the camper are fine. I have read that it's also common to get a bad smell under the kitchen sink. We do NOT have that issue. Only the bathroom. I have also heard of a new vent called the siphon 360. I have not purcahed one of these yet. Still have the stock vent cover.

I noticed that the bathroom power vent is right next the to the roof vent that is supposed to vent the sewer gas to the roof. I have tried to keep this bathroom vent closed, but it still stinks! Any ideas or help anyone can offer would be great. We have also stopped using any type of tank treatment as I feel it makes the smell worse.

 

[billyjoeraybob]

Do you know the model of your toilet or can you post a picture of it?

 

[Northtrail09]

It's the Thetford, model foot flush.

 

[porthole]

Smell worse under the sink?

 

[Lynn1130]

See thiis tread.
[h=1]Thread: Holding tank smell-blockage and a solution[/h]

 

[Northtrail09]

I would say yes. I just don't think it's coming from the toilet. You would think it would create bubbles in the water if the gas was getting past the water seal. It's really hard to tell, the entire area stinks.

 

[1231ChaseB]

Look under the sink for a pipe that appears to go nowhere ! On the top of that pipe is a vent ! Maybe it's not venting ! Might put a baggie over iy for a little while and see if the smell goes away ?
chaseb

 

[Birchwood]

Maybe its the hot weather or you don't have your black tank contents submerged in enough water.Water is the key!Run lots of water in your back tank.Just hold down on the flush for 5 minutes and the smell will disappear.If you are dry camping you will have to put up with the smell.

 

[wdk450]

Well. I hope you get to the root of the problem, but in the meantime one of those 98 cent gell room deodorizers on the floor next to the toilet seems to work when I have this problem.

 

[TandT]

I would begin by putting "Cyclone" type directional roof vents on all your tanks.They have a venturi effect and pull smells up and away from inside your rig.
They are available at Wallyworld and CW for around $15 to $20. Cheap fix.
This cured about 98% of our sewer smells in the rig. Sorry I'm on my phone and I'm having trouble copying a link to the product. Just Google it. Trace

 

[danemayer]

Hi NorthTrail09,

As mentioned earlier, if you have a pipe that goes nowhere located under the sink, it's probably a studor air admittance valve for the sink and possibly the shower drain. It admits air so that when water drains to the tank, the suction doesn't suck the water out of the p-trap. If the valve doesn't admit air, your p-trap may not hold water and would allow gases to rise up from the gray tank. If the valve is stuck open, it may also allow gases to rise up. And gray tanks usually smell pretty bad.

Studor air admittance valves can usually be found at big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes for around $10.

 

[Northtrail09]

Thanks to everyone, I will start with buying two new trap vents for the bathroom and kitchen sink and a siphon 360 vent for outside the camper. I will see (smell) if this fixes the issue and will repost after our next adventure. All seems like a cheap fix. $24 for the exterior vent and $5 each for the PVC trap vents. Well worth it to me.

 

[rxbristol]

Before you do that, somewhere in the forum it has been mentioned, more than once, that the vent tubes are not sealed at the roof opening which allow the gases to come back down into the ceiling and walls. Go on the roof, remove the vent cover screw, pop the vent cover top off and you'll find a gap between the vent pipe and roof. Seal this area. I used the expanding foam...very little is needed by the way, so be careful. This fixed my problem and a few others that I've helped in the RV park we're staying at. All RV's seem to have this issue.

 

[Northtrail09]

I will take a look at this tomorrow. Thanks

 

[TandT]

Rex,
Good point about not being sealed around the riser. I forgot to mention that I found it was also the case with my rig. I also sealed the gaps with foam sealant. Trace

 

[rxbristol]

Rex,
Good point about not being sealed around the riser. I forgot to mention that I found it was also the case with my rig. I also sealed the gaps with with foam sealant. Trace

I think the RV black tank chemical companies are in cahoots with the RV industry...leave the gap and we'll always be looking for something to eliminate the odors.

 

[RVFun4Us]

Also had the sewer smell when draining the kitchen sink after washing dishes. So am replacing the plumbing vents in both the kitchen and under bath sink. Found out there is a significant difference between replacing the plumbing vent with a lookalike at Lowes for a little over $5 each. When I looked at the Studor Air Admittance Valve, it was over $25. So just purchased the ABS Plastic lookalikes and will install them. If that doesn't work, I will then seal around the vent pipes on roof. Thanks for all the info on this.

Bob

 

[wdk450]

I have had my toilet removed from the floor connection a couple of times lately for repairs to the toilet itself (ball, cartridge, pedal). While doing these repairs, I noticed that the foam rubber floor flange gasket has deteriorated. Since I didn't have a gasket on hand during the repairs, I tried to repair the gasket as much as I could with silicon sealant. I have since ordered one in, and will have to unmount the toilet yet another time to replace it. This could be the cause of your odor problems.

 

[JohnDar]

I have had my toilet removed from the floor connection a couple of times lately for repairs to the toilet itself (ball, cartridge, pedal). While doing these repairs, I noticed that the foam rubber floor flange gasket has deteriorated. Since I didn't have a gasket on hand during the repairs, I tried to repair the gasket as much as I could with silicon sealant. I have since ordered one in, and will have to unmount the toilet yet another time to replace it. This could be the cause of your odor problems.

I wonder if a standard house wax ring would work. They seem to last forever or until you need to remove/replace the toilet.

 

[swburbguy]

What about one of those rubber ones that attach to the bottom of the toilet ad go into the pipe no chance of leaking.