Stink from kitchen drains :(

[RanCarr]

Can someone tell me how to get rid of the awful rotten-moldy-dishrag smell coming up from both kitchen drains? It's not a black-tank sewerage like smell, but smells like a dishrag that's gone bad. We all know what they can smell like. The vent isn't clogged and the sinks are in use every day. No rotten water sitting in the traps. We've tried several products but nothing gets rid of this sickening smell. Please anyone, how have you gotten rid of this foul odor?

We've had 3 rigs before this one and never had this problem before.

 

[JohnDar]

Are you sure there's water remaining in the P-trap? That is what prevents sewer smell from backing up into the sink. They should be removable, so you might want to disassemble the drain and check the trap to be sure there's nothing in there.

 

[pegmikef]

Any chance that it might be the water itself that has the odor? We have been to a couple of parks where the water really had a foul odor. We have used bleach in the past to clean the traps.

 

[recumbent615]

I have not had this issue with my current Rig but I did in a SOB - the Vent on the kitchen sink went bad - letting air in from the GW tank - My sink worked just fine - Changing out the vent under the sink took care of the issue.

Kevin

 

[TandT]

Get yourself a couple of these. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/cyclone-sewer-vent/31992 Most Walmarts are now selling these, as well.

I had the same problem and after installing these, I no longer smell anything. These work very well. Trace

 

[RanCarr]

Are you sure there's water remaining in the P-trap? That is what prevents sewer smell from backing up into the sink. They should be removable, so you might want to disassemble the drain and check the trap to be sure there's nothing in there.

There is water in the P-trap. There is only 1 trap for both sinks. The water flows down rapidly so there can't be anything in the trap. Also, there's the screen thing in the drain to keep out anything larger than a grain of rice. If there's a bacterial scum in the long drop to the trap, how is that cleaned out? Nothing can fit past the drain hole. We're not even sure the smell is from a bacterial slime in the long drop. But the stink is definitely coming up from the drain.

Yes, we've tried boiling water, a bleach solution, both graywater and blackwater treatments down into the trap. They only help for minutes or an hour or two at best.

 

[RanCarr]

Get yourself a couple of these. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/cyclone-sewer-vent/31992 Most Walmarts are now selling these, as well.

I had the same problem and after installing these, I no longer smell anything. These work very well. Trace

That wont work in our kitchen sink since water stays in the P-trap so no suction can be made. The stink comes "up" from the pipe and P-trap, not the holding tank. The water in the P-trap blocks fumes and air from the holding tank. It blocks it both ways. There can be no suction from the sink to the outside unless we remove the P-trap. With no P-trap, the stench would be free to come up from the tank itself. Also, it takes wind for these to work. There is little wind were we camp. We have no problems with odors from the toilet bowl or bathroom sink and tub.

If this roof vent removed the stink from your kitchen drains, you don't have what's called a P-trap in your drains. Or if you do, they no longer hold water.

 

[RanCarr]

I have not had this issue with my current Rig but I did in a SOB - the Vent on the kitchen sink went bad - letting air in from the GW tank - My sink worked just fine - Changing out the vent under the sink took care of the issue.

Kevin

That's a different problem. As stated above, the smell is from the kitchen sinks and there is a P-trap to keep odors from coming up from the graywater tank. The stink is like a rotten moldy dishrag or sponge, or wet rotten moldy clothing or rags - nothing like the smell of the wastewater/gasses from the tank.

The vent on the roof appears clear and the water runs down the drain quickly. What are the symptoms of a clogged roof vent? How does the smell get past the water in the P-trap designed to prevent such a thing?

 

[recumbent615]

That's a different problem. As stated above, the smell is from the kitchen sinks and there is a P-trap to keep odors from coming up from the graywater tank. The stink is like a rotten moldy dishrag or sponge, or wet rotten moldy clothing or rags - nothing like the smell of the wastewater/gasses from the tank.

The vent on the roof appears clear and the water runs down the drain quickly. What are the symptoms of a clogged roof vent? How does the smell get past the water in the P-trap designed to prevent such a thing?

Check under your sink - after the P-Trap. DO you see a vertical pipe ? That would be the "air admittance valve" that is used to "admit air to the drain so the water in the trap is not sucked out and to allow the water to flow freely. If you have one of these ( and not all rigs do ) then that would be my first suspect. The vent Cap suggested by TANDT will also help - the issue with standard roof stack vents is a good wind across them can cause a down draft effectively pressurizing the waste tank - this can cause the "stink" past the water in the P-trap and past a marginal "air admittance valve" I also had the Vent Caps that TANDT installed on my SOB and that helped but I still got some "stink" under the kitchen sink until I replaced the AA-valve.

Check to see if you have one - I would replace it - and see if that fixes the issue. This is what you are looking for - but it will most likely be black.


you can get a replacement at Home depot or Lowes or any plumbing supply house

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Randy, is your sink plastic or Stainless Steel. If plastic or some "porous" type material, try soaking both sides of the sink with a blend of water and Soft Scrub with bleach. Fill the bowls with Hot water and squirt a good shot or two of Soft Scrub and let it set for a few hours. Lin does this every couple of weeks. Something else I've done was to remove the P trap and clean out the stinky residue build up. I recently did the vanity sink. Disassembled the stopper valve, p-trap and cleaned er up good.

 

[RanCarr]

Check under your sink - after the P-Trap. DO you see a vertical pipe ? That would be the "air admittance valve" that is used to "admit air to the drain so the water in the trap is not sucked out and to allow the water to flow freely. If you have one of these ( and not all rigs do ) then that would be my first suspect.

Yes, there is one, like the 1st picture below. I took the top off and there was a faint smell of dampness. No stink like in the sinks. The stink in the sinks is coming from between the P-trap and the sink drains themselves. The water in the P-trap is evidently keeping the gasses and smell from the graywater tank in the tank. This stink, nothing like the graywater smell is very different.

The vent Cap suggested by TANDT will also help - the issue with standard roof stack vents is a good wind across them can cause a down draft effectively pressurizing the waste tank - this can cause the "stink" past the water in the P-trap and past a marginal "air admittance valve" I also had the Vent Caps that TANDT installed on my SOB and that helped but I still got some "stink" under the kitchen sink until I replaced the AA-valve.

There is no outside-on-the roof vent for the kitchen sinks. They're on the slide-out. The only vent is the short one under the sink mentioned above.

Check to see if you have one - I would replace it - and see if that fixes the issue. This is what you are looking for - but it will most likely be black.

OK, I screwed the top off to examine it. The slide thing on a spring works with no gumming or mold and it allowed air to enter freely. I still looks brand new with a faint damp smell. The TT is only 11 months old. How could this cause the stink between the P-trap and sink drains?

View attachment 17901 View attachment 17902
you can get a replacement at Home depot or Lowes or any plumbing supply house[/QUOTE]

 

[RanCarr]

Randy, is your sink plastic or Stainless Steel.

This is his wife Carol. The sinks are stainless steel and cleaned with a SS cleaner. Right now I'm using Soft Scrub. The stench comes up from the drains.

If plastic or some "porous" type material, try soaking both sides of the sink with a blend of water and Soft Scrub with bleach. Fill the bowls with Hot water and squirt a good shot or two of Soft Scrub and let it set for a few hours. Lin does this every couple of weeks. Something else I've done was to remove the P trap and clean out the stinky residue build up. I recently did the vanity sink. Disassembled the stopper valve, p-trap and cleaned er up good.

I have a feeling that's where this stink is coming from. From the P-trap and long "drop" itself. Tomorrow he or I will try and remove it, clean and disinfect it. We can't live with this rotten-moldy smell much longer. What I don't understand is why pouring boiling water, bleach-water, pine oil, tank cleaners etc down the drains doesn't disinfect this trap, even when left in over night. We're not going to be very happy if we have to do this kind of disinfecting of the P-trap constantly.

 

[JohnDar]

Here's a scary possibility. A leak in the tank itself, or at the fitting into it. If you're pouring stuff down the drain and the smell isn't going away, even temporarily, then there may be more to it than a gunky P-trap. You might try dropping the underbelly cover of the rig and have a look around down there, if you can.

Another possibility is dead rodents somewhere under the sink cabinet. A decaying mouse (or mouses) can smell pretty bad. Pull out the kitchen drawers, if so equipped, and look around for droppings or corpses.

 

[TXBobcat]

We use one of these to keep debris out of the drain. There is no way to flush out the Gray Tank like you can the Black Tank so these keep a lot of the garbage from being deposited in the Kitchen Gray Tank.

4 3/8"D Stainless Steel Sink Drain Screen

We got ours at Walmart.

BC

 

[wesley1963]

Get yourself a couple of these. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/cyclone-sewer-vent/31992 Most Walmarts are now selling these, as well.

I had the same problem and after installing these, I no longer smell anything. These work very well. Trace

Before you buy these you may want to climb up and make sure your vent pipes are above the roof. We were really surprised (not sure that is the correct word) that the vent pipes did not line up with the holes cut in the roof. The fix?? They actually cut the vent pipes below the roof level!! They are >1/2" off center. Outstanding workmanship...

 

[donr827]

We use one of these to keep debris out of the drain. There is no way to flush out the Gray Tank like you can the Black Tank so these keep a lot of the garbage from being deposited in the Kitchen Gray Tank.

4 3/8"D Stainless Steel Sink Drain Screen

We got ours at Walmart.

BC

We use one of these in the kitchen sink and it catches a lot of the small food particiles. I also let the grey water tank fill up before dumping ever few weeks.
Don

 

[Bob&Patty]

Randy, do you leave the grey tank drain open all the time?? If so, you need to let it fill up and then drain it. That way it will wash all the creeping crude out. Just asking.

 

[JohnDar]

Might also consider filling the gray tank about 3/4 full with soapy water (after draining it first), and taking a road trip with many starts/stops to wash the inside of the tank. Get back and fill/flush with clean water a couple of times to rinse it out.

I'd first look for any leaks at the tank itself, though. Fittings have been known to come unglued or broken.

 

[recumbent615]

OK - I am working on a few assumption here

1) You have only one Gray tank
2) This only happens at the Kitchen Sink
3) This does not require you running water in the sink to get it to "stink"


All of these assumption lead me to look at something in the Plumbing of the Kitchen Sink.

on thing that I though of today is to take a few plastic bags and some zip ties and cover the Air Admittance Valve and see if the problem persists. Keep in mind that this may cause some slight drainage issues in the kitchen sink - since that is what the AAV is there for. but if the smell goes away - then you have a faulty ( not worn out ) AAV that needs to be replaced.

Just a thought - one more data point so to speak...

Good Luck in tracking this down - I vividly recalling my DW would not use the camper until I found and fixed the Smell Issue. That was Motivation to say the least!!

Kevin

 

[RanCarr]

Here's a scary possibility. A leak in the tank itself, or at the fitting into it. If you're pouring stuff down the drain and the smell isn't going away, even temporarily, then there may be more to it than a gunky P-trap. You might try dropping the underbelly cover of the rig and have a look around down there, if you can.

The stink is coming from the P-trap. As mentioned before, disinfectants will kill the odor for a few hours at most. Trying to remove the P-trap to clean it is a major production. We took a good look under the sink. Keeping the smell producing slime from growing back would not be possible. This stink started about 5 days after we got here to FL. I noticed a faint bad smell from the sink before when we spent 2 weeks in this RV back in TN last fall. But it was nothing like now. We've been living in this RV since Jan 1st (snow birds until 4/1). This has to be a heavy slime/bacterial/mold in the down pipe and P-trap. Tonight before I go to bed I'm going to pour hot strong bleach water down the sink several times, then leave it overnight. The sink cover is absorbing this stench but strong bleach seems to have removed it... I just washed it thoroughly in hot soapy strong bleach water. As I also said above, this never happened in the other 3 rigs we had. An old Xplorer, an 1982 Sunline and a new 2009 Zinger. All of which we spent much time in. I looked under the rig today and there are no leaks anywhere.

Another possibility is dead rodents somewhere under the sink cabinet. A decaying mouse (or mouses) can smell pretty bad. Pull out the kitchen drawers, if so equipped, and look around for droppings or corpses.

The stench is, as mentioned above, coming from the sink drains. There is no smell under the sink or under the TT. It doesn't smell like a dead rodent. It smells like a rotten moldy dishrag, rotting moldy cloth or a foul kitchen sponge. As for rodents or insects... we've been lucky and never had an invasion of them in any of our rigs.

If we can't get control of this horrid smell without having to constantly manually remove and clean out the trap, I think we'll have to call Heartland again and see what they say. As far as I know this RV will run out of warranty the middle of next month. I'll let you all know how the hot soapy bleach works.

I do appreciate all the suggestions.