Gas Smell Coming From My Wash Basin

Is fracking being done in your neighborhood?

You do know that natural gas is odorless, right? They have to add a noxious odor to it, so that homeowners can smell a leak.

That's why coal miners used to take a canary into the mines; if the bird died, they knew there was a dangerous level of gas.

Mostly there is a trap (that collects solids) fitted below your sink, or if it is a kitchen sink, there will be a cap on the pipe. You have to open it up and clean.

Gajanan Phadte

Maybe there is a bird's nest on the top of your stench pipe. But I don't know, because I'm not there and I can't see it. If all else fails, phone Dyno-rod.

Helo Lalit,

Hope u must have repaired it now.

My experience at home points following

1: Water lock is not there due to some leak in your basin trap. Solution: Open and service the trap.

2: Dirty trap that fitted below your basin : Solution as above only.

Doesn't solve the problem, but fit a one-way valve.

The obvious one is to check that the u-bend is ok and that a water trap is effective.

Next one is repugnant, but it happens. Is anybody taking a sligh pee down the drainhole outisde the house ?

Is the drain open vented ? Jet wash the thing and keep any eye on what is going down the hole.

If there is a problem, pongs can migrate all the way. Do the obvious (cheaper opotions) then check for cracked pipes. Fat residue is a major problem. The stuff can go rock solid. If that is the case, you need to 'rod' it.

Mory info needed, Lalit.

The P trap is rarely fitted in this part of the world.

Gajanan Phadte

What about the S trap?

What method is (if any) used ? Generelly in the West there is some sort of syphonic trap. This is possibly getting a bit graphic, but I'm intrigued to know how things works elsewhere. Some form of syphon trap seems fairly easy to construct. If this does not happen in your part of the world can you explain why ? No critisism intended, I just want to understand. Many thanks if you can explain this to me, Gajanan.

Well pointed out about language differences. Even Americans and Brits get confused, so it must be very hard for people who's native tongue is some other. A point well worth reading.

...and clean your drain pipes. You might have a film of crud on the inside of the pipes under the sink that is giving off the bad smell.

Crud?

Your problem may be coming from a gasoline or diesel spill in the neighbourhood of your water well or a communal well if you are on municipal services. Do you neighbours have a similar problem? Are you aware of any petroleum product spill? But before we jump the gun, what type of gas smell are we talking about; hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg), gasoline or diesel as in fuel for vehicles, earth smells? We need a little more info. You can also test for different products BTEX, TPH, H2S. Does the odour occur only when the water flows? Is it coming from the sewer drain? Is it coming from the water itself? Has the water developed a taste? Yes the sewer drain pipe can release odours if the trap has gone dry (a leak, a blocked vent). And it will show up in the sink with the faulty trap or the sink now used to vent the sewer because of a blocked vent. More info please.

First thing I would do it to run a little water down the drain. Sinks, tubs and others that have traps that are used infrequently tend to dry up. Putting water in them raises the water level to a point that there is a water seal at the top of the trap. This reseals the water seal of the trap with water.

When you say "Gas Smell" what does it smell like? Chlorine, Mercaptan the odorizer in natural gas, a skunk, rotten vegetables, dirty grease, body function discharges, a particular chemical (such as mineral spirits, acetone, vodka, gasoline, diesel fuel or home heating oil), soap, urine, sewer liquids, fertilizer, ammonia, etc. If there is a particular smell that you can identify that reduces the possibilities for step 2, identify the foreign substance.

Three- take the trap apart and look at what there is in it. Any identifying contents? Visual, smell, consistency, touch and maybe even taste.

Four- check the main house trap, Is it wet and full? Check for the same as above.

Five- Ask the neighbors if they have the same problem.

Six- Is it cesspool or sewers?

Seven- snake the lines and see if the flow increases. Look at the snake after it is withdrawn. Check for same as above. A powered snake with an automatic feed is much easier than a flat snake.

Eight- Through your hands up in disgust, swear at the wash basin and call a plumber who specializes in good rates for good work of this type!

Good Luck, Old Salt

What does this gas smell like? Petroleum or rotten eggs? Or does it smell like something else?

Is the smell coming from the drain or from the water??? In many parts of the US, when fracking occurs during petroleum or gas drilling, many water wells are contaminated and the smells can be quite bad. Not counting when the water coming out can be ignighted.

Nonsense!

It is not nonsense to the homeowners affected by it. It is a very serious problem.

Sewer gas can smell just as you describe......it can also burn/explode....probably high levels of methane at a guess....

To check out the venting as a first step:- assuming you have the "S" bend that is supposed to block gases from the drains coming back AND it is used frequently enough that there is water in it (run some water through to make sure). I once found this problem at a friends house who had simply removed it to speed up the flow of water out of the bath......he hadn't a clue why the water trap was there.....!!! Funny!!

Then do the following:-

1) Flush the toilet and listen to see if the wash basin "Gurgles".

2) Now fill the bath and then let it run out and listen to see if the wash basin "Gurgles".

If neither makes the basin Gurgle, then try this:-

3) Fill bath, remove plug, wait a few seconds to let the drain fill then flush the toilet and then listen to see if the wash basin "Gurgles".

If none of these bring the problem, then your venting is working well. Hire a plumber!!

(I am assuming that no other bathrooms/toilets are connected to the same plumbing, but if they are, you may need to operate them ALL TOGETHER!!)

Gurgling can be a sign of a faulty vent, or even the lack of one and a partially blocked main drain....

Best of luck.....

HERE, in this part of the world, the vertical pipe from the basin will be connected to a

T (turn it 90 deg). The horizontal will go to wherever and the vertical will have a bottle screwed to the T joint and forms an extension to the vertical pipe. Solids will collect in this bottle. Periodically, this bottle has to be emptied to prevent the smelling. Please note, it (the bottle) will hold some water but the air path is not blocked as in a P trap.

I sail in the same boat, so I know...

Gajanan Phadte

Sounds like this is a common problem, huh? Is there any reason they don't use a trap in line with the drain pipe?

Some residential building do, particularly those built during the 60's and 70's. I don't know if it is still a code requirement but it has been a good idea for a while. One problem is that it tends to accumulate feminine absorbents that have been flushed down the toilets. If this is the case, the house side of the trap must be opened and cleaned. One disadvantage of these is that if the sewer line goes to the street below the basement floor level the space around it must be left open to provide access. Many people don't like this since it restricts finishing the basements. An advantage is that the street side of the trap makes it much easier to snake out to the street line. Bad thing is the sewer smell and vapors

If they are prone to basement flooding some people leave the house side plug out so that the water will drain down the sewers instead of flooding. An alternative is to drill holes in the plug. Unfortunately, in my first house, the previous owner left the street side plug out to accomplish this. When I found it I put a plug in it. Next week we had a heavy rain and it flooded. This was on the first day of a 2 week "business trip" to San Diego!

Good Luck, Old Salt

So apparently, this sideways tee is only the vent pipe? From your description, how with a bottle attached at the bottom of the Tee does it actually drain to sewer?

thank God for American (Roman) plumbing! You need to clean your P, S, or T trap. Also check if the room has a floor drain installed somewhere, and if so, pour some water into that, to re-form the water seal.

Try these: If your drain (trap) is on the other side of a dishwasher that has not been run for a while , then run it! You may have dried out the line between the disposal and P-Trap, allowing vent gasses in.. We run ours with a cup or two of vinegar poured directly into the pan of the dishwasher--Cleans the stainless beautifully, too. For our showers and sink drains, tubs etc, pour in one cup , or more, of baking soda, and follow with a cup of white vinegar , AFTER you put in the baking soda--DO NOT MIX TOGETHER> Messy… This will foam like crazy, but it really cleans out traps and pipes---Let set for a while, and if you see a little crud come out with the bubbles, flush the drain with fresh water, and repeat the soda, vinegar process. This leaves a very clean smelling drain. A really greasy drain does well with a tablespoon of plain liquid dish soap, followed with a pot of boiling water, let sit, and flush with another pot of boiling water. These treatments should be done on a regular basis, every couple of weeks, and you will never have a problem, under normal circumstances. You may need a chemical to break down excess hair in the shower drain, but the soda/vinegar will most often break down the soap holding the mess together, and allow it to flush down the drain. If it is determined that a vent is blocked, we often drag a water hose up on the roof, with a nozzle, and "firehose" the vents. Real easy to see if anything is plugged up, and the pressure will most often clear the vent. All of these from my old plumber….

This is the way, I (we) do it, is the code. You are educated and you know to solve the issue, don't mention.

Gajanan Phadte

To make sure that the odor is coming from the drain and not the water, fill a small container, cover it, take it outside, let you nose clear several minutes and then smell the water in the container. If you detect an odor from the container then you may have something in the water source.

One of the possible "sewer gases" mentioned previously is hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This gas, although poisonous and flammable, would be very unlikely to be in the concentrations to cause harm. However, H2S does numb the ability of your nose to detect it after exposure. However, if you do the bottle test mentioned above, and you smell a rotten egg odor, you may have H2S in concentrations that could be hazardous.

One simple and safe drain cleaner is off-the-shelf (3%-5% concentration) hydrogen peroxide. I use hydrogen peroxide whenever my bathtub drain slows down. I pour about 1/2 litre in the drain and let it sit overnight. Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer and it helps break down organic materials slowly and safely.

A small quantity of RDX might cure it.

If this basin pipe without the trap (P or S) is just drained into the floor sewer inlet, and is not hard(air tight) coupled to the sewer, you will get smell from only the content in the pipe.

If the coupling is air tight, God bless you.

Gajanan Phadte