If an unpleasant sewer odor appears in the bathroom, reconciling and living in such a room is not an option. Vapors saturated with hydrogen sulfide and ammonia have a harmful effect on the human body. Chemicals harm the brain and lungs, so you need to understand the causes and timely eliminate the stench from the sewer in the bathroom and toilet.
The main causes of the smell of sewage in the bathroom
To begin with, it is worth remembering when the bathroom was last renovated. If everything was fine before the work, most likely the masters incorrectly connected the plumbing. With the constant use of devices - a toilet bowl, a bathroom, a sink, a shower room - there should not be a fetid amber, since this moment is provided for in the product design. Even with the clogging of drains, an unpleasant odor does not appear immediately and quickly leaves when the owners clean the sewer with special means. If the smell remains, you need to disassemble the nodes and redo it again.
The simplest reason for the stink to appear is the lack of water in the siphon. If the plumbing has not been used for a long time, for example, when moving to a new apartment or after a vacation, the water separating the interior from the sewer main has evaporated and all smells freely penetrated the apartment.
Other causes of sewer odor:
- Incorrect pipe assembly. In this case, the aroma appears immediately after the start of operation. The main reason is non-compliance with the slope of the pipes and stagnation of dirty water in the system. If this is an apartment building, you need to contact the developers for a solution. A plastic system is easier to repair than a tightly welded cast iron sewer, because the line will have to be completely dismantled.
- Incorrectly operating water seal. The curved pipe under the bathtub or washbasin is specially designed to prevent odors from entering the room from the common pipe. In addition to the banal evaporation of the liquid, other problems can also occur. For example, increased pressure in the common line. This happens when pumping equipment is not used to move the drains, but pumping equipment. If it is incorrectly configured, the device will create a head and air will penetrate into the apartment. The reason may be a small pipe diameter, blockage or icing if the room is not heated.
- Depressurization of the system. The signal is the constant appearance of a puddle in the same place. The reason is a leaky gasket, crack, or loose connection to the coupling.
- Ventilation problems disrupt indoor air circulation. In a private home, this may be a design mistake. It needs to be fixed right away. In multi-unit buildings with prolonged use, the ventilation grill may become clogged with dust and debris.
- Pipes must be cleaned periodically with acid and boiling water, because the old layer of fat on the walls is no better than a sewer stink. If with persistent blockage you have to wait a long time for the plumber with a cable or other devices, in a couple of days the smell becomes even stronger and it is more difficult to get rid of it.
Aromas may not come from plumbing devices. A permanently closed washing machine, used once a week, can emit odors. This happens because a small amount of water remains at the bottom of the case. If the bathroom floor is warm and the car door is ajar, the liquid evaporates in a couple of days. Otherwise, it will start to stink.
If condensation is collected due to the difference in the temperature of the liquid inside the pipes and the room temperature, it flows down and decays. The smell will be not so much sewer as musty and humid. In this case, insulation of the floor, which evaporates moisture, also helps.
Construction errors
The hood is usually designed at the construction stage, but sometimes they forget about it, or the owners build the house themselves, without experience.
In a country house, the principle of plumbing devices is the same as in an apartment, but if you simultaneously drain the water on the first and second floors, a low pressure area is created in the ventilation pipe, which draws water from the siphons into itself. In this case, the aromas penetrate inside. To prevent this from happening, the ventilation pipe must be at least 4 m high and brought to the roof. Only in this case is it possible to completely eliminate the cause of the smell of sewage in the bathroom, even in the absence of hosts for a long time and complete drying of the liquid in the hydraulic locks.
Effective ways to eliminate bad odor
The problem with laying pipes is more difficult to solve, since this will require disassembling and folding the system again. In a commissioned apartment building, these problems must be eliminated by law by the developer. In a private house - a team that was engaged in the sewer system or the owner himself. These errors are usually expensive, especially if the repair is completely finished and you need to break the tiles.
As for the siphon, over time, the corrugated pipe can lose its elasticity and its original shape, so it should be replaced with a new one. It is advisable to use fittings made of durable plastic, rather than corrugation, as cracks quickly appear in it. The same problem may occur with the bathroom. The installation of defective or cheap parts will lead to a quick failure of the repaired equipment. The cheap rubber from which the gaskets are made also deteriorates quickly.
Disruption of the water seal is a construction problem in which the craftsmen made too much a bias. Therefore, first check the condition of the plumbing inside the apartment, and then measure the installation parameters of the pipes in the overall system. If the problem is in them, the stench will be not only in one apartment.
Cracks in the plastic line are eliminated by replacing the pipe section or use sealant to temporarily stop the leak. More difficult with cast iron products. It is possible to urgently remove leaks with cement mortar, covering it with a crack.
Problems with ventilation arise for all residents of an apartment building at once, since one mine serves several apartments. If you attach a piece of paper while the fan is running, it will hold onto the grate. If the craving is bad, it will fall. To clean the ventilation pipe, call specialists. There is special equipment for this work that quickly removes dirt and dust.
Ways to eliminate blockages
With regular cleaning of kitchen drains and drains in the bathroom, blockages do not form. To do this, once a week use acid-based powder products. They are poured into the drain, filled with a glass of water, as written in the instructions, and left for a couple of hours. When the acid has corroded the fat, the pipes are washed several times with hot water.
Persistent plugs are eliminated with a plumbing cable with a nozzle at the end; after releasing the pipe from scale or grease, it is advisable to use a liquid cleaner and then boiling water.
Preventative measures
The high degree of qualification of the master who makes the sewers in a private house or apartment is the key to a long and trouble-free operation. Unfortunately, many owners save on skilled labor and try to do the job themselves. This leads to design errors, therefore - plumbing equipment and ventilation will not work well.House building or apartment renovation should be carried out at least under the supervision of an experienced craftsman if the family budget is limited.
Plumbing is durable items, so you can’t save on them. Buying super-expensive products is not necessary, but it is quite realistic to choose a good middle category.
According to the reviews of many owners of apartments and private houses who decided to insulate the floor during the next repair, this nuance saves from condensation and the appearance of mold in rooms with high humidity, and also increases the service life of washing machines.
To prevent stagnation of water in the bathroom, it is recommended to put hair traps on the drain. In this case, the garbage does not fall into the siphon, from where it is difficult to get it without completely dismantling the assembly.
If, after a prolonged absence of the hosts, the water seal has evaporated, you need to ventilate all the rooms and drain the water by adding toilet gel or a scented liquid soap. A pleasant aroma will be restored in a short time.
