Need help with plumbing vent problem
 

Hello,
I have an odd odor coming from my upstairs toilet. The smell is
sort of sulfur/stinky. It could be a vent issue. I have two other
toilets in the house (1 is exactly below the stinky one) and neither
of these has an odor. The smell seems to be coming from the water in
the bowl. I am assuming that there is a venting issue, but how would
the smell be able to come up through the water? If anyone has any
ideas what is causing this, and how to fix it, I would appreciate some
suggestions.

thanks,
Andy

Need help with plumbing vent problem
 

Andrew wrote:
Hello,
I have an odd odor coming from my upstairs toilet. The smell is
sort of sulfur/stinky. It could be a vent issue. I have two other
toilets in the house (1 is exactly below the stinky one) and neither
of these has an odor. The smell seems to be coming from the water in
the bowl. I am assuming that there is a venting issue, but how would
the smell be able to come up through the water? If anyone has any
ideas what is causing this, and how to fix it, I would appreciate some
suggestions.

thanks,
Andy


It would not come up thru the bowl water.

But it might be escaping underneath, at the wax ring.
It's common for the wax to fail in such a way that
it is no longer gas-tight but still doen't leak any
visible water.

Far less likely is some freak crack in the porcelain
passage in the bowl.

Jim

Need help with plumbing vent problem
 

On Aug 6, 9:40 am, Speedy Jim wrote:
Andrew wrote:
Hello,
I have an odd odor coming from my upstairs toilet. The smell is
sort of sulfur/stinky. It could be a vent issue. I have two other
toilets in the house (1 is exactly below the stinky one) and neither
of these has an odor. The smell seems to be coming from the water in
the bowl. I am assuming that there is a venting issue, but how would
the smell be able to come up through the water? If anyone has any
ideas what is causing this, and how to fix it, I would appreciate some
suggestions.

thanks,
Andy

It would not come up thru the bowl water.

But it might be escaping underneath, at the wax ring.
It's common for the wax to fail in such a way that
it is no longer gas-tight but still doen't leak any
visible water.

Far less likely is some freak crack in the porcelain
passage in the bowl.

Jim

Is there a way to check the integrity of the wax ring? If I caulked
around the bowl, would this serve as a temporary fix?

thanks,
Andy

Need help with plumbing vent problem
 

On Aug 6, 11:54 am, Andrew wrote:
Is there a way to check the integrity of the wax ring? If I caulked
around the bowl, would this serve as a temporary fix?

You have to remove the toilet to check the wax ring. At that point,
you may as well replace it. It's not that difficult.

If you want to do the half-a$$ed hillbilly fix, go ahead and caulk.
Just keep in mind that there's probably more wrong than just gas
leaking. Right now there's probably just a little bit of water
escaping, enough that it hasn't soaked through the ceiling downstairs,
but that ring is probably on its way out. Caulking around the base of
the toilet may block the gases, but the water is still going to drip
and destroy your ceiling at least.

Need help with plumbing vent problem
 

On Aug 6, 10:08 am, wrote:
On Aug 6, 11:54 am, Andrew wrote:

Is there a way to check the integrity of the wax ring? If I caulked
around the bowl, would this serve as a temporary fix?

You have to remove the toilet to check the wax ring. At that point,
you may as well replace it. It's not that difficult.

If you want to do the half-a$$ed hillbilly fix, go ahead and caulk.
Just keep in mind that there's probably more wrong than just gas
leaking. Right now there's probably just a little bit of water
escaping, enough that it hasn't soaked through the ceiling downstairs,
but that ring is probably on its way out. Caulking around the base of
the toilet may block the gases, but the water is still going to drip
and destroy your ceiling at least.

Remember, I did say the caulk could be TEMPORARY fix. A true
hillbilly would make this a permanent fix. Thanks for your help. I
will replace the ring this weekend.

Need help with plumbing vent problem
 

Remove the toilet and change the wax ring. A plastic paint scraper will
remove the old residue. Also change the flange bolts for brass or stainless
that won't rust. Wax rings come in single height or double height. If the
flange was installed too low it might need a double thick ring to seal.
Don't overtighten as you'll crack the toilet. The caulking around the
outside is only to make it look purdy as Andrew would say.

Bubba