Sewage/rotten-like odor coming from batroom faucets

[Anonymous]

We recently moved to a townhome built in 2007 and notice a sewage/rotten-like odor coming from most of bathroom faucets in the home. The color and taste of the water seems fine, but we are worry there may be an issue with the pipes. Unfortunately, the home inspector did not caught this.

Has anyone experienced this? And if yes, how did you solve it?

Or any ideas as to what could be causing the bad odor?

[Anonymous]

We just had this problem. We had to call a plumber to remove some 20 years of soap, beard hair, gunk. It gets caught in the U-shaped valve, collects and creates bacteria. We tried all sorts of chemical solvents but in the end called the plumber. Check to make sure there is not any leak under the pipe - we didnt know it but we had a small leak so the water had permeated the wood under the sink. We had to treat that wood with chemicals and air it out to get rid of the smell.

[Anonymous]

I assume you have traps (i.e., U-shaped pipe)?

[Anonymous]

Were the traps dry? That allows sewer gases to rise from the pipes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Were the traps dry? That allows sewer gases to rise from the pipes.

traps, by design, shouldn't be dry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were the traps dry? That allows sewer gases to rise from the pipes.

traps, by design, shouldn't be dry.

If the house has been unoccupied for a long time they may have dried.

[Anonymous]

Is the smell coming from the drain or the faucets?

If it's coming from the drains, then like the PPs said, get your traps cleaned out. Make sure you regularly run the water in every sink and shower because those water traps dry out and allow sewer gasses to enter the house.

If the smell is coming from the faucets, then there's something in your water. Is it well water? That can contain sulfur which has a bad smell. If you smell it while you're running hot water, then it might have to do with the anode in your hot water heater. Anodes keep your hot water heater from corroding but depending on what it's made of, the hot water can smell a little weird while it's running. Once you turn the faucet off, the smell dissipates instantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were the traps dry? That allows sewer gases to rise from the pipes.

traps, by design, shouldn't be dry.

If the house has been unoccupied for a long time they may have dried.

true... I assumed op was living there and have used faucets.

[Anonymous]

Do you use well water? If water smells, most likely your treatment system is not working properly. Either that or you are not used to well water.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. I am not really sure If the house uses well water. I have checked under the sink and there isn't any leaks. The smell definitely comes from the faucet after water has been running for 30 seconds and it dissipates after a couple of minutes.

Would you please recommend a plumber? How much do they usually charge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I am not really sure If the house uses well water. I have checked under the sink and there isn't any leaks. The smell definitely comes from the faucet after water has been running for 30 seconds and it dissipates after a couple of minutes.

Would you please recommend a plumber? How much do they usually charge?

The type of water system you are on is disclosed in the purchase documents. Heck this is even sometimes on MLS. City water and sewer vs well and septic is a big deal for many people.

Where do you live? Plumbers usually charge a min. Amount for coming out, plus a first hour rate and then subsequent hours are at a lower rate.

[Anonymous]

It's not that much to have a plumber come out and look at things. When you call, you can ask how much for an estimate. Some will put it towards the work.

Where are you located?

[Anonymous]

Check your mris listing or those for houses around you. The water will be listed as public or well.

Also, you probably get a water and sewer bill, then it's public.

[Anonymous]

If you are handy, snake the drains. You will be grossed out by what you find. Also, regular cleaning with baking soda and vinegar helps keep pipes smelling fresh. Just dump some soda down the drain and follow with some vinegar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are handy, snake the drains. You will be grossed out by what you find. Also, regular cleaning with baking soda and vinegar helps keep pipes smelling fresh. Just dump some soda down the drain and follow with some vinegar.

agree - most likely it's not the water or faucets that smells, but when the water hits the nasty gunk in the pipes below the smell wafts up. once you clean out that old hair/soap stuff it will smell fine.