Question: We just remodeled our entire bathroom replaced the tub, sink, floor tile, and toilet. Our restroom now has a sewage smell; what could be causing this? Do you think they didn’t install the toilet correctly?
A few things can cause a foul smell of sewer gas in a home. One is improper venting of the drains. All drain lines must be connected to a vent pipe extending through the roof to let the sewer gas escape outside. The vent may be connected but clogged and not letting the gas out, or the plumber installed it incorrectly. The other cause may be the lack of a trap in a drain line. A trap is the u shaped pipe you see under the sink in the drain piping. All drains must have a trap, including the shower, bathtub, and bathroom sinks. Toilets have the trap integrated into the bowl, not in the drain piping of the house. The trap is designed to hold water at a level that prevents sewer gas from escaping into the room. If the plumber did not install a trap or if the trap does not have any water, you may get the smell from there.