Does your toilet stink? Sorry to put it so bluntly, but if foul toilet odours linger in your bathroom, no matter how much you clean the toilet, don’t blame yourself. Several potential issues with your toilet can cause that stench of sewage gases in your GTA home.
Here are 7 common smelly toilet problems plus (whew!) their fixes. Still stinks? Hire our Brampton toilet repairmen.
1. Clogged Drain
A partial clog in your toilet drain may go untreated as long as your toilet still flushes. However, the blockage (if it consists of solids such as human waste, leftover food, or other organic matter) may make itself known via a bad smell in your drain.
Fix: Try clearing the blockage from your drain with the help of a drain snake or auger. Or give our clogged drain cleaning technicians if you can’t seem to fix the clog.
2. Damaged Toilet Seal
A wax seal protects the base of your toilet. As this seal ages, it often becomes loose or cracked. You’ll get a clue that the seal is damaged if your toilet starts wobbling or rocking rather than sitting firmly on the floor.
Fix: Although various DIY “fixes” for a damaged wax sealing ring are sold at home centres, you’re better off getting the job done right the first time, Have the wax ring replaced by a professional plumber in Toronto.
3. Bacteria Seeping Into Toilet
During a spell of the hot, humid summer weather we so often ”enjoy” in the Greater Toronto Area, bacteria might sneak into your toilet feeder pipes. As they multiply in your home plumbing, these bacteria give off a reek of sewage smell.
Fix: Pour 250 ml of household bleach into your overflow pipe (located inside the toilet tank). Allow it to disinfect for about 10-15 minutes before flushing. This will channel the bleach solution down into the bowl, where you should leave it to work its cleaning magic for another couple of hours.
4. Improper Vent Pipe
Your vent pipe is designed to reach up through the roof, discharge sewer gases and bring fresh air into the plumbing system. However, if the vent pipe was improperly installed or has become blocked, it could release a large amount of gas straight into your bathroom. This gas not only smells bad (something like rotten eggs); it contains hazardous components like methane.
Fix: Call for emergency plumbing repair.
5. Cracked Toilet Bowl
Even a barely visible crack in the porcelain of your toilet bowl can result in a slow leak. Because this will lower the water level, sewer gas will seep in, with its characteristic foul odor that results in bad bathroom smells.
Fix: Get professional plumbing help ASAP to determine whether you need toilet repair or replacement. A repair could be possible if the crack is located above the waterline; otherwise, installing a new toilet will be the best solution here.
6. Mould
We know you clean your toilet very carefully, but you might still be missing that hard-to-reach area under the rim of the toilet bowl. And that is exactly the spot where mould loves to grow, giving off its characteristic sourish, musty scent.
Fix: This one, you definitely can take care of yourself to restore a nice clean toilet smell. You’ll need a small flexible toilet brush or even a discarded toothbrush, rubber gloves and breathing protection, plus a bit of white vinegar or diluted bleach. Lift the toilet seat and use the brush, dipped in vinegar or bleach, to scrub away the mould everywhere. Be sure you get at even the deepest crevices.
7. An Idle Toilet
Sometimes a supposedly clean toilet in your guest room or country cottage might go unused for long periods. What happens next? The water in the P-trap tends to evaporate, making way for stinky sewer gas and awful toilet smells.
Fix: Don’t panic. This is the most straightforward problem to solve. Just flush the toilet once or twice, and voila! No more unpleasant smell.
We’ll Get Rid Of The Stink… And The Problem Behind It
When you need help clearing up a foul smell from your toilet — or any other plumbing problem — contact Dr HVAC. Our plumbing team will expertly diagnose the problem and provide solutions. If toilet replacement is necessary, we’ll help you choose the best toilet for your Toronto-area home.
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