Main bathroom smells

[Newjohn]

Main bathroom smells. Can’t seem to locate the source. Every time I empty the black water I spray it till water is good and clear. Then add a toilet Treatment drop-in in both toilets as well as a good size splash of Pine-Sol. Has anyone else encountered this problem and have any thoughts? Appreciate your help.

[D20]

It may be the shower drain if the diaphragm in the trap isn’t closing all of the way or is damaged. Gray tanks have been known to stink also.

[ThunderRidge]

Your air admittance valve may be stuck open. Not sure what kind of coach you have but, on my Dutch Star it is in the half bath cabinet below the sink. You can buy new ones at Home Depot or other stores such as this.

[Newjohn]

We have a 2014 nNewmar Vantana 4369. I’ll check both places in the half bath and the shower drain. Thank you.

[Newjohn]

The screw holding the drain cover on the floor of the shower screws endlessly in either direction. So I can’t pull the drain cover off however there is no odor at that location.

[Newjohn]

Can you be more explicit as to what the air admittance valve is? What does it look like? How does one know if it’s good or bad? Thank you.

[Dutch Star Don]

Just throwing out things t check.........First, you only need to add chemical to one toilet, they're both going the same place. As stated, check the air admittance valve, but that is usually just in the half bath under the sink. The shower can smell. Be careful and don't poke around too much in the sower drain, as you can damage the internal valve.

The chrome cover on the shower drain is removable and there is a crossbar under it that can catch debris/hair.

I would also take a mirror and flashlight and carefully check behind the main bath toilet for any leaks. Is the toilet bowl holding water?

Lastly, do you have a washer/dryer in the main bath. Has the washing machine been used in awhile. Sniff around that cabinet.

[Spk64]

Located under sink. Usually in kitchen and bath.
I replaced all of ours with higher quality units.
You can tape a bag over temporarily to see if it helps with smell.

[Fast E]

Originally Posted by D20

It may be the shower drain if the diaphragm in the trap isn’t closing all of the way or is damaged. Gray tanks have been known to stink also.

Gray water stinks worse than the black tank. I tried a method suggested on this site. Partially fill a sealable plastic baggie with water then place it over the shower drain. IT WORKS to keep out the odors.

[Newjohn]

Thank you for the picture I find it those are under each sink kitchen half bath and both sinks in the main bath. The only one that I could remove was under my sink on the left side main bath. I took it off it smells fine. The one on the right side sink in the main bath wouldn’t turn. The one in the kitchen wouldn’t turn & the one in the half bath Would turn but only to a certain point then it stopped. Regarding the clothes washer, There is no smell in that area. my wife frequently has problems getting the washer to operate. She can do a few loads and it’ll operate fine then it won’t, sometimes for days.

[Newjohn]

The toilets used to hold water in the bowls After flushing but now they just empty completely. However they do hold liquid if we push the Fill button. As to the main bath it’s only a quarter or half inch from the wall so I can’t look at behind it. I can see behind the half bath toilet but don’t see any leak.

[PetesMH]

Originally Posted by Newjohn

Thank you for the picture I find it those are under each sink kitchen half bath and both sinks in the main bath. The only one that I could remove was under my sink on the left side main bath. I took it off it smells fine. The one on the right side sink in the main bath wouldn’t turn. The one in the kitchen wouldn’t turn & the one in the half bath Would turn but only to a certain point then it stopped. Regarding the clothes washer, There is no smell in that area. my wife frequently has problems getting the washer to operate. She can do a few loads and it’ll operate fine then it won’t, sometimes for days.

Try what was suggested - put a plastic bag over the air admittance valve in your half bath and secure it with a rubber band. If your smell goes away the valve is your issue. They really do just unscrew so perhaps you can work it free. If you can get it off you can test it easily. You should be able to suck air through it but not blow. Better quality ones are avaiat big box stores. A good brand is Stidervent. Last time I bought o e it was only about $15.

[ClassAboater]

This last 2 months I have replaced the air admittance valves under both bath sinks and the one under the kitchen sink. One in the half bath went first, I bought three at that time knowing that if one is gone, the others are likely soon to go. Within 2 weeks the one in the kitchen went. I figured I might as well do the other bath at that time also.

Only one came off easy, the others had dried plumbers putty that required using channel locks to get them to turn.

The smell first started after draining the grey tank. It was easy to figure where it was from by opening the cabinet door under the sink.

I have also had issues with our half bath toilet not sealing (slowly drains if we leave water in it). A bit of Vaseline on the rubber gasket solves this issue. If that seal leaks water, it will also leak tank gasses, so is worth keeping it sealing tight.

Good luck with your hunt to cure the stink

[Newjohn]

Thank you all for your replies. I put plastic bags over the stacks under the sinks in the main bathroom and there was no longer an odor. Amazon only had outside threads air admittance valves. Mine seem more like caps with inside threads.