As we’re all well aware, toilets and bathrooms can get stinky for somewhat obvious reasons. Bodily waste doesn’t exactly smell great, but a good toilet will remove any significant odors through proper flushing and drainage – and if you’ve noticed that your toilet is not doing this, and is remaining stinky and putting out putrid odors even well after it’s been used, this could be a problem.
At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, we’re happy to provide numerous toilet repair and related services for any homeowner experiencing odor or other issues with one or more of their toilets. For us to adequately assess and remedy a smell issue in your toilet, we must first investigate the cause of the issue – and there could be a few different such causes. This two-part blog series will look at several of the underlying reasons why your toilet might be letting off poor odors even between uses.
Broken Toilet Seal
All toilets today come with a wax ring inside their base, and this feature is responsible for sealing the toilet – not only against moisture leakage, but also against odor. It’s meant to be airtight, keeping many of the smells that exist in your pipes and below your toilet from making their way into your breathing air.
If this seal is damaged or broken, however, both air and moisture can make their way through. The first signs here will often be a toilet that rocks back and forth when you sit on it, or you may also begin to notice smells and/or leaks at the bottom of the toilet. In these cases, call our plumbers right away for a repair of your wax seal.
Rare Usage
In some homes, certain toilets won’t get a whole lot of use. Some have a basement toilet, for instance. These toilets may smell when they’re flushed for the first time, or because their water has evaporated and allowed smells to travel from inside the drain up to your air. If you have one of these toilets, we recommend flushing it at least once or twice a month just to prevent this and other risks.
Clogs or Blockages
Another of the most common causes of odors from the toilet: Blockages or clogs, which can take place due to long-term buildup or due to a single instance of an incorrect item being flushed down. Other signs of blockages include slow draining or even toilets overflowing when they refuse to drain, but in many cases odor is present well before these events take place – and you can prevent such concerns by remedying the blockage right away, something our plumbers are happy to help with.
For more on the causes of odors coming from your toilet, or to learn about any of our toilet repair or other plumbing services, HVAC services and more, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric today.