Why does my bathroom sink smell?

October 6, 2013 1:05 PM

My bathroom sink smells after I take a hot shower, any ideas why?

The pipes underneath my bathroom sink reek after I use my shower. I honestly can't tell if its more of a sewage or rotten egg smell. I did let my landlord know, and he called a plumber who basically told me he didn't know what the problem was.
Any ideas? They are plastic pipes.

posted by pintapicasso to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

The shower vent is somehow sucking the sink vent, pulling the water from the sink trap. If this is a new problem, there's a blocked vent somewhere. If it's new construction, someone fucked up.

Have the vents snaked. I mean, along with the shower drain.
posted by notsnot at 1:26 PM on October 6, 2013 [3 favorites]

Some sink traps can be unscrewed and emptied. Ask your landlord to call another plumber because the one he called was pretty useless.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 1:51 PM on October 6, 2013 [2 favorites]

When you take a shower put the plug in the plug hole and duct tape over the over flow .
posted by hortense at 3:07 PM on October 6, 2013

Wait, is the smell coming from the sink drain itself? Or actually from 'the pipes underneath'? If it's coming from the sink drain I'd agree with notsnot - the shower is sucking out the water from your sink trap. If you run your sink afterwards and the smell goes away (or if you run your sink while you're taking a shower and you don't get the smell), that's your answer.

If the smell is actually coming from under your sink as you say, that would be far stranger. Does it smell at all if you run hot water from a different tap, like the kitchen or a different bathroom? Either that or I could maybe see a crack in the pipe between the trap and the sink that would allow the smell to seep out there, instead of / in addition to the drain.

Is your water heater gas or electric?
posted by SquidLips at 4:27 PM on October 6, 2013 [1 favorite]