Toilets, Sinks, Showers, Tubs and Disposals - Toilet Reeks - Possible Flange Issue????

This is my first time posting a question, I hope I use the right terminology so I might be able to save the $70 for calling a plumber in. We've been in our first home for 3 weeks now and there has been a pervasive urine smell in one of the main floor bathrooms since we moved in. I thought the floor just needed a good bleach cleaning, but after doing this we noticed more yellow stains coming up around the base of the toilet. Tightening the bolts at the bowl base alleviated the problem for a few days (and some wax came out as we tightened them), but then the yellow appeared around the base again.

We did some reading and figured the wax ring was probably bad and since the toilet had 1969 imprinted into the tank (as old as the home) and apparantly had had it's share of leaking problems under the tank (going from the black-looking mildew underneath and some blue rings looking like extra seals or something around the fixtures in the bottom of the tank), we decided to buy a new toilet. When we took the old one out we noted a few things: there were two plastic sleeves (that come attached to the wax ring) shoved down in the flange (we removed both and only the new one is there now), there are not holes in the flange for the t-bolts to slide through like all the books show- rather there are gap-like entrances you slide the bolts into (hopefully you can picture this, maybe old flanges were made this way??) - we think this is why it seemed difficult to really secure the new toilet once we had put the wax ring on it and tried to bolt it down, we set the level on the toilet and tried to move it around so it was level but it seemed to always lean a little to one side even after pushing down hard and bolting it in. We also noticed when we changed out the old toilet that there was no apparent urine leak on the floor around the flange and the old wax ring had no black around it indicating sewer gas was not leaking through.

So now that we have the new toilet installed, and we have not even used it and we are still smelling the sewage smell and it's terrible! I was about to call a plumber but thought I'd try this route first. I was reading some of the other threads about vents and such and wonder if we might need to check into that to alleviate the smell? Otherwise, I'm wondering if somehow the flange is faulty?? Right now I've got a box fan on it hoping maybe the floor just needed to be aired out more completely.

By the way, if your flange is above grade, as ours is, do you need the wax ring and the sleeve or just the wax ring? We installed both but read some differing instructions in do-it-yourself books.

Sorry this is a book, I just wanted to be as thorough as possible in hopes I might get better help. Many thanks!

I normally use wax only, don't like the ones that have the plastic horns in them, not code approved here. If you know for sure to toilet seated good on the floor, wax did squeeze down and you got it bolted ok, then there is no reason to think the wax seal is bad.

Is there a crawl space that one could go into and see if there is anything wrong with drainage under the house?

You know for sure the smell is coming from the toilet area only?

You indicated that the new toilet is installed, but you haven't used it and you smell sewer gas.

Have you filled the tank with water and made one flush of the toilet to seal the trap from the sewer gases?

Yes, the smell is coming from the toilet only. Yes, we filled it with water and flushed it probably a dozen times.

There is a finished basement under the bathroom so I don't think looking in a crawl space for drainage issues is an option. We do have a septic tank. Does that bring any possible solutions to surface??

Can someone tell me more about the vents that could have something to do with the smell from the toilet? Are they on my roof? How exactly does the vent system work?

It sounds like you have done everything you can do to get rid of the problem. The toilet flange sounds like a repair flange. This could mean that it was leaking and the smell is coming from the wood around the flange. Since you have a basement, you should be able to see if the wood below the toilet has stains or perhaps, still wet. If this is a repair flange, there could be a crack in the pipe below it. Vent should not be a problem if the bowl is full. I did have a little problem when you said the wax squeezed out when you tightened the bolts. That tells me the toilet is not sitting on the floor but up on the flange, not good. Need toilet shims to keep it from rocking or to level it up. Sorry, but these are all I could come up with for your problem. Good luck.

Thanks for your response. I actually cannot see the basement ceiling where the toilet is, the ceiling underneath it is part of a "shop" room off our basement garage that just has insulation for the ceiling.

I just looked at our home inspection report and it notes the bathroom vents do not terminate to the outside of our house. Do you still think the vents are unrelated?

thanks

Vents do not terminate to the outside of the house? HUH? NEVER heard of such a thing. Sewer gas is deadly. It is a combination of everything that goes down the drains. If you mix bleach and ammonia you get a toxic gas. If you clean one sink with Comet and throw the water from window cleaning (with ammonia) down another drain, they mix in the drain and the gas has to have a place to exit....VENT. If the vent dead ends inside the house then all the gases are going there also. That is the reason for traps on all the fixtures in a house. They prevent the gases from coming into the house. Please have this situation checked out. It is serious.

Talked with my husband - it's the bathroom vents (the ones you turn on when you're taking a shower) that don't terminate to the outside, so we're safe (right?).

My husband caulked around the base of the toilet bowl after we let the bathroom air out a few days. The smell has mostly disappeared now (maybe it really was in the baseboards?). I can still smell hints of the pee-sort-of smell, but it's not as bad as it was. Is it okay to just live with that? Are there any possibilities it could be something we really ought to fully remedy?

The ventilation fan should also be run all the way outside through a wall or roof. The moisture will build up and cause mold in the space it is vented to.