How To Clean Smelly Bathroom Floor Drains

5 Reasons Your Bathroom Smells Funky (and How to Fix the Problem)

A plumber reveals five reasons your bathroom has a pong (and a number 2 is not one of them!)

Rebecca Senyard

March 30, 2018

Houzz Australia Contributor. A licensed plumber with more than 10 years' experience on the tools, passionate about sharing what I have learned to help with your new build or renovation. I also write an award-winning blog, The Plumbette.

There is nothing worse than walking into a beautiful bathroom and crinkling your nose at the horrid smell emitted from somewhere within the room. At some point, you will come across varied smells within bathrooms. Many homeowners can feel embarrassed when their bathroom has a smell, but it's important to understand bathrooms will produce a range of odours at one time or another. And usually they can be fixed. Here are some of the common reasons your bathroom may smell funky, with some tips on how to fix them.

1. Dry floor-waste drain
Bathrooms in Australia will generally have a floor waste in the middle of the room. In older homes, the floor waste will be a round, chrome grate that will be flush with the tiled floor in the middle of the bathroom. For more modern bathrooms, the shower waste may be the main grated waste in the bathroom like in a wet room design.

This floor waste (and/or shower waste) should have a water seal at the bottom to prevent sewer gases being emitted through the grate. If the bathroom is used consistently, it will be highly unlikely for the floor waste to be dry. You can check the level of water by shining a torch down the grate. If you can't see any water, it's possible that this is causing your bathroom to smell horrid.

You need to get the water seal back by using one of the bathroom fixtures, or using a bucket to pour water down the drain. Once that water seal is back at the bottom of the trap, you will notice your bathroom will smell less like something has died in there. If you can't get the water seal back into the trap, you will need to call a licensed plumber to investigate further.

If the floor waste does have a water seal, it can sometimes emit an odour due to sediment and bacteria that sit at the bottom of the trap. Shampoos, soaps, hair and bodily fluids can congeal at the bottom of the waste, and when they accumulate, they will emit a smell.

You can use drain-cleaning solutions to remove this sludge from the bottom of the trap. But for a more environmentally friendly solution, insert a fitting such as Grate Seal or EzyDrain that can prevent odours coming through.

Tip: If you're renovating or building a new bathroom, consider getting a tiled floor waste, which will offer another layer of protection from floor waste sewer smells.

2. Deteriorated toilet waste collar
I know I said the toilet would not be the cause of smells in the bathroom, but it can be the source of a mighty smell if the rubber seal connecting the toilet pan to the waste pipe deteriorates. It's very common for the rubber seal on the toilet pan collar fitting to go dry or become loose due to age, and the general wear and tear of the toilet being used constantly.

To fix, your local licensed plumber will need to come out and remove the toilet pan and replace the pan collar rubber seal. If the plumber can't remove the toilet pan, they will use a sealant to reseal the toilet.

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Tip: Consider installing a wall-faced concealed toilet pan, where the toilet pan collar is concealed by the pan. This won't necessarily prevent the toilet pan collar from deteriorating, but it will conceal any possible sewer gases emitted from the collar when it does deteriorate.

3. Inadequate ventilation
This is not necessarily a plumbing problem, but it is something to consider. Bathrooms contain moisture and their humid environment can cause mould to grow. Adequate ventilation is a must for air flow in the room, and to remove moisture that aids in the growth of smelly mould.

Tip: Natural ventilation, such as an open window, can ensure steam is able to escape from the bathroom.

For internal bathrooms where there are no windows, install an exhaust fan.

4. Basin overflow
The round hole that is seen at the back or front of your basin is called an overflow. This basin feature ensures the basin will never overflow, should someone leave the tap on and overfill the basin. The water will rise in the basin, and overflow through that hole then back down through the basin waste. Over time, this overflow hole can build up with dust, cleaning products and all manner of waste water, which can cause it to smell a little funky.

Tip: The best way to remove the smell from the overflow of a basin is to pour some bicarb soda and vinegar down the hole. If it requires a more thorough clean, get some pipe cleaners, twist them together, then feed them through the overflow and give it a good scrub. A toothbrush is another great cleaning implement. Be sure not to let go of the pipe cleaners or toothbrush though, as you don't want to get them stuck in the overflow hole.

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5. Push plugs and basin wastes
Push plugs are a convenient fitting that removes the annoyance of having to find a plug to fill the basin. However, push plugs are notorious for accumulating hair, soap and toothpaste over time, which congeals and hardens under the plug and will eventually cause your push plug to get stuck. Whatever accumulates under the push plug can also build up in the basin trap waste. After a while, the basin waste can produce a sulphur-like smell.

Tip: Drain-cleaning products can remove this smell, as it will dissolve the organic matter that causes the smell. Alternatively, replacing the push plug and basin waste can remove the smell instantaneously.

If you notice a smell in your bathroom that isn't pleasant, and you know it hasn't been caused by someone using the bathroom, use your nose to identify the cause. If you're at a loss as to why your bathroom still smells funky though, call your local plumber to check for possible causes of the smell.

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