Short answer
Run water for a minute in every drain you rarely use: shower, tub, sink and floor drain. That refills the trap, the bend of pipe whose water blocks sewer gas. Flush toilets nobody uses. If the smell is strongest at the toilet base, or the toilet rocks, the wax ring has likely failed. If it still smells after that, a plumber can find a cracked pipe or a vent problem.
Safety first
A rotten egg smell near the stove, furnace or water heater can be a gas leak, not the sewer. Get everyone out, do not flip switches, and call 911 or the gas company from outside. If a sewer smell is very strong and someone feels dizzy or sick, open the windows and step outside.
How to find and stop a sewer smell in the bathroom
1That sewer smell in the bathroom
It usually comes from a drain that dried out or from the toilet seal. Sniff near each drain and around the toilet base.
Read all the steps
- That sewer smell in the bathroom. It usually comes from a drain that dried out or from the toilet seal. Sniff near each drain and around the toilet base.
- Refill dry drain traps. Pour water into floor drains and run every shower, tub and sink you rarely use for a minute. The water in the trap blocks the gas.
- Flush toilets nobody uses. The water in the bowl is a seal too, and in a guest bathroom it can evaporate. Flush it, and once a week after that.
- Smell at the base? Check the wax ring. If the smell is strongest around the base, or the toilet rocks, the wax ring under it has likely failed and needs replacing.
- Fresh air again. Smell gone? Run water in rarely used drains every week or two. Still there? Call a plumber to check the vent and the pipes.
- Still not fixed? Call a plumber Especially if: the smell stays after you refill every trap and flush every toilet.
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Where the smell comes from
- A dry trap in a shower, tub, sink or floor drain that nobody uses.
- A failed wax ring under the toilet, often with a toilet that rocks.
- A dirty sink overflow: gunk inside the overflow hole smells. Scrub it with a small brush and hot soapy water.
- A cracked drain pipe or a loose fitting inside the wall.
- A blocked plumbing vent, often with gurgling drains.
What not to do
- Do not mix bleach with other cleaners to kill the smell. The fumes can be toxic.
- Do not just cover the drain or spray air freshener. Find where the gas gets in.
- Do not ignore a smell that keeps coming back: it can mean a cracked pipe.
When to call a plumber
- The smell stays after you refill every trap and flush every toilet.
- Drains gurgle or are slow, or water backs up.
- The smell is strongest at the toilet base or along a wall.
- Someone at home gets headaches or feels sick when the smell is strong.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my bathroom smell like sewer?
Most often a drain trap has dried out in a shower, tub, sink or floor drain that nobody uses, so sewer gas comes straight up. A failed toilet wax ring or a blocked vent can also cause it.
How do I get rid of sewer smell from a floor drain?
Pour a bucket of water into it to refill the trap. In drains you rarely use, repeat every week or two.
Is sewer gas dangerous?
At the low levels found in most homes it mainly smells bad and can cause headaches or nausea. If the smell is very strong or anyone feels sick, open the windows, step outside and call a plumber.
Can a toilet cause a sewer smell?
Yes. A failed wax ring under it lets gas escape around the base, and a toilet nobody flushes can lose the water in its bowl.
Does a sewer smell mean a gas leak?
Not always, but the two can smell alike. A rotten egg smell near the stove, furnace or water heater can be natural gas: get out and call the gas company from outside.