Sink "p-trap" pipes & grey water tank odor

[LFloresNolasco]

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced sewer like odors coming from their sink/Gray water tank or pipes. We recently took off the "p-trap" part of the pipes (and cleaned out with bleach water), flushed the tank with a hose (and saw some food chunks come out). We also completely filled up the tank and let it sit a while with bleach water. All was good after all that process. I have not allowed any food particles down my sink drains, including other liquids that are not dish soap water or just plain water (I dump coffee, milk, etc. In my toilet tanks). I also have screens in my sinks to catch any debris so as not to go down the drains. I wipe all my dirty dishes with paper towels before washing them in the sink. However, I keep getting an ugly sewer smell from my sink tank and/or pipes. If anyone else has had this problem, please share any remedies. By the way, we live in our 5th-wheel toy hauler full time. Help!

[dannyabear]

Change the air admittance valve under the sink

[LFloresNolasco]

Originally Posted by dannyabear

Change the air admittance valve under the sink

We do not have one and want to buy one to put in our pipe. We have a 2016 Thunderbolt XLR 375AMP. Not sure why it did not come with one.

[R3Jones]

Originally Posted by dannyabear

Change the air admittance valve under the sink

X2

[ben31]

Originally Posted by LFloresNolasco

We do not have one and want to buy one to put in our pipe. We have a 2016 Thunderbolt XLR 375AMP. Not sure why it did not come with one.

It should have come with one. Is it still new? If so, get with the dealer and get one installed. That is likely your problem.

Look under the sink and you should have one there. See this site for more information o nwhat it is and why they are in the RV. VENTING 101 - Air Admittance Valve Pros and Cons | Gary N Smith - Home Inspector/Construction Coach

[LFloresNolasco]

Originally Posted by ben31

It should have come with one. Is it still new? If so, get with the dealer and get one installed. That is likely your problem.

Look under the sink and you should have one there. See this site for more information o nwhat it is and why they are in the RV. VENTING 101 - Air Admittance Valve Pros and Cons | Gary N Smith - Home Inspector/Construction Coach

I found ours, we actually have one under the sink (see pictures). But not sure it working properly since we can still smell the odor. The vents are on the underside of the cap.

[A32Deuce]

Should be one of them at each sink you have. Had one in the bathroom sink fail.

[LFloresNolasco]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

Should be one of them at each sink you have. Had one in the bathroom sink fail.

Yes, we do have on other sinks. The one under the kitchen sink was loose though. We will probably replace them & have extras on hand. Thanks!

[CedarCreekWoody]

Replace if unsure, they are not expensive. Also, are you running a strong vent fan without a window cracked to admit air? This can create a negative pressure and draw in air through a faulty valve.

[LFloresNolasco]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

Replace if unsure, they are not expensive. Also, are you running a strong vent fan without a window cracked to admit air? This can create a negative pressure and draw in air through a faulty valve.

Yes, even if we open a criss ventilation, we can still smell the bad odor. So I guess it is time to replace them all. It sounds like they don't last long anyway.

[Stormrider151]

We had the same thing happen last weekend. We don't get to go camping very often and the water in the P trap had dried up. The odor was pretty bad. All we had to do was add some water to the drain and that solved the problem.

[RogerD]

If you are going to replace the valve, consider the one from Oatey. I like it better and you can get it from Home Depot or a lot of plumbing supply stores.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...34870_1000.jpg

[Tim Coltrain]

Part #1
This is a post I put up in the beginning of July.
Smell From Sewer & Fresh Water Odor
Going all the way back to last year my first trip to Tennessee. We detected that terrible odor. I then did my research and somewhere on the forum someone said the Grey water needed lemon tablets. I tried that and it went away or so I thought. A little more research revealed pee traps needed to have water in them to prevent odor from coming back up through the pipes. I did that and it went away for awhile but returned on several other trips. So, I'm down to the last thing that I think can be done. The 360 Siphon's that I see so many reviews on and youtube https://youtu.be/CVcwc28PinQ . My next camping trip will be in Sept as scheduled so I have time to fix it before that trip. BUT BUT i wanted to share something with everyone that we did on July the fourth. The smell was in my camper and OMG what am I going to do. Being I'm in construction I'm always thinking. Well this is what I done and believe it or not solved a problem (Now we'll call it a temporary Camping trip solution but you'll have to do it again and again but I found it to work. I turned the water off, open the toilet opening and stuck my leaf blower on low to blow air into the tank and out the vent. Guess what It work no more odor. I did this for a about 10 minutes. The odor was gone. So our week at the lake was wonderful.

Test #2:
I'm home and figure I needed to repeat the process again. This time I open the toilet value and set a counter fan same size a toilet and turned on low. Stepped out side and OMG there was that stink smell it was blowing out the vent. After a few minutes the smell was gone.

Test #3:
Now the gray water. Being I have two tanks I cleaned them out very well while at the camp site. I went to Walmart and bought me another connection (Clear) and hooked my swimming pool hose to it about six foot and connected it to my shop vacuum. Turned it on with gray water valves in open position. Within a few minutes that smell was gone.



So all I have to do now it purchase and install those new 360 Siphons. And even after I install these I'll probably still use the fan method each time I camp to assure myself I have filled the tank with quality outside air.


Anyway thought I would share my new idea and you can try itself and no expense.

Part #2

1. I installed new 360 Siphon's on Gray Water #1, Gray Water #2, Black Water #3. Prior to camping the night before I open the toilet trap door and I have a fan that blowed all night and clears that sewer odor.

2. I have NOT had any more odors inside or out.

3. I bought a three inch fan from walmart just big enough that I could sit it inside of the opening of the toilet door.

4. My sewer odors are now gone.


Note: Back in June just before my July 4th camping trip. I purposely filled my Fresh water tank, Gray Water tank #1, and Gray Water tank. Filled until water backed up in sink and in shower. I let sit for three days. I was able to determing most of smell comes from your black water tank, or in my case my black water tank. Took me awhile to figure it out but I have solve my issue with stinking odors.




Tim Coltrain in the Wonderful state of North Carolina.

[Jack Larson]

Had that funky smell last weekend. After much checking, it ended up being the sink vent plastic valve was a little warped. New vent from Lowe's for $5.98 and tax problem solved. Simple fast fix.

[LFloresNolasco]

Yes, which is what we ended up doing also. Thanks everyone for your feedback!