smell in bathroom

[man from uncle]

Does the vanity basin have an overflow outlet? Check that it’s connected correctly, see them not hooked up before.

No, the basin does not have an overflow outlet.

[KBs PensNmore]

Any ideas please. Recently has bathroom renovated, and now there is a smell in the bathroom after showering.

How long after the bathroom renovation did you start noticing the smell?? What does it smell like???
If we knew what it smelt like, it would be possible to give a more definitive answer.
I know this has nothing to do with your problem, but, I lived in a house that my wife had built with her ex, and she kept complaining about her sinuses, as if she was allergic to the house. We'd go away for a few days and her sinus would be fine, back home a few hours, and the sinus would flare up again. To cut a long story short, the breacher pipe where the hot and cold water connected to the shower "T" wasn't properly soldered. We ended up having to renovate the bathroom and replace the wall that backed onto the shower because of the mold.
Kryn

[man from uncle]

How long after the bathroom renovation did you start noticing the smell?? What does it smell like???
If we knew what it smelt like, it would be possible to give a more definitive answer.
I know this has nothing to do with your problem, but, I lived in a house that my wife had built with her ex, and she kept complaining about her sinuses, as if she was allergic to the house. We'd go away for a few days and her sinus would be fine, back home a few hours, and the sinus would flare up again. To cut a long story short, the breacher pipe where the hot and cold water connected to the shower "T" wasn't properly soldered. We ended up having to renovate the bathroom and replace the wall that backed onto the shower because of the mold.
Kryn

The renovation is only aboout 2 months, and it was all stripped out and rebult so not likely to be mould issues

[rwbuild]

You say that all 3 pipes aren't connected under the house, therefore they branch into a main discharge externally. How far from the ensuit externally is the vent pipe?

[rwbuild]

more tests for you to do.
When you finish your shower shut window and door with fan on
Leave window ajar, fan off, door closed
Shut window and door, fan off
Shut window, door open and fan on
Any smell or none after these tests

[man from uncle]

You say that all 3 pipes aren't connected under the house, therefore they branch into a main discharge externally. How far from the ensuit externally is the vent pipe?

Hi, I have no idea about this. do you mean that pipe that sticks out of the roof?

[man from uncle]

more tests for you to do.
When you finish your shower shut window and door with fan on
Leave window ajar, fan off, door closed
Shut window and door, fan off
Shut window, door open and fan on
Any smell or none after these tests

I think it is somehow related to the fan, but not sure how. This morning I showered with window open (despite the Canberra cold) and fan off, and there was no smell.

I will repeat this again and see what happens

Could the fan be pulling smell out of the drain? if so it could only be the toilet. The shower has a grate seal, and I tested with the basin plug in and water in the basin.

I need to try with the toilet seat down, or seal it with cling film for a test !

[man from uncle]

As I am narrowing this down, I think it is something to do with the fan and the toilet - not the shower at all.

I closed the window and door, left the shower off and turned on the fan. And the smell was there. I am confident that the Grateseal on the shower drain is ok, and the sink trap is fine

is it possible, if the wax ring is not seated or sealed properly this could be the cause of the fan drawing the smell out?

[aldav]

Is the toilet a 'P' trap or an 'S' trap? Can you see the seal between the floor, or wall, as the case may be?

[rwbuild]

The reason for my tests was that I did suspect the fan, now as you say seal toilet with gladwrap, seal the outlet hole in grated drain with an inflated balloon and plug firmly in place in vanity,
. Now turn fan on with door and window shut and remove each seal one at a time with 5 minute delays between each. My hunch is its the vanity, having the smallest diameter it will be the one that is syphoning and the problem will be either the size of the vanity wast pipe UNDER THE FLOOR and could also be the distance of the vent pip[e from the ensuit.

[man from uncle]

The reason for my tests was that I did suspect the fan, now as you say seal toilet with gladwrap, seal the outlet hole in grated drain with an inflated balloon and plug firmly in place in vanity,
. Now turn fan on with door and window shut and remove each seal one at a time with 5 minute delays between each. My hunch is its the vanity, having the smallest diameter it will be the one that is syphoning and the problem will be either the size of the vanity wast pipe UNDER THE FLOOR and could also be the distance of the vent pip[e from the ensuit.

I did all these things and even with all three outlets sealed, the fan is still pulling in the smell, which by elimination leaves the wax seal under the toilet.
I can see silcon alround the base of the toilet to the floor, but not at the back or against the wall - could this be it? is the fan strong enough to pull a smell from such a small area? my guess is that the smell is always there and builds up over under the toilet and is pulled out by the fan each time i use the shower each morning?

rwbuild, you seem knowledgeble about this, if the plumber misaligned the wax seal or it was damaged during installation, could that cause the issue??

thanks

[rwbuild]

The toilet pan SHOULD connect to the under floor riser with a purpose made adaptor that has a rubber/neoprene collar that seals to the outlet of the pan. I now strongly suspect that a) the rubber is missing or b) the pan is too off centre of the rubber adaptor to locate properly in the adaptor and since you say the silicon that holds the pan in place appears to be missing this will allow the fan to pull the fumes out of the discharge line. Contact the company that did the work and insist that they remove the pan to check with you there to observe.
Maybe this type
or
it will depend on the particular pan you have, are various versions of both these types

[aldav]

What is this 'wax seal' of which you speak? As far as I'm aware the outlet on toilet bowls has been 'sealed' by pushing the outlet in to a silicone rubber pan collar/connector seal for well over 25 years, that's for both P and S trap toilets. If there is a misalignment between the toilet outlet of sufficient magnitude, or the pan outlet has not been sufficiently seated, it is certainly possible for air to escape past the seal if air pressure can't be equalised by an appropriately placed vent in the system. Yes the vent pipe is the pipe that sticks out of the roof. It could be that the grate seal in the shower has actually made the problem worse than it would otherwise have been.

[russ57]

Quote.... Toilet wax rings are old, outdated and not very commonly used in Australia anymore... End quote.

[man from uncle]

Quote.... Toilet wax rings are old, outdated and not very commonly used in Australia anymore... End quote.

My mistake. Im not a plumber, there are lots of information on Google and YouTube that talks about wax rings,

Regardless of the method used, I think now that it is where the pan connects into the floor waste pipe.