Happy Spring in the Bathroom

Now that's a urinal!

These out of the ordinary fixtures are made by San Francisco-based artist Clark Sorensen. You can see more of his work at www.clarkmade.com




Happy Spring everybody.

What's that Funky Sewer Smell?

It's not unusual to get a call from a customer complaining about a sewer smell coming from one or more toilets in the house. From our experience, there are a few potential causes and solutions.

Sewer smell can be caused by the water level in the toilet bowl dropping too low and allowing sewer gas from the system to enter through the toilet. Water can also evaporate from the bowl of an unused toilet, such as in a basement or guest room. The solution is to regularly flush a toilet that is not used often.

A damaged wax sealing ring under the toilet can allow sewer gas to seep out into the bathroom. If your toilet rocks or moves, this may be the cause. Unless you're comfortable replacing the sealing ring, you may want to call us.

Another common source of smells is organisms that normally reside in the sewer and move to the house side of the toilet trap. The problem most often occurs during hot and humid weather. Try pouring several cups of household bleach into the overlfow pipe of the flush valve inside the tank.

Smells in a bathroom can also be caused by drains in a bathroom that are not properly vented, or the vent is clogged. A vent can become clogged with a bird's nest, body of a bird, etc. A vent can also become clogged at the fixture connections with grease, soap scum, etc. A clogged vent requires running a snake down through the vent pipe from the roof. Climbing around on a roof is tricky and best left to professionals who have the proper equipment and experience.

Check back for more plumbing tips. You can also e-mail us here at Boden Plumbing - or call us at 707 996 8683, with your questions.