Water from faucet stinks

Question

In the 3rd floor bathroom faucet the water has dirty locker-room smell every time the water is run. I changed out supply lines, changed out trap (boy, that was nasty gummed up after 10 years!.... check yours)...cleaned the sink, sprayed bleach in the drainage hole.  I'm about to replace the entire faucet, which is not a cheap option. I want to be rid of the stink.   (And yes, it's only in this bathroom faucet, no other faucets in house.  Tks. for your help.

Stan Nel · Answer

With new piping if galvanised there is sometime an oil residue that created odours but this clears with time - I have also had occasion when the taps are fed from a supply tank in the roof which is left open birds and rodents have fallen into the tank and decayed this is normally only the hot water and not the cold, unlikely to be the faucet, probably a drain vent issue from the sink overflow also might be loosing water seal in trap due to siphonage.

Linda · Answer

Thanks, Stan .... and for others .. piping is in an old house, and our supply source is city water lines. We do not have the problem in any other areas of the house.

AKP · Answer

We have a problem with the sink hardware - the drain portion of the sink is not sealed properly and so it is either a mold buildup or mildew - anyway every time the faucet is turned on, it stinks. It isn't the water itself, but the water running through the drain. Does that make sense? On the sink itself you have the drain where the plug is located. The ring that the plug goes into - that ring isn't sealed properly. So it gunks up underneath the ring and smells awful every time the water runs through it. Just saying, it might not be the water itself??? You would know better than anyone, just a suggestion.

Ang · Answer

we had that problem in my trailer and it had something to do with the venting .. also the over flow trap ( if you have one may have trapped water in it so flush it out .. thestink comes from backing up gases in the pipe ( the trap holds water to keep it from happening so something else is allowing it ... ) we had to call a plumber ( my brother LOL

Sandra Feekes · Answer

I was wondering if it might be the drain? Try pouring a little bleach down the drain every few days and see if it helps.

Barbara Samson · Answer

I had a similar problem in my kitchen sink. Every morning when I turned on the cold water tap, smelly water came out. Once I ran the water for a few minutes, the smell would go away. For a long time I thought it was the drain. I cleaned the drain several times with a powerful cleaner but the smell remained.  One day I was cleaning out under the sink and realized there was an old filter system hooked up to the sink. When I took it out and opened the filter canister, there was a very disgusting slimy, smelly  moldy filter inside. Once the filter system was removed the smell disappeared.

Linda · Answer

Replaced the drain lines, as well as incoming water supply lines. No luck yet, but thanks for the thought.

Linda · Answer

Drain pipe replaced; supply lines replaced. Tried pouring cleaning product into the overflow spot; no luck there either, thanks.

Jack Hardeman · Answer

test the water for sulphur

Linda · Answer

Thanks, we will have that area checked too. It seems to be a good seal, but you might be right.

Sharon Quinby · Answer

I tried Hydrogen Peroxide and it worked for awhile but came back.

Pam Rice · Answer

I squirt a little bit of bleach in the overflow hole. That takes care of it for a while. Have to repeat it ever so often.

Linda · Answer

Tried that, thanks. We're on an every day, every time, stink. Tired of it.

Linda · Answer

Thanks, didn't work here either.

Denise Boyce · Answer

It could be is the overflow drain. Depending on the design of sink, the overflow can hold a small amount of water at the bottom where it tees in to the main drain, which can become stagnant. Run water down the drain and you'll force some air up the overflow (to make way for the water coming down), which will have that stagnant smell. To diagnose this, plug the sink and begin filling it; you shouldn't get any musty smell at first because there's no air movement. Once the water level hits the overflow drain, you will start smelling the musty smell for a while because the water is displacing the gas, which wants to rise above the water and so will move up into the bathroom. If this is the problem, you can ameliorate it with some foaming pipe snake; pour it down the overflow drain and it will clean out any caked-on gunk which contributes to the smell, and which may be trapping the water. The real fix is to make sure there's no 'damming' effect of construction defects at the bottom of the overflow drain (a lip of porcelain, issues where the overflow meets the metal drain downpipe, etc).

Linda · Answer

Tks. for the detailed info; will be trying this one.

Sandra Hellewell · Answer

If your bathroom plumbing is not vented, the build up of gaseous odors has to escape somehow. If this is causing your problem, no amount of bleach is going to correct the problem! You will need a plumber to rectify the situation.

Linda · Answer

Thanks, and yes, the bathroom plumbing is vented. It was installed when the bathroom was renovated 10 years ago.

JOHNNY · Answer

1ST I ASSUME YOU KNOW THAT IT I STHE WATER THAT SMELLS, NOT THE DRAIN OR SINK ? SINK... IT IS THE DRAIN VENTING, THIS ALSO COULD BE IN THE SINK BOWEL DEPENDING ON TYPE. IF IN BOWEL; PLUG DRAIN HOLE BASE OF SINK, PULL PLUNGER UP, IF INSTALLED, AND OVER FILLL THE SINK TO THE OVER FILL DRAIN HOLE AND ADD SOME BLEACH.. NOT LIKELY... THE VENTING.. MOST LIKELY...FROM WHAT I HAVE READ THSI BATHROOM IS ON THE 3RD FLOOR AND WAS REMODELED 10 YEARS AGO. 1. IF THE PLUMBER USED A 'T' FITTING @ THE POINT THE VENT/ WAIST/ UP VENT CONNECT. THAT BLOCKS, VERY COMMON. FIX REMOVE TRAP, CLEAN OUT PIPE INTO WALL.. 2 IF PLUMBER USED A SANITARY 'T' THEN I WILL ASUUME AN OBSTRUCTION ABOVE THIS SINK TO ROOF.. THINGS FALL INTO IT.. FIIX, GET ON ROOF AND PLACE HOSE DOWN THE VENT PIPE AND RUN.. WATCH SINK FOR BACK UP.

Linda · Answer

Now, THIS sounds like the most plausible explanation I've heard, thanks.

Linda · Answer

The smell definitely comes from the water, but nowhere else that water comes in has this odor problem. The faucet seems to be one-piece construction, so we can't take that apart.

Water from faucet stinks

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Water from faucet stinks

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