Can we please get your advice on the following issue?

We moved into our home approx 5 months ago and have had a constant foul odor (smells like dead animal and at times fishy) in our upstairs bathroom since we've moved in. The intensity of the odor waxes and wanes. We've tried the following:

1. Reset toilet
2. Snake all pipes
3. Wait to rule out dead animal
4. Called 5 different plumbers
5. Called mold / odor specialist
6. Called drain specialist
7. Confirmed with Septic Company that it is not septic issue
8. Opening window does not help
9. Special odor neutralizer / gel has not helped

Please note that the smell is exclusively in the upstairs master bathroom and does not permeate into the bedroom in which the bathroom is located in.

Any help / direction will greatly be appreciated.

Thanks.

Sometimes the bad odor can be coming from the overflow holes in a sink. Take a whiff in that area and see if that is your problem.

I'd jump in there cap the pipes and do a pressure test. That would quickly prove or disprove the odor was sewer. And if it was sewer we would know exactly where it was coming from.

How old is the house? Has the bathroom been recently remodeled?

The house is about 45 years old and has not been remodeled. Also, the water does not smell. The plumber is now recommending a peppermint test, though there are no visible signs of leaks. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Also, no smell around the overflow holes. thanks.

Your description of the odor is 'dead animal/fishy' which is greatly different than 'sewer'. I would stay on that track and see where it takes you. If a large rodent (squirrel) was somehow able to get into the wall/ceiling space and die, it would take 5+ months for the odor to dissipate.

boy them rodents sure take a long time to decompose where you are at. here it just takes a matter of a few weeks

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

i really was convinced for a long time that the odor was that of something decomposing...but, the consensus (pest/rodent experts) has been that by now it should have gone away if it were a dead animal, big or small.

but, do agree that sewer is most probably ruled out secondary to the nature of the smell, and also due to the fact that it is solely in one bathroom.

how can you tell if there is a dead rodent in the wall (besides the smell and breaking down all of the walls)?



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Just wanted to add my $.02 to a problem that I know first hand is driving you nuts.

I had a smell very similar to the one you are describing. 50yr old house, no smell anywhere else...traps, shower/tub, adjoining rooms, etc. I went so far as to remove the toilet, rip open the wall and examine the cast iron stack. Have a good friend who is a licensed plumber, and he was just as stumped as I.

Know what it was? Dead mouse. The little @#$%& crawled up between the HVAC duct and the insulation and died basically right under the register.

Now I'm telling you I tried everything you've described, plus a few more. I must have smelled the god dam register 20 times. The only thing I can figure is the smell was SO strong throughout the bathroom that I couldn't centralize it to that register.

Do yourself a favor and track every HVAC line in the area and pull back the insulation...maybe you'll find a little smelly pot of gold.

I feel for ya...good luck