Forum Discussion

HellFyre's avatar
HellFyre
Explorer
Jun 13, 2016

Bad odor in the KITCHEN when taking a shower in the BATHROOM

Starting just last weekend on our most recent trip with the Toy Hauler, the following would happen. I would take a shower in the bathroom with a door on it. I'd finish everything I was doing and then when I would walk back out in the main section of the trailer there would be bad smell near kitchen sink/stove area.

I searched for "smell" and "hot water" and "rv" and the general consensus if that it's either algae in the tank or an exhausted sacrificial anode rod. The fixes are to run bleach through the tank and replace the rod, which I will do.

However, the symptoms don't quite line up for several reasons:
  • I just took a shower and the hot water coming out of the shower head definitely didn't smell. Smelling the hot water directly from either sink didn't smell either.
  • The odor would be coming from by the sink/stove area even though nobody had been doing anything there. I was first up and in the shower
  • The smell isn't exactly rotten eggs or propane, but coppery? Hard to explain.
  • The odor appears to be coming from approximately where the actual tank is, not from any of the faucets.


Is there a third option it could be? This very consistent.

For reference, this is a "Extreme Mega-Lite 21BT, and here's the ***Link Removed***.

17 Replies

Show More
  • Dutch_12078's avatar
    Dutch_12078
    Explorer II
    Jun 14, 2016
    Air admittance valves come in a variety of shapes, but they're interchangeable within a given size. Yours may look more like this one:

  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2016
    You can get the air admittance valves at Lowe's, Home Depot, Hardware Stores, etc..
  • sch911's avatar
    sch911
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2016
    HellFyre wrote:
    Would this cause the smell to emanate from valve area instead of the drain in the sink? Because, as I responded to rexlion it doesn't appear to come from the drain. But if it's coming from this valve (assuming I have one) that the smell could be coming up from between the sink and stove, which would make sense.

    Thanks!


    Yes, and pretty much every RV has one or two of these...
  • HellFyre's avatar
    HellFyre
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2016
    rexlion wrote:
    So it's not coming from the kitchen sink drain? My first thought was that you don't have a P-trap in the pipe (or the P-trap is empty for some reason).


    No, not really. I stuck my nose right by the faucet which was only a few inches away from the drain, and didn't smell anything. Furthermore we had used the sink previously so there should be water in the P-Trap.

    sch911 wrote:
    Check the air admittance check valve under the Kitchen counter, it has most likely failed.


    Never heard of this! I will check it out! Would this cause the smell to emanate from valve area instead of the drain in the sink? Because, as I responded to rexlion it doesn't appear to come from the drain. But if it's coming from this valve (assuming I have one) that the smell could be coming up from between the sink and stove, which would make sense.

    Thanks!
  • rexlion's avatar
    rexlion
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2016
    So it's not coming from the kitchen sink drain? My first thought was that you don't have a P-trap in the pipe (or the P-trap is empty for some reason).
  • sch911's avatar
    sch911
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2016
    Check the air admittance check valve under the Kitchen counter, it has most likely failed.

About RV Newbies

4,030 PostsLatest Activity: Jul 30, 2024