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GrandpaKip's avatar
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Feb 24, 2015

Ikk smell after traveling

Upon opening the camper after traveling between campsites this winter, there was a nasty odor. It didn't smell like the black tank, so I wondered if it was the grey. There are no leaks around the drains, so I thought it might be that the traps emptied while on the road. After running some water in each drain, the smell did abate. Before doing that, I sniffed around each drain, but the smell didn't seem any stronger. It was totally gone in about fifteen minutes or so with door and vents open. Anything I might have overlooked?

28 Replies

  • Jim,
    Thanks, I hadn't thought of the valve for the sink in the head. I will put it on the list of things to do before the next trip.
  • beemerphile1 wrote:
    Executive wrote:
    You missed that mouse that crawled into one of the cabinets and died.....Dennis


    Nah, it was the dog, it is always the dog! Repeat after me men, "It was the dog".


    Hahahahahaha.
  • rockhillmanor wrote:
    Check the knobs on your stove and make sure they are all tightly in the off position.


    Thanks, but it definitely isn't propane.
  • Check the knobs on your stove and make sure they are all tightly in the off position.
  • Executive wrote:
    You missed that mouse that crawled into one of the cabinets and died.....Dennis


    Nah, it was the dog, it is always the dog! Repeat after me men, "It was the dog".
  • You missed that mouse that crawled into one of the cabinets and died.....Dennis
  • Many RV sink drains are not vented to the roof. They use an item called an "Air Admittance Valve". There have been quite a few posts on this forum about AAVs failing and causing a bad odor in the coach. In fact, the AAV for our bathroom sink failed when it was only six months old.

    I was able to "sniff" the problem out by opening the cabinet door. It was very easy to replace. Replacements can be purchased at any hardware or home improvement store. If yours is bad, just unscrew the old one, put a little Teflon tape on the threads of the new one and screw it back in. It takes just a few minutes to do it.

    The picture below shows my original AAV on the right, and the replacement that I purchased at Lowes on the left:



    Jim