Sewer smell

[Elwoodj]

I need help to eliminate a sewer smell coming from the sliding door area going upstairs in our fifth wheel. The door is on the opposite side of the toilet. There are no leaks. I have looks underneath in the storage area and still cannot find the source.

[Jimbee]

Perhaps it's just "leftovers" in the black tank. Put a few gallons of water in the tank with chemicals and see if the odor disappears after a few hours.

[CabinetmakerII]

We had a similar issue of an odor we could not find the source. Turned out to be a leaking black water valve. It was leaking onto the underbelly space but not enough to get beyond the barrier and onto the ground. Once the valve was replaced the odor was gone.

[Allworth]

We also had a battery cell short out. Same SO-2 (Sulfur Dioxide) smell.

[scouser]

Hi,
you have a lot of good tips to check out, we had a similar thing and could not find anything a miss, so was going to drop the tank thinking there may have been a bad seal around the vent pipe connection or maybe a hole/crack on the top of the tank! anyway it turned out to be the batteries were boiling dry and was giving off septic type smell new batteries solved the odor.....Just saying!

Good Luck

[ItsyRV]

Does your model have the washer hookup? If so, make sure if not being used the drain's cap is still on.

[filrupmark]

RollandB wrote:
We had the same type of steel in the kitchen area caused by a faulty air admittance vent under the sink. Replaced it, smell was gone.

Same for us. Air admittance valve - Home Depot

[laknox]

RollandB wrote:
We had the same type of steel in the kitchen area caused by a faulty air admittance vent under the sink. Replaced it, smell was gone.

^^^^^This is, IMO, the #1 cause of sewer smell inside, after nearly 15 years of reading this forum. Followed by blocked vents and vent pipes that have dropped into the tank.

Lyle

[RollandB]

We had the same type of steel in the kitchen area caused by a faulty air admittance vent under the sink. Replaced it, smell was gone.

[JusBud]

I know you said you checked for leaks but it doesn't take much to get that smell.
Gray tanks need to be cleaned too or else they'll get the same smell

[MudChucker]

Is there a tank vent near a roof vent?

Hit up a dollar store and buy some pinesol like ten bottles of it, as mentioned above, get a clear sewer line fitting and dump file rinse repeat until everything is out then dump a gallon or two of pinsol in and leave it for a while.

I do this a few times a season and try to drive with the cleaner in the tank. Downy scent Perls or what ever the are called are good to.

I dump about 10 bottles for the winter season.

[valhalla360]

Check the vents are clear and the traps hold water.

What is in the tank should have no impact on what you smell inside.

[mtofell1]

Get a clear fitting. Dump, fill with some water, dump, fill, repeat until it runs clean. You will likely be amazed at how much "stuff" is left in the tank with just a simple dump. I have to fill/dump several times to get it all out. And before all the backseat campers ask, yes, I am using plenty of water to start with after a dump and during usage.

[SidecarFlip]

Quit farting in the bedroom....lol

[Lwiddis]

Looks again. A plugged vent is my guess.