Comments on: Dead Stuff

By: Kristen King

Kristen King — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:21:00 +0000

When I was growing up, we had this one wall in our house that was like dead mouse central. It was right at the bottom of the steps to my brother’s room, right by the kitchen. Every couple of months, a mouse would fall down while running across the top of the inside of the wall (I try not to think about how many mice we must have had gallivanting around my house’s innards for this to be such a common problem) and would fall down and get stuck there and die. And stink. We figured enough of them would eventually pile up in there that it would fill the gap and no more would die. Remind me to check with my mom on that…

kk, who feels your pain

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:56:00 +0000

Thanks, Jerri! We have the sewer folks coming in this week, but to be honest, this is definitely more of a road-kill smell. The sink – checked out fine. I’ve had my head under that cabinet, as has the man, and we’ve determined the smell is not so strong there. I’ll have him check the base today. It’s not stronger in one area than another. As I said, it does not appear in any other bathroom.

Carrie, thank you for sending Jerri my way! I’ll go sniff around and post back….

By: Jerri

Jerri — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:49:00 +0000

I am the DIYer of whom Carrie speaks. I write books on this sort of thing.

Here's what I'd check: if the wax ring on the toilet is cracked or otherwise bad, yucky stuff can leak out around the horn of the toilet (a part on the bottom of the toilet that extends toward the drain lines).
A leak in the base of the toilet could cause much the same problem. You have to take up the toilet to check, but it's not that hard to do. I can send directions if you think you want.

Also, you should check the trap below the sink (the U-shaped part of the drain line). If it's cracked or leaking, that might be the problem. Every time you run the water, some stays in the trap to seal off the drain and keep sewer gas from entering your house. If the trap is dry, sewer gas rises through the drain.

If you've got sewer gas in the house, it's more than an annoyance--it can make you and your family sick. Until you need to get this figured out pronto. In the meantime, make sure the area is very well ventilated.

I'll check back and see if you've made any progress. Let me know if you have questions or there's any way I can help.

By: Carrie Wilson Link

Carrie Wilson Link — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:06:00 +0000

Ewwwwwwww… I don’t know, but I’ve turned it over to my favorite DIY-er, hope to hear from her soon!

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:35:00 +0000

Har har, Ang. ;))

By: Angie Ledbetter

Angie Ledbetter — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:16:00 +0000

Oh woe is you. I think you have to wait it out. Hey, maybe it’s a plague from those overdue clients. 🙂