There is nothing more baffling for building owners and managers as well as contract cleaning workers than restroom odor problems that simply will not go away. Most likely the custodial crew has tried just about everything, from using cleaners, disinfectants, and even bleach to wash down walls, counters, and fixtures, only to find a couple of days later, the malodor has returned.

Finding where restroom odor problems are coming from can be a really frustrating problem and may require a little help from Sherlock Holmes to solve it. So, let’s join Sherlock Holmes for a few minutes. Most likely he would investigate the following four areas in our problem restroom:

Broken Sewer Lines

While it’s rare for this to occur, especially in newer buildings, Sherlock thinks there could be a broken or cracked sewer line or drainpipe under a toilet, urinal, or sink. Sometimes it’s just a loose connection somewhere down the line. Use your nose to start your investigation. If it leads you to connections from these fixtures to a drainpipe, this could be the source of the restroom odor problem. Now call a plumber.

Seal Around the Toilet

Not quite as rare as broken sewer lines is the disintegration or loosening of the wax ring and seal around the toilet. This occurs when toilets receive a lot of use. They get jostled enough to cause those seals to break. You could also check that the toilet is firmly affixed to the floor. If it just needs some tightening, you can easily do this. But if the wax or seal is cracked, call a plumber to repair.

Sniff Up

Even if our custodial workers washed down the restroom from top to bottom, this typically means the walls, fixtures, and surfaces. What about the ceiling? Restrooms tend to have more moisture than other parts of a facility, and this moisture can collect on the ceiling, causing bacteria, mold, and mildew to grow. These can the source of the restroom odor problems. Have the cleaning folks clean the ceiling to see if that is where the malodor emanates.

Sniff Down

OK. Ceiling has been cleaned, toilets are all firmly attached to the floor, there are no broken sewer connections. Where next? Now we have to sniff down— specifically at the floor drain. This is such a common problem, and such an easy problem to correct, that it is a wonder you and Sherlock did not think of it first. What may have happened is the water in the floor drain evaporated. This water fills in the drainpipe to keep sewer odors and other malodors from being released into the restroom.

What needs to be done? We need a floor drain odor stopper.

Pour about a gallon of water down the drain to make a liquid seal.

Follow that with about three to six ounces of EverPrime. EverPrime is the leading floor drain odor stopper on the market today. EverPrime does not evaporate and so protects the restroom from malodors coming from the sewer.

This problem of drainpipes going dry is most frequently encountered in restrooms that are not used often, in basements, and in schools that may be closed for long periods of time. Instead of making it the last thing you check, make sniffing the floor drain the first thing you investigate.

For more information on EverPrime, the floor drain odor stopper, contact a Waterless Co representative.