A large proportion of your home’s water gets used in the bathrooms. In most homes, the shower, tub, toilet, and sink are used on a daily basis. With kids and guests, there never seem to be enough bathrooms in the house. But when a particular bathroom does not get used often, it can lead to plumbing problems and water damage, leading to restoration costs.
Is There An “Off” Smell?
An unused bathroom drain can begin to smell after a certain amount of time. Most often it comes from tubs and sinks due to an unused plumbing trap or P-trap. Plumbing traps are U-shaped dips in the pipe underneath the bathroom drain, and toilets have integral traps molded into the toilet. Both create a seal to prevent your bathroom and home from being filled with sewer odors from methane gas.
With the normal use of a bathroom, these traps remain filled with water, which provides a seal that prevents sewer smells from coming up through the drain. However, in the case of an unused bathroom drain, the water in the traps gradually evaporates after a certain amount of time, at which point the seal that was keeping the sewer odors out is eliminated. Bathroom cleaners and liquid drainage products can temporarily mask the smell, but neither prevents evaporation; therefore, neither can prevent the sewer odors from permeating.
Luckily, the solution is simple– run water in these bathroom drains for a few minutes, weekly or monthly, depending on the severity of the smell. After refilling the drain traps with water, you can pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil down the drain. The oil will float on top of the water in the trap to prevent the water from evaporating too quickly.
Leaky Pipes = Water Damage
The other problem from an inside bathroom is hidden water damage and, therefore, restoration costs. Notice a musty smell when you open your cabinet? Take a look at the caulking around your sink. Old, rotted caulking lets water escape and puddle, damaging your vanity. Take a look under the sink as well and look for any leaking water lines.
The water here can cause your bathroom cabinets to warp, swell, crack, sag, or bubble. If the problem lingers a while before you find it, or if you wait too long to address the problem, you might have a lot to clean up. Solid wood (and especially MDF) vanities might need to be replaced to prevent mold growth.
Bonus Tip
If your home has a single-hand shower valve, turn the valve on from cold to hot. Let the hot water arrive in the particular shower that is not often used, and then shut it off. Single-handle shower valves have an anti-scald balancing cartridge inside them; if they are not used for a long period of time the pin will get stuck in either the hot or cold position. This might cause you to lose your hot or cold water in your shower.
When moisture is a problem in an unused room, you could be inviting a host of other problems into your home: mold growth, rodents, pests, and insects. Long-term moisture problems or problems that go undetected for a long time can even cause severe structural damage to your home, thus increasing water damage restoration costs.
Established in 1973, Lamunyon provides a range of services to help home and business owners who have been affected by a disaster. Whether it is a fire, a flood, a mold problem, or a crumbling foundation, water damage restoration experts know how to properly provide the necessary clean-up procedures as well as how to start putting the pieces back together. Whether this means taking care of mold, replacing damaged flooring, or other water damage restoration needs, they are here to help.
