Honestly, I think you’re on the right track with the water-in-the-drain trick. If the smell goes away after running taps, it’s probably just a dry trap—happens in our place too, especially in winter. I totally get being cautious though; I’d rather deal with a little hassle now than a full-blown mess later. I usually keep an eye (and nose) out for any repeat smells or slow drains before calling anyone. Sometimes it really is just that simple, but yeah, I get nervous about ignoring it for too long.
Title: When your basement smells like rotten eggs: weird facts about wastewater mishaps
I get where you’re coming from, and yeah, a dry trap is often the culprit. But I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes it’s not just about pouring water down the drain. Last winter, I kept topping off the floor drain in my laundry room, thinking it was just evaporation causing the smell. Turns out, there was a tiny crack in the old cast iron pipe under the slab. Water would sit in the trap for a bit, but then slowly leak out—so the smell always came back after a day or two. Cost me way more to fix because I waited and assumed it was just a dry trap.
One thing I do now is check for any signs of moisture around the base of drains or along basement walls. If there’s even a hint of dampness or staining, I figure it’s worth poking around a bit more. Sometimes running water fixes it temporarily, but if you find yourself doing it every few days, that’s probably not normal.
I’m also a big fan of those cheap drain cameras you can get online. Not as fancy as what plumbers use, but for $40-50, you can at least see if there’s gunk or cracks without tearing anything up. It’s saved me from calling someone out for what turned out to be a clump of lint stuck in the P-trap.
I guess my point is, while it’s usually simple, sometimes that “simple” solution is masking something bigger. I’d rather spend an hour checking things myself than risk an expensive repair down the road... especially when budgets are tight and everything seems to break at once.
Yeah, I hear you on the “simple fix” not always being so simple. I’ve seen people pour bleach or vinegar down the drain thinking it’ll solve everything, but if there’s a crack or a loose fitting, that smell just keeps coming back. Those cheap cameras are actually pretty handy—caught a spider nest in mine once, which was not what I expected. Honestly, if you’re topping off a trap more than once a week, something’s probably off. Sometimes it’s just old pipes doing what old pipes do...
Honestly, if you’re topping off a trap more than once a week, something’s probably off.
Totally agree with this. If you’re constantly having to add water to the trap, it’s usually a sign there’s a bigger issue lurking—like a vent problem or even a hidden leak somewhere. I once thought I just had “old house smell” until I found out a cracked pipe was venting right into my crawlspace. Those little inspection cameras are surprisingly useful for stuff like that, even if finding spiders is nightmare fuel... Hang in there, tracking down smells in old plumbing is like detective work sometimes.
Not sure I totally buy that topping off a trap more than once a week always means something’s broken. In my old place, the basement utility sink barely got used, and the trap would dry out super fast—especially in winter when the furnace ran nonstop. Sometimes it’s just the airflow or how dry your house is. I started keeping a mason jar of water nearby to remind myself to pour some in every few days. Not ideal, but it worked until I finally got around to sealing up some drafts.