Need help with plumbing vent problem

[Andrew]

Hello, I have an odd odor coming from my upstairs toilet. The smell is sort of sulfur/stinky. It could be a vent issue. I have two other toilets in the house (1 is exactly below the stinky one) and neither of these has an odor. The smell seems to be coming from the water in the bowl. I am assuming that there is a venting issue, but how would the smell be able to come up through the water? If anyone has any ideas what is causing this, and how to fix it, I would appreciate some suggestions.

thanks, Andy

[Speedy Jim]

It would not come up thru the bowl water.

But it might be escaping underneath, at the wax ring. It's common for the wax to fail in such a way that it is no longer gas-tight but still doen't leak any visible water.

Far less likely is some freak crack in the porcelain passage in the bowl.

Jim

[Andrew]

Is there a way to check the integrity of the wax ring? If I caulked around the bowl, would this serve as a temporary fix?

thanks, Andy

[mkirsch1]

You have to remove the toilet to check the wax ring. At that point, you may as well replace it. It's not that difficult.

If you want to do the half-a$$ed hillbilly fix, go ahead and caulk. Just keep in mind that there's probably more wrong than just gas leaking. Right now there's probably just a little bit of water escaping, enough that it hasn't soaked through the ceiling downstairs, but that ring is probably on its way out. Caulking around the base of the toilet may block the gases, but the water is still going to drip and destroy your ceiling at least.

[Andrew]

Remember, I did say the caulk could be TEMPORARY fix. A true hillbilly would make this a permanent fix. Thanks for your help. I will replace the ring this weekend.

[Bubba]

Remove the toilet and change the wax ring. A plastic paint scraper will remove the old residue. Also change the flange bolts for brass or stainless that won't rust. Wax rings come in single height or double height. If the flange was installed too low it might need a double thick ring to seal. Don't overtighten as you'll crack the toilet. The caulking around the outside is only to make it look purdy as Andrew would say.

Bubba