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Old 02-17-2019, 01:28 PM   #1
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Sewer smell under bathroom sink 25ft airstream international 2015

We are at a campground where they come and pump your tanks
Today they pumped it and there is an open hole under the sink in the bathroom and it smells horrible. Sewer smell
What could have happened and what do we need to do [emoji15]help
The tank was 100 % full
Please help we have 10 more days and not sure we can stay unit with that smell[emoji30]
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Old 02-17-2019, 02:52 PM   #2
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Open hole under the sink? Picture would help, shot in the dark guess is the air admittance valve failed from the vacuum the truck put on your system.
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:00 PM   #3
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Open hole under the sink? Picture would help, shot in the dark guess is the air admittance valve failed from the vacuum the truck put on your system.
Tried to attach a photo
How do you fix the problem you mentioned
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:00 PM   #4
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tried to attach a photo
how do you fix the problem you mentioned


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Old 02-17-2019, 04:02 PM   #5
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Open hole under the sink? Picture would help, shot in the dark guess is the air admittance valve failed from the vacuum the truck put on your system.


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Looks like the lavatory sink may drain into the black tank as well ????
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:13 PM   #6
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So if it is the air admittance vavle its probably just indide the wall opening, you can try covering it up with a bag and tape to seal until you can replace it. They normally unthread.
The use of a pumper truck sucking your tanks empty was talked about some time ago, you can lessen the chance of vacuum damage by holding the toilet flush open during this process.
Also ask the driver not to use maximum suction.
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:25 PM   #7
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If they used strong suction to clear your tanks, you may need to refill the sink trap with water. Run about 2-3 cups of water down the sink and see if the odor ends.
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:36 PM   #8
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So if it is the air admittance vavle its probably just indide the wall opening, you can try covering it up with a bag and tape to seal until you can replace it. They normally unthread.

The use of a pumper truck sucking your tanks empty was talked about some time ago, you can lessen the chance of vacuum damage by holding the toilet flush open during this process.

Also ask the driver not to use maximum suction.


Thanks so much [emoji41]
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:38 PM   #9
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Thanks so much [emoji41]


Do you have to order that valve from airstream ?
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:48 PM   #10
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Any plumbing supply and possibly big box like home depot. They are usually 1-1/2" pipe thread.


https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...sl_3b6tzwwde_b
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Old 02-17-2019, 04:51 PM   #11
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Sewer smell under bathroom sink 25ft airstream international 2015

Make sure you’ve got some water in the P-trap for the bathroom sink per post #7 above.... [emoji6]
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Old 02-17-2019, 05:17 PM   #12
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Along with the P-trap mentioned above, you also need to get your blank tank primed for the next use cycle, and make sure you have water in the toilet bowl to give you a water seal between the tank and bathroom.
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Old 02-18-2019, 06:30 AM   #13
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Along with the P-trap mentioned above, you also need to get your blank tank primed for the next use cycle, and make sure you have water in the toilet bowl to give you a water seal between the tank and bathroom.


Great ...all this helped tremendously
When you say black tank primed
What do you mean. I do understand the part about the water in the toilet
Also other than flushing out the black tank ... mine has an exterior hose connection that rinses the black tank ... is there anything else anyone does to clean the black tank [emoji41]
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Old 02-18-2019, 09:38 AM   #14
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Make sure you’ve got some water in the P-trap for the bathroom sink per post #7 above.... [emoji6]
We get bad odors in our 2015 25FC from time to time, especially when running the bathroom or shower exhaust fan, the exhaust hood over the stovetop, or the Fantastic fan. Finally figured out that, yes, the bathroom sink is piped to the black tank. Also figured out that after long periods of storage with a dehumidifier running, water in the P-trap evaporates and the sink drain provides an unobstructed connection for vapors to be pulled out of the black tank into the trailer. Running a little water into the sink fixes this.
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Old 02-18-2019, 10:00 PM   #15
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When doing any flushing or open toilet valve operation always put the vent fan on "In", not "Out" and motor switch on high. That will push the smell out the tank vent system and not suck it toward you. Phew!
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Old 02-19-2019, 01:22 PM   #16
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Great ...all this helped tremendously
When you say black tank primed
What do you mean. [emoji41]
After emptying and flushing the black tank, you should get it ready for the next use cycle by putting in at least a few gallons of water, and your chemical/product of choice. I fill up the bowl once, put in some Happy Camper, stir it up with the toilet brush, then flush that down. Then I fill up the bowl again, put in some Calgon water softener and flush that down. Then I fill the bowl a third time, squirt in a bunch of Dawn, use that to clean the bowl, and then flush that down. That gets sloshed around while driving, and it gives me a nice base to start from so that there is plenty of water in the black tank to avoid it building up with solids.

Research the GEO Method.
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Old 02-19-2019, 08:20 PM   #17
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So if it is the air admittance vavle its probably just indide the wall opening, you can try covering it up with a bag and tape to seal until you can replace it. They normally unthread.

The use of a pumper truck sucking your tanks empty was talked about some time ago, you can lessen the chance of vacuum damage by holding the toilet flush open during this process.

Also ask the driver not to use maximum suction.


What exactly does the air admittance valve do ... because we put the plastic bag over it like suggested ... the smell is gone but we are worried ... worse things might happen with an non-functioning air admittance valve [emoji23]🤣[emoji15]
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Old 02-19-2019, 11:07 PM   #18
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It allows drainage to pull air into the plumbing and tanks to break a vacuum that happens when water flows down a drain as evidenced by the typical ‘gurgling’ noise. It’s supposed to allow the intake of air, but not let air flow out of it. Yours is apparently failing to block reverse flow. Most likely the diaphragm is not seating properly or is damaged.
You may notice slow draining or the water in your sink trap not staying in there. Can be cured temporarily by letting the sink drain fully, then running a cup or so of water into the drain to refill the trap.
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Old 02-20-2019, 06:37 AM   #19
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All traps are typically requirred to have a vent downstream as said to aid draining and prevent the trap from being siphoned dry and loosing it's water seal keeping downstream odors where they belong. In trailers they use the air admin valve to keep from having to run excess vent piping in the trailer and having multiple roof penetrations with a typical vent pipe.
No harm in covering it up temporarily, the sink drain may not work as efficiently but in that short of a drain run and the low water volume from the faucet I doubt you will notice.
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Old 02-24-2019, 11:07 AM   #20
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I had the same problem. Turned out to be my batteries were over heating and caused the terrible smell. Had to replace batteries.
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