Bad smell inside around bathroom area.

[jmpgino]

We were down at the beach a month ago, windows open and fans going as usual. We always use the showers and during the day the sites toilets. On leaving cleaned the tanks out and came home. Hooked her up to home shore power, cleaned her out and shut the door.
Been doing some odds and ends and noticed a bad smell in the back of her, it’s a read bed 25 footer. Could not figure out the problem. It suddenly dawned on me and what I thought was the problem was correct.
WE NEVER USE THE SHOWER, we use it as a bit of a storage area. Living in Georgia it’s rather hot down here.......

So have any of you figured out what it was yet !!!!!!!!

The water had evaporated from the shower trap and the smell was coming up from the tank. Obvious fix pour water down the shower drain. Now I will have to do this on a regular basis.
Anyhow thought I would share this with you.
Cheers,
James.

[rmkrum]

A very simple mitigation trick for dry traps:

Head to the big box home improvement store or a good local hardware store. Find an old-fashioned rubber bathtub stopper that fits the shower drain.

Fill the trap with water, insert the stopper...end of the problem for quite a while. Just remember to pull the stopper BEFORE you take a shower...

Similar trick for the kitchen sink--just set the strainer/stopper in the closed position... Ditto the lavatory sink--just close the pop-up when you park...

[AlinCal]

I work on high end homes that often go unused by the owner for months, they may live in Vail during the summer and Montecito for the winter for instance and one responsibility of the often full time maids that tend to the vacant home is to run every fixture every couple weeks to keep the traps primed.

[rmkrum]

There are also "Trap Primers" that are a specialty plumbing part that uses small water pressure fluctuations to drip water into a floor drain (typical application) to keep it filled. Had one that was required by code for these type drains in a couple of the houses we built in Alabama and California.

Works nice in a home, not such a good idea in an Airstream...they are kind of bulky, need a shut-off valve for servicing, and would probably overdo it in an Airstream. But they exist...

[AlinCal]

A trap primer is for a fixture that does not see regular use such as a floor drain

[FishByFly]

At the end of a trip, I prime all traps with gray water treatment (lemon) and cover the drains as mentioned above. Works nicely even in extreme temps.