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- CLOC-AdminThe past few weekends the wife and I have been noticing a (sewage) stale water smell in the coach when the fantastic fan in the bathroom is running. I empty the grey tank and it goes away for a while. This weekend the wife said she was using the bathroom sink and could smell the same thing. I am wondering what the valves under the sink, and in the washer-dryer area do. They look like a vent but I am not sure. I think this is where the smell is coming from. Can anyone enlighten me?
Posted: 3:03 PM – Aug 08, 2016AC,Since no one responded I will give you my 2 cents..
If you open that cabinet under the sink and the smell is much stronger, you probably have it isolated. However, the pipes coming up from the basement could also bring the smell, say from a leaking shower, into that location.
There are 3 internal venting caps for the grey water tank. One is under that sink – 1.25 inch black pipe, not the smaller one way back flow preventer with white 0.5 inch pipe that leads to the black tank flush.
The other two grey vents are by the washer/dryer hookup area, and under the kitchen sink. These two are 1.5″ Black pipe.
If I remember, these 3 were not the same thread – some were male and some were female. There is not enough room to add an adapter so remove the old one before you go shopping. You can just verify male/female and height and put it back on, or take it with you shopping. If the latter, put a plastic bag over the end of that pipe or it will really stink when you return.
One other source of smell is the black tank, but this comes in through the roof in the bathroom. If closing that hood does not work, it may be that the vent pipe was not long enough or has slipped down below roof line. Hopefully this is a non issue for you.
Posted: 5:16 PM – Aug 08, 2016Making sure you have enough windows open when the fan is on helps also.Posted: 7:17 AM – Aug 09, 2016JohnD22,
Are you saying that the vents under the sinks and the washer-dryer area could be bad and letting the smell come in? What goes bad with the vents to let them put smells in the coach?Posted: 9:04 AM – Aug 09, 2016I had what you describe about sewer smell when I first bought the Cameo it was the sewer vents on the roof. The 2 vent tubes where actually below the roof line. I bought some PVC pipe cut a couple short pieces to extend them higher and closed off the opening between inside roof and outside roof. Maybe that’s your problem. If you go up on the roof and just remove the little round vent cover you’ll be able to tell or at least eliminate that as a possibility.Posted: 9:19 AM – Aug 09, 2016AC,They have a thin rubber membrane inside. Some last forever, some not. I have had them fail in stick houses.
With your rig so new, manufacturers defect, poor install (construction debris), but they are cheap.
As I said, if you open that under sink cabinet and the smell is much stronger, you are probably on the right track. But don’t skip sniffing around in the basement.
Musty-ness is usually a grey vent or wet fiberglass insulation somewhere. Stink on the other hand is the black tank – either that back flow preventer or the short roof vent pipe I mentioned earlier.
Ages ago, when less than 6 months old, I had a musty cabinet just forward of the bathroom. It was no caulking on the metal bracket on the roof allowing rain to seep in. That leak fixed, it took almost 3 years before the musty smell went away.
Also, my 36FWS shower did leak when new. Poor assembly work. Easy fix. The water was coming out of the door hinge and threshold areas, but it accumulated between the shower and the sink cabinet, a space only 3-4 inches wide. It would only stand there for a few minutes and the leak under the cabinet into the basement. A word to the wise….
Best of luck in your search.
Posted: 9:37 AM – Aug 09, 2016Thanks for all of the input! I guess I will have to do some investigation and find out if all of the vents are working correctly and if the vent pipe through the roof is long enough or not.
Again Thanks for all of the help!
AlanPosted: 9:42 AM – Aug 09, 2016Alan,Start simple. If the smell is stronger under the cabinet, it is not coming from a short roof vent.
If however, you smell it when in the shower with the air conditioning blowing but you forgot to turn on the bath exhaust fan – yup a short vent pipe, i.e., smell creeping in through the roof insulation and ac ducts.
Posted: 10:59 AM – Aug 09, 2016Not on our Cameo but on another RV we found that if we left the gray water tank valve open that sometimes we would get an odor, Our fix was simple we just kept the tank valve closed. Might not be your problem but it was a simple fix.Posted: 3:31 PM – Aug 09, 2016Traveler,
Thanks but I don’t normally have sewer where I camp so the grey dump valve is always closed, except to dump it.Posted: 3:46 PM – Aug 09, 2016It was an easy fix for us but that’s not your situation, hope you find a solution.Jim
Posted: 8:42 PM – Aug 12, 2016Seems to depend how sensitive your sense of smell may be. I noticed a bit of smell coming from our kitchen sink and it went away with some happy camper in the grey tank. Maybe your tanks need a good cleaning? I do the calgon water softener once in a while. I read something about using a pressure washer – a guy puts a wand up through a hole cut in a sewer adaptor. Anyone been brave enough to try that?B.W.Gentry
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