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Old 02-12-2017, 07:11 PM   #1
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Name: Jim
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Smelly sink

Hello
I've be fixing up a 1983 Burro and can't remedy a stinky sink. I've cleaned the sink trap, replaced the drain hose and soaked the sink and drain hose with bleach-water. And still the aluminum sink still has a bad odor. Any ideas?
Thanks, Jim
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Old 02-12-2017, 07:45 PM   #2
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About the only thing left is to pull the sink and see if the stink is crud under the mounting flange...........
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Old 02-12-2017, 10:52 PM   #3
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Odor could be coming up from the gray water tank too. If the Burro is like a Scamp, it doesn't really have a usual J or P trap that holds water, which would hold the smell back.
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Old 02-13-2017, 05:10 AM   #4
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For sure Donna the trap is the most important thing to have but making sure the trap is full of water is just important.
Jim make sure the trap is holding enough water to block any fumes (sewer gas) as is know in the plumbing trade,. And is not leaking so that the water gets down below the lowest point of top "U" and the highest point of the bottom "U".
Try some baking powder down the drain and then pour about 1/2 of vinegar and leave it for a bit.
It will bubble and scrub the sides of pipes and wont hurt the system.
I wait 1/2 hour then rinse with hot water.
I once did the plumbing in a Bar/Resturaunt and the water in the floor drains, in the bar, would evaporate.
We put a pint of cooking oil down each drain to solve this problem.
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Old 02-13-2017, 07:38 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
Odor could be coming up from the gray water tank too.
I use a product called Elemonate (available from Amazon) that may address this issue if coming from the tank. I have had very good results with it. Simply dissolve a tablet in water and pour it down the sink. I might even think using two tablets and filling the gray water tank, then letting it "soak" for a while would work.
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Old 02-13-2017, 07:57 AM   #6
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Are you using your sink strainer? It will drop into the drain and seal the drain when the sink not in use. Some mfg. use shower drains in their sinks, the plug screws in and seals the drain. Usually made of white plastic.
Some of the older RV white plastic traps had a drain screw in the bottom which tended to slowly leak and let the tank gas come up through the sink drain.
Eddie
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Old 02-13-2017, 09:08 AM   #7
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If its from the grey tank, switch out the p-trap with a hepvo valve instead. Casita is now using them. No water needed. Its a one-way bladder valve. I put one on our shower in the casita to get rid of the p trap and shutoff on the floor drain. Larry at Little House Customs has them in stock.
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Old 02-13-2017, 09:13 AM   #8
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Two questions, since I don't know much about grey water tanks, but I would like to understand better...

First, does your Burro have an onboard grey tank or does it drain to an external fitting?

Second, does an onboard grey tank have a vent, and if so, could it be the cause of the smell- plugged or something?
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Old 02-13-2017, 06:44 PM   #9
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Jon has a good point.
Does it have an outside vent or is it one of those pop-it vents under the sink?
I've had one of these vents get stuck in the open position on my bigger camper letting the odors and gases come in through the vent under the sink.
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Old 02-14-2017, 11:02 AM   #10
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Smile Burro sink

Thanks Everyone
The Burro has no grey water tank. The sink empties into a small plastic trap (which I have taken apart and cleaned) and then a short plastic (newly replaced) hose empties to the outside. This is why I can't figure out where the odor comes from. It's as if the aluminum sink itself stinks (which is hard to figure out how that could be). It is hard to get under the sink to see the underneath, but from what I can see and smell it all appears fine underneath. I'll try the baking soda vinegar trick. I may have to remove the sink as one of you suggested to see if it is coming from the seal (which it doesn't appear to be) - but oh how I hate working under sinks, especially the Burro, because you have to twist yourself into an inverted pretzel and suffer muscle cramps in muscles you haven't used since the last time you wiggled under a sink.
Thanks again everyone. I'll let you know if I locate the problem.
Jim
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Old 02-14-2017, 02:01 PM   #11
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Sorry, You Smell the sink Stinks.
"Winston Churchill" his answer when a lady said he smells. I used poetic license by saying sink.
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Old 02-16-2017, 06:49 AM   #12
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Casita uses a Stainless Steel sink, is yours aluminum for sure? If so some cleaners are harmful to aluminum, see here.

http://www.household-management-101....-aluminum.html

Our home's kitchen sink and surrounding counter top is one piece Stainless Steel it is good quality from the early 1950's.

When it is cleaned using a green Scotch pad the steel emits a metallic like smell.

Could this possibly be what your smelling?

Joe
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Old 02-16-2017, 10:50 AM   #13
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Just a thought. The trap in the drain is there to keep gases from the sewage system/tank/piping etc from escaping up through the sink by "trapping" water in the bottom of it which the gas and smells cant penetrate. Maybe leaving some water in the trap, assuming there is one there, will prevent the smells from escaping.
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Old 02-16-2017, 12:17 PM   #14
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I'm starting to wonder if it's the wood counter top. Rotten wood smell, if the sink wasn't caulked to the counter top, water could seep under it.
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Old 02-17-2017, 05:45 PM   #15
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plug the drain. then fill the sink with water. With the sink full of water you have little to no sink surface area so no smell. If the smell is still there then its coming from some place else. If the sinks smell goes away scrub it with barkeepers friend that should take any surface smell away.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bar-Keepe...rU-fWsr_LfLHdA
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