Weird Chemical Smell in Bathroom Now in Child's Urine? Please HELP!!!

Updated on March 06, 2011
I.H. asks from Boston, MA
8 answers

Thanks moms for your advice. She was just checked from the doctor for infection less than 1 week ago and was fine. So I"m pretty sure it's the asparagus she eats constantly. She also has another appointment for shots in a couple of weeks anyway.
About the bathroom, I don't think I'll be able to rest until I find out so I'm deffinitely contacting a plumber!
Thanks again!!!

Hi Moms,

For awhile now I smell on and off this weird smell coming from the toilet/pipes of my first floor home bathroom. It smells like mold/sulfur/weird chemical smell. I know for a fact that my bathroom is clean and there's no mold. The smell comes and goes and it's deffinitely coming from the toilet. My father has said that it's normal if you live in the first floor in Boston.
However, I noticed the same, very strong smell, coming from my daughter's urine, even when it was clear and not concentrated. Again, it wasn't coming from HER, just her urine and her diaper! The smell is there even when her pee is completely clear or concentrated morning urine.

Boston water is one of the cleanest in the country and we do NOT drink tap water anyway, so I'm concerned as to what this might be? If it's something concerning that's getting into her through air, and what do I do? How can I get this tested or fixed ?

Please Help as I'm freaking out!!!

THANK YOU!
I.

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So What Happened?

No bugs at all ladies, clean as a whistle everywhere. I don't even use rugs in my house so I can clean more thoroughly and I only use steam, not even chemicals to clean!

More Answers

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V.F.

answers from Scranton on

If she is wearing cloth diapers try RLR laundry additive. It may be a buildup of hard water which is not allowing the urine to get washed out properly. Or the urine is reacting to the mineral buildup in the fabric.

2 moms found this helpful
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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

As for the bathroom itself, call a reputable, established (and licensed and bonded!) plumber who is familiar with your area and ask them to investigate. Even if, as your dad says, such smells are typical in the area, why should you have to live with them? By "if you live on the first floor" does he mean that you rent and there are tenants above you and their, um, smells come down your way??

If you own the house, I'd get it all checked. (If you rent, I'd be on the landlord's case big time -- this could be a health issue.) There may be mold you cannot get at even if your bathroom is perfectly clean on all surfaces you can see; there may be mold on or in the pipes; the whole toilet may just need replacing; your sewage line out to the street may need replacing (which involves tearing up your lawn and replacing a buried pipe at some expense, but is worth it). Find out if you have iron pipes within your house and between the house and the sewer iin the street or if you have what we call "orangeburg" around here -- a kind of heavy cardboard (seriously) that was widely in use in the 1960s and now must be replaced because tree roots invade it. I wouldn't put up with that smell from the toilet -- get a pro to look at it but be sure it's a firm with a good and honest reputation. I've had good plumbers and supposedly good ones who charged a fortune for nothing.

If you rent, check your rental agreement and the laws about tenants' rights in your area, then approach your landlord.

1 mom found this helpful
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E.M.

answers from Honolulu on

Could be the diaper itself. Add ammonia to one of the diapers t see if the smell is just that. Urine has lots of ammonia in it.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.N.

answers from Chicago on

For your daughter, I would talk to the doc about the smell. For the bathroom, have a plumber check out the pipes. We had a similar odd smell in our basement under the bathroom. It would also come and go. It turned out the smell was kind of a backdraft from the pipes to the sewer. We had it cleaned and the smell went away. You do not have to have water backup to get this smell. If it is only in the bathroom, there is a good chance it is from the toilet, not necessarily the water itself.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.F.

answers from Chicago on

Have you been feeding your daughter asparagus? It makes urine smell weird.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from Lincoln on

Make an appointment with her pediatrician. Bring a fresh, wet diaper with you to the appointment.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.S.

answers from Boston on

Ok, if your daughter eats aspaeagus all the time, you do not need to call a plumber or worry at all. Just eat asparagus yourself, smell your pee a half hour to an hour later and probably you'll have the answer. it is a potent smell!
good luck,
D.

1 mom found this helpful

L.C.

answers from Washington DC on

Do you have stink bugs?
If you crush one, they have a chemical smell that lasts almost forever.
If you do have stink bugs, check under the changing pad... I bet you'll find some.
LBC

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