hello i am looking for someone to help me with the smell of my bathroom and basement it smells of raw sewage and the whole house smells from it its not always a problem sometimes it dont smell is there something i can do or is this serious trouble for me i need some expert advice we have back up sometimes and its really nasty we have to call the plumber in but now it just smells is there something i sould be telling him to look at so he is not always making house calls ?? please help desprate mother

ANGELES ALDAMA

REPLACE THE TILE! THY MIGHT OF NOT DONE A GOOD JOB WHEN THEY INSTALLED IT, SO IT CAN BE VERY WET UNDER. WITCH MIGHT CAUSE THE SMELL!

andrewcocke

Checking for mold and mildew under the tile as said above is a very good approach. You also want to check you toilet wax ring. I have had many situations where this the toilet was either improperly seated on the wax ring, or the wax ring has perished, thus removing the seal. These wax rings can be purchased for under $5. I recommend one that has a built in flange, this makes reassebly easy.

If you have had numorous backups, chances are a small portion of you wax ring has withered away.

This might sound nasty, but bend down and smell the base of the toilet, if its bad enough to knock you back, chances are the wax ring is your problem.

Other things to look for, is make sure you sanitary lines (drain lines) are properly vented. Having unobstructed vents for your drain system will keep them from "vapor locking" when a toilet is flushed, thus pulling the water out of your traps.

speedball1

Another place you might check is the basement floor drain if you have one.
If it's not been used much the water seal might have evaporated allowing sewer gas to escape. To stop this problem from happening again fill the trap with motor oil and forget it. good luck, Tom