Hi. Thank you for all the answers you give, but I can't seem to find an answer to my question. The home wh live in is five years old. It was a foreclosure that sat empty from March to October we think. There was a smell in the house, more chemical it seemed then sewer. That smell is still there, not as strong as before, but it still is there and very bothersome. When I wrote in before SPEEDBALL answered and I appreciated that very much but he offered that it might be the basement floor drains because the smell comes from the basement and eminates through the vents into the house. There is a finished bedroom downstairs in the basement and the smell is not in there. The basement floor drain has water. But now wh have an added problem. When we take a shower upstairs, the basment starts smelling like sewage. There is no smell coming from the upstairs shower drain. My husband went on the roof and put bleach down the roof vent but that did not help. We have snaked down the shower drain and sink drain but all seemed clean and run well. We habe put some duct tape on the basement pipes to see if that might help, but to no avail. Please help. It would be very much appreciated. I forgot to say we have a septic tank and that was cleaned a year ago.

Hi. I forgot to mention in my post today concerning the sewer smell in the basement that I read that SPEEDBALL sugested making my own smoke bomb, or did I misunderstand. I would like to know how to go about this seeing we do not have a smoke machine I can rent in this area. Thank you.

Do not start a new post each time. Put all your comments and/or questions at the bottom of the original post so it will read like a blog.

To make a smoke bomb click on; How to Make a Smoke Bomb (http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/smokebomb.htm). Good luck, Tom

Do not start a new post each time. Put all your comments and/or questions at the bottom of the original post so it will read like a blog.

Thank you for your response as to not start a new post each time. I am not at all inernet savy, but I will see what you mean for next time. Do you have an idea how to remedy the sewer or chemical -like smell in the house? Thank you again so much for taking the time and care to respond.

Since the house sat empty for so long its possible a trap has evaporated its water and lost the seal between you and the sewer gas. Check every fixture including floor drains to be sure they still have a water seal. Dump a few cups of water in every drain including the fllor drains.

To make a smoke bomb click on; How to Make a Smoke Bomb (http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/smokebomb.htm). Good luck, Tom

Thank you very much,Tom for the smokebomb recipe. How safe is it to use and how do I use it to detect where the smell is coming from? The sewer smell is in the basement after we shower in the upstairs bath. The chemically smell originates, I think, in the basement because that's where it is the strongest, but whenever we enter the house , the smell is there to some degree or the other, but less than a year ago. Also after we have been in the house for a few minutes we can barely smell it anymore because our noses must get used to it, but someone else will come in and they will smel it when we do not anymore. Do you have any idea what that smell could be and also why do we have the sewer smell after the shower? In case I soung confusing, Iam talking about two different smells and issues. Thanks again Tom for your time, care, and expertize.

Since the house sat empty for so long its possible a trap has evaporated its water and lost the seal between you and the sewer gas. Check each and every fixture including floor drains to be sure they still have a water seal. Dump a few cups of water in every drain including the fllor drains.

Thank you again for your answer. By trap you mean the trap under each sink with its fixture, right? We use each sink everyday, 2 baths and kitchen. We use shower almost everyday and the washer and dryer once a week. The dishwasher is not used as often. The basement is plumbed for a third bath, but it is capped of, and we put water in the taller pipe just in case. We put water in the floor drain by the furnace. We have lift pump, but the smell does not seem to come from there. We do have that sealed. So, if we use all the fixtures, then there must be water in them, right? Again, thank you so much for your time and answer.

Tell me a few more dertails about "in the taller pipe just in case" Is this the 3 or 4" pipe coming up through the fllor or is it a 2" pipe? The 2" would be shower or tub and likely trapped under the floor but that larger pipe is for a toilet and is not trapped.

Hi, thanks again for your quick response. In the plumbed basement bath, there are three pipes coming from the floor. One is almost 11 in and is thinner. The other is 11 in. and fatter, and the 3rd is 46 in tall. They are all capped and there seems to be no smell whatsoever from them, although we put water in the 46 in pipe just in case. Also the sewer smell in the basement after showering in the upstairs bath has only been going on for almost 2 months but the chemically smell, since we bought the house, although it seems less. Thanks again very much

Their heights do not tell me anything but diameter does. If they were capped and your were able to add water does that mean the caps just slide on, not glued? Toilet is 3 or 4", shower 2", tub 1 1/2" and bath sink 1 1/4"

Thank you very much,Tom for the smokebomb recipe. How safe is it to use and how do I use it to detect where the smell is coming from?
For instructions click om:
http://www.michels.us/michels-us/Portals/0/PipeServices/Smoke%20test%20spec.pdf
Good luck, Tom

Sorry it took a few days to respond. The caps are all glued on, but one of the pipes had a pipe sticking out of it that has a cap that comes of, so we put some water in that, just in case it was dry an put the cap back on. There was no smell coming from any of those pipes that are plumbed for a bath. The smell is generally there when the shower is longer than five minutes or so. Thank you again for your response

I don't know if I am posting correctly, so if I am not I apologize in advance.

I have a similar problem to the one on this thread. My family and I have been dealing with a sewer smell for going on 2 years, since we bought the house we are in.

It is a ranch with 1 bathroom on the main floor, and 1 in the basement, where the washer and dryer are as well. We are on well and septic, with an additional gray water tank also.
The smell appears intermittently, however is fairly consistent after we use the bathtub, washing machine, or dishwasher. AND, the smell only appears in the winter. During the spring, summer, and early fall we are odor free.

We have had a septic company out and they have found nothing, although they put a filter on one of the roof vents, to no avail. We have had a plumber out who suggested that our traps needed to be wet. We wet all the traps on a daily basis and nothing has changed. Neither the plumber nor the septic co. have returned any phone calls when we called to let them know that the smell still remains. Very frustrating.

We are literally at our wits end, with no idea where to turn to next. I understand that odors are very difficult to diagnose, but this is a little ridiculous. If anyone has any suggestions or tips they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Was there ever a solution found for this problem? We have the Same issue at my house with the sewage smell in basement after taking a bath or shower upstairs...