Good day everyone!! We live in a house that was built in 1947 but was completely gone through(wiring,plumbing,etc.) in 1950. We are on a 'septic system' and have never had any problems until now. We started experiencing 'septic odor' in the house whenever we did the laundry,took showers or ran the automatic dishwasher. My wives nephew who has dealt with 'septic systems' before came over and uncapped the tank and put a hose inside and ran water into it to see if it was going to fill up but after about (40 minutes) had passed he said it was not the 'drain field' that was the problem; then he stuck his head inside the crawlspace to see if he could find a leak but to no avail. I have just had the tank (1000 gal.-concrete) pumped out in June 2010 and it was after I had this done that the smells started about the first part of July. Please HELP us out, we are living from paycheck to paycheck and barely making it.Thank you very much for your help concerning this matter.

Any fixtures that aren't in use? Such as a floor drain, mop sink, etc? If so fill then traps with cooking oil. Try again to locate the source or where the smell's the worst. Let me know, Tom

Good to hear that you drain field is functioning. If Tom's suggestions do no solve the problem check to insure that you vent pipes are not blocked. After that you will have to crawl around under the house to make sure that you do not have a broken or cracked pipe.

he stuck his head inside the crawlspace to see if he could find a leak but to no avail.

That isn't good enough. A broken joint or cracked pipe might not leak water but could still allow sewer gasses to escape.

Is sewer pipes under the house are underground, cover the ground in that area with plastic to see if that has any effect. That would not be a solution to the problem, but might help you locate the break.

I am assuming that the odor is throughout the house and not in just one room, like a bathroom.