stevec3h8
Jan 8, 2013, 08:45 PM
I live in a 50 year old house. The kitchen is on the main level on the west side of the house. The basement has a floor drain on the east side of the house. For about the last 3 months, whenever we run the water in the kitchen sink for a few minutes, sewer gas escapes from the basement floor drain on the opposite side of the house. We had a plumber come out to fix the problem. He verified exactly what we saw (and smelled). He rooted the main line from the floor drain and also checked that the vent stacks on the roof were clear. We're still having the problem. It doesn't happen when we take showers or use the washing machine on the east side of the house. It only seems to happen when we use the kitchen sink on the west side.
The plumber, a younger guy, said if the main line rooting didn't solve the problem, he would have his boss (more experienced) come out and do a smoke test. Isn't a smoke test to find hidden leaks of sewer gas? This isn't a hidden leak, as the smell is coming directly from the basement floor drain. I think a smoke test would be a waste of money, but I would like other opinions.
One other detail - we have a second kitchen sink in the basement, almost directly below the main-level kitchen sink. We never use the basement kitchen sink and about 10 years ago we capped it off - meaning we sealed the drain line from that sink with a cap. (I don't think this is relevant, but though I should mention it).
Thanks in advance to any expert advice!
Steve
The plumber, a younger guy, said if the main line rooting didn't solve the problem, he would have his boss (more experienced) come out and do a smoke test. Isn't a smoke test to find hidden leaks of sewer gas? This isn't a hidden leak, as the smell is coming directly from the basement floor drain. I think a smoke test would be a waste of money, but I would like other opinions.
One other detail - we have a second kitchen sink in the basement, almost directly below the main-level kitchen sink. We never use the basement kitchen sink and about 10 years ago we capped it off - meaning we sealed the drain line from that sink with a cap. (I don't think this is relevant, but though I should mention it).
Thanks in advance to any expert advice!
Steve