I have a bathroom in the downstairs that has a shower, sink and camode. My wife and I are retired, she uses the upstairs bath and I use the one downstairs. This bathroom is located in what was originally a back porch and so there is absolutely no access to plumbing unless I pull up the floor, which I really don't want to do. This bathroom also has it's own septic tank, located approximately 15 feet from the outside wall, straight out from the bathroom. We have been getting septic gas smell in the house for sometime now. When we smell the gas we usually have the tank pumped and this seems to solve the problem for a while, but the odor comes back within a fairly short time. So, in trying to identify the cause of the odor, I checked the vent pipe and low and behold, it was broken in the wall. I remove the sheetrock, repaired the pipe and thought this whole thing was over. I ran the shower and when the hot water ran for about 5 minutes, the smell came back. I had Roto Rooter put a camera down the drain after I removed the toilet and also had him put the camera down the vent pipe and he could not find any clogs. I have good water flow into the septic tank. The guy from roto rooter suggested I dig down outside to where the main exits the bathroom to see if the vent pipe came loose or has a broken connection to the main. That's where I am. Any one have any other suggestions? I'm very frustrated at this point. Thanks. Lou A

Roto Rooter should be able to tell you if the vent is broken. He should be able to see it with his camera.

Is there a trap on the shower? Was the plumbing done by a pro?

Chuck

Roto Rooter should be able to tell you if the vent is broken. He should be able to see it with his camera.

Is there a trap on the shower? Was the plumbing done by a pro?

Chuck
Thanks for the quick response. House was built in 1916, bathroom, at least 25 years ago, plumbing was done but the contractor who built the bathroom. The smell is not coming from the shower, but I do know there is no trap since it drains under the floor, and tees into the 4" main. The reason there is no trap is, our house is in the Northeast. Any water left in the trap over the winter would freeze and break the fittings. I do know, the odor seems to be coming up from the floor, inside the wall where the vent pipe goes down, so that leads me to believe the vent pipe connection is not good. The roto rooter guy could not find any holes or misaligned fittings with his camera, but that's not to say they don't exist. At this point, I'm pretty resolved that I have to dig down 4 feet to access the main and see if I can see anything. I'm 68 and not looking forward to that kind of work. Thanks for the heads up though.
Lou A

Do you have a house trap before waste goes into to tank?

Do you have a high water table in your area? With high water, it is possible tank is filling and backing up into waste line.

Chuck