We bought our house a year ago. The basement was already finshed. In the basement bathroom there is a drain in the floor that would give off a sulphur smell. We would dump water down the drain every other day but the smell really never went completely away. About a month ago I noticed a sewage smell coming from underneith the wall of the laundry room that is shared with the bathroom wall. Around this time I noticed the drain in the bathroom did not smell as strong. The smell is very strong at times in our laundry room. It is there everyday. It sometimes can even be faintly smelled in the stairway above the laundry room. About a week ago my brother in law capped up the drain in the bathroom, hoping that it would take care of the smell. The bathrom no longer smells, but the laundry room smells where the floor of the bathroom meets it. I called rotorooter, but they seemed to think that just flushing our system would not solve an odor problem when we have no clogged drains or apparent leaks. We use all of our sinks washer, toilet and shower in the basement, so nothing is just sitting unused. Any suggestions?

About all I can suggest is to pour bleach down the offending drains and let it set over night. Next morning flush out the lines with boiling water. Smells and weird noises are almost impossible to track down unless you're there to do it. Good luck, Tom

If any of the drains are inside the dividing wall, you may have a loose connection, or even a nail or screw driven right through the pipe. All it takes is one inattentive drywall guy to cause a problem.

If all the lines go under the floor, the same may be true. A framing nail or screw can do pretty good damage - especially if the nail is shot in with compressed air or gunpowder.

It's possible that the pipe wasn't installed with the proper pitch, and that not all of the waste water is draining away. Or there may be a partial blockage in the line, keeping some waste in place. Or there may be a clogged (or absent, or broken) vent pipe just leaking sewer gasses.

I'm a big fan of bacterial drain cleaners. I like the Roebic's brand, but there are others available - just look for one with LIVE bacteria. Basically, the bacteria settle in and eat all the old grease, hair, soap scum, etc. and open up the drains.


I hope this helps. Good luck!