I'm concerned about a sewer gas odor in a new home being built. The sewer gas odor has been in there for a couple months already without ventilation apparently because the traps dried out. The builder says he will not take any action on it until the plumbing gets turned on and says the odor won't linger once that occurs. I'd like to believe that, but wondered if anyone has any experience with whether the odor goes away once the traps are filled or is this odor now likely going to stick around in the house after the traps are filled since it's been awhile with the odor in the house?

This happened to our new house also. The trap in the washing machine had dried out and the gas came up from there. Yes, the odor did go away. We also had a gas water heater and the hot water had an awful smell also, but it also cleared up once we moved in and started to use the hot water. Best of luck with your new house --- Ace

Thanks Ace! You helped me sleep a little easier now that I shouldn't have to worry about moving into a funky smelling house :)

The odor will go away once the traps are being used on a regular basis. If you have a floor drain ask your plumber/builder if the floor drain trap has a trap seal primer installed on it. This is a code in most places. A condensate line will also do the job.

Trap seals are designed to keep out sewer gas. Once they are fiulled your problem should disappear. If you doin't think that you will use the floor drain fill the trap with motor oil to prevent evaperation Good luck, Tom

Thanks Speedball1 and Waterguy, your information is going to be helpful to me and is much appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Best,
Tom