:eek: Help! My basement suddenly developed the smell of rotten eggs or even worse, raw sewage. I can't tell. The smell seems to be coming in somewhere around where the sewer line is in the front of the basement, though I can't say for sure where it is. Seems to be there, but the smell travels a bit with air currents.

NOTHING is showing signs of a sewer line back up. The basement toilet would ordinarily be the first place that this would show, and it's flushing just fine. All toilets are flushing, all drains emptying and nothing is backing up.

I went outside but can detect no odor out there.

It smells horrible in here, and I'm venting the house.

This all started very suddenly yesterday morning and the odor grew stronger all day long.

Could I have a sewer line break outside that's causing this odor INSIDE the basement?? :eek:

Hi HT:

As you have been... look for the obvious stuff first.

Check for traps that have dried out... check unused washing machine drain or not so frequently used laundry sink, or maybe the sink in the bathroom hasn't been used in a long time..

Check the shower drain, any floor drains, etc... you get the idea!

One way to determine if trap is dry is to have someone flush the toilet while you listen at each trap in the basement. If you hear the toilet through the drain... trap needs water added and needs to be maintained in the future... ;)

Then if that reveals nothing... check for a mechanical vent that may have failed (should be accessible if present)... see pictures below.

Check these things then get back to us... MARK

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Is there a floor drain that hasn't been used lately? Does it smell worse around the nfloor drain? When you flush a upstairs toilet do you hear any noise or action coming from the basement? Something's allowing sewer gas to enter your home. Has anything been worked on lately? Let me know, Tom

Massplumber and Speedball. Thank you so much for your replies. I lost this site on the day that all that was going on. It turned out that you were both on track. I have no floor drain and only wish I did.

But I do have a toilet that was not being used. I poured bleach in it, as advised elsewhere, and make certain that it's flushed (no one uses it) at least once a week, and so far, so good!

THANKS FOR UPDATING US HT... :)

Glad you're all set!

Hi Massplumber. Thanks for your in depth and prompt response. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to get back to you. The pictures that you posted could have been worth a thousand words, so thank you. In fact last month I had a leak under my kitchen sink, and someone has posted photos of their sink and it was icredibly helpful.

That was one BAD day! :) I did check back on this site for answers, about every two seconds for a while :D, and then got busy trying other things and forgot where I had bookmarked this site. It's now safely in a folder in my favorties! :)

You pop back anytime... someone here is always glad to help!

Thanks! :)