It all seems to be connected, I think so I'm going to give the full story.

Just moved in 3 months ago. We learned pretty quickly why there were air fresheners all over the house. The sump basin is foul! It seems to have this thick black slime coating the inside. Whenever water drains into it (apparently the laundry tub drains directly into the sump from a drain in the floor.) So I set up a filter so that lint wouldn't be going into it. The sump drains into the yard and there's a bit of a pond in the yard. It's foul, too. It's a sewagey smelling odour. Reminds me too of the smell of dank mucky mud.

Part 2: same odour: anytime the toilet in the MB (upper floor) is flushed, the kitchen sink (main floor) has a sewagey smelling burp. Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, burp. It is FOUL!! Sulfur smelling and very strong.

Part 3: while it's not set up to do so, for some reason the sump is filling when our main floor shower runs. Could this be an overflow... indicating a clog somewhere.

I did pull a gigantic hunk of hair from the shower/tub drain and installed a filter to catch future hair.

When the sump drains, the front yard pond fills with the water and releases a strong sulfur smell. So every time I do laundry, it stinks. Every time we flush the upstairs toilet, the kitchen sink lets out the odour.

This is getting to be a very stinky house.

Any suggestions?

(We're not on a septic system.)

Part#1) I would pour a gallon of bleach into a bucket and mop out the pit for the odor.

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he sump drains into the yard and there's a bit of a pond in the yard. It's foul, too. It's a sewagey smelling odour. Reminds me too of the smell of dank mucky mud.

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I would also dig in a dry well for the foul water in the yard before the health department spots it. If you need instructions on making a dry well click on back.
Part#2) You have a partial blockage downstream from the kitchen sink. What's happening is when the discharge from the toilet upstairs picks up velocity on the way down it hits the clog and bounces nack sending a bubble of sewer gas ahead of it. That's what you smell. The solution would be to snake the kitchen sink from the roof vent. Put out enough cable to reach the base and 20 feet more.
More questions? I'm as close as a click. Tom
Part#3) You're correct. Your drainage's connected to the pit at some point.

Cannedam: You have bigger problem on your hands than you think. Call local contractor to take a look at that and give you ideas how to correct it. You should do it in timely manner since exposed sewer is a health hazard.

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Originally Posted by Milo Dolezal

Cannedam: You have bigger problem on your hands than you think. Call local contractor to take a look at that and give you ideas how to correct it. You should do it in timely manner since exposed sewer is a health hazard.

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I should have mentioned -- there's no sewage in the sump and what's drained out of it isn't sewage. I think the sludge in there is an accumulation of lint + fabric softener from previous residents.

However, hubby reminded me that when we run the dishwasher, the shower, and the washing machine all at once... we get water down in the basement that certainly doesn't smell kosher... and think it's coming from a pipe that drains from the kitchen sink... It's on the opposite side of the basement as the sump, so we know it's not that.

We're calling in the pro's. *sigh*

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Originally Posted by Cannedam

I should have mentioned -- there's no sewage in the sump and what's drained out of it isn't sewage. I think the sludge in there is an accumulation of lint + fabric softener from previous residents.

However, hubby reminded me that when we run the dishwasher, the shower, and the washing machine all at once...we get water down in the basement that certainly doesn't smell kosher...and think it's coming from a pipe that drains from the kitchen sink ... It's on the opposite side of the basement as the sump, so we know it's not that.

We're calling in the pro's. *sigh*

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We also get burps from the kitchen sink when the laundry drains.

The kitchen sink, and dishwasher are one side of the house. The two washrooms (main floor, and upstairs) are on the opposite side of the house, above where the washing machine is. The sump pump is also on this side of the house in the front corner.
The basement water seems to be coming from a floor drain about halfway between the washroom drains and kitchen drains.

There also appears to be no vents coming from the drains.

Thought I'd let you all know what our problem was. The sewage pipe that's under the foundation had crumbled. Apparently the previous residents left the home unwillingly... a snake pulled out clothing, tire treads, sanitary napkins (not tampons, the other), towels, plastic bags, and then some. All this stuff in the pipe caused it to break. The liquid leaked into the weeping tile and the weeping tile carried it to the sump basin. The sump pumped it into the yard. Yes... we had a sewage pond in our front yard. Had to dig up the basement and replace the pipe as well as the entire sump pump and basin. Everything is fine now!