I have recently moved into a custom house. We have a septic tank and a garbage disposal. For the last two months or so, we have had a rotten smell that has been permeating the house. It smells like sewer or rotten food.

Normally when we pour bleach down the drains in the bathroom, the smell disappears but only to return the next day or two later. The plumbers who ran our plumbing lines ran 45 degree angled lines right down the middle of the house and under a jacuzzi tub in the master bath. The primary smell seems to be coming from the master bath area. We have even tried closing/covering all the drains. I don't know if I should contact the plumber who built the house or if it could be a septic issue. Please help??

Thanks in advance,

Smelly in the NEW house:(

"The primary smell seems to be coming from the master bath area."

This gives us a gereral location but not enough to help. Can you pinpoint it to a specific drain?

Regards, Tom

Sure,


If I had to narrow it down I would say the drain in the jacuzzi tub. It seems all the pipes run under this area I think the smell is coming from all of them in the master bedroom bath area. The smell comes and goes. We've been gone for 8-10 hours one day and there is no smell. We're gone the following day 8 hours and when we return, we can hardly stand it. I'm guessing it's the septic. What can I put down that is safe to neutralize the smell? I used some bleach but heard you shouldn't use that all the time because it gets rid of bacteria. Also, the pipes take a 90 degree turn at the exit to the septic tank. Thanks

As Tom said, you must narrow it down. I was fighting a problem in my bathroom last year. If you think it is the jacuzzi, put duct tape over the drain and any over flow, and see if that fixes the problem. If it does, then you can start figuring out how to add the trap to the drain that you said was missing in your PM. Post back with the details and how much access you have. Adding a trap is no big deal if you can get at where the drain elbows to horizontal. The tricky part is making sure it has a vent where it elbows to the vertical again.

"All my pipes have a "J" type trap pipe that holds water. I checked all the pipes and all of them have the trap except for my jacuzzi. That pipe runs straight in to the sewer pipe. Could this be the cause of my smell :rolleyes: ????"

If your whirlpool isn't trapped then you have a direct open line between your house and the city sewer allowing sewer gas to enter your home.. Take care of this at once. Good luck Tom