I don't know if I am posting correctly, so if I am not I apologize in advance.

My family and I have been dealing with a sewer smell for going on 2 years, since we bought the house we are in.

It is a ranch with 1 bathroom on the main floor, and 1 in the basement, where the washer and dryer are as well. We are on well and septic, with an additional gray water tank also, which is located under the deck abutting our house.

The smell appears intermittently, however is fairly consistent after we use the bathtub, washing machine, or dishwasher. AND, the smell only appears in the winter. During the spring, summer, and early fall we are odor free.

We have had a septic company out and they have found nothing, although they put a filter on one of the roof vents, to no avail. We have had a plumber out who suggested that our traps needed to be wet. We wet all the traps on a daily basis and nothing has changed. Neither the plumber nor the septic co. have returned any phone calls when we called to let them know that the smell still remains. Very frustrating.

We are literally at our wits end, with no idea where to turn to next. I understand that odors are very difficult to diagnose, but this is a little ridiculous. If anyone has any suggestions or tips they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi! kjmcc0729, welcome to AMHD :)

Have you tried reading some of the posts here at AMHD?
If your using the default or the two lite versions of the forum "skins", look to the right of your post for suggested similar threads or copy and paste your post title in the search box.

We have several very knowledgeable Journeymen here that may crack your case.

In the meantime, this one answered by speedball1 may help:
askmehelpdesk/plumbing/basement-sewage-odor-

K

Thanks KUXJ, I have read through several of the sewer odor posts, and have seen many of the speedball1 responses, all seem to be very helpful.
Unfortunately, the solutions offered to this point have been tried by us, to no avail. It has truly become a mystery as various professionals have attempted to "crack" our case, but none have been able to yet!

Your problem has been rattling around in my head, and one thing I thought of may be a broken vent pipe or a pipe that has come loose of its fitting inside the walls of your house.

'bout the only way you could check that would be to hire or rent an inspection camera, one with a lead that was stiff enough that you could fish down, and through the roof vents.

While I had the camera I'd go an inspect the sewer lines for a broken line also.
And there's something 'bout that gray water tank that bugs me to. How is that piped? Are they secure?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kjmcc0729

The smell appears intermittently, however is fairly consistent after we use the bathtub, washing machine, or dishwasher. AND, the smell only appears in the winter. During the spring, summer, and early fall we are odor free.

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There's two points here that are key.

• Winter, and
• The smell is strongest after heavy water appliance use.

And that's what leads me to believe you have a broken or disconnected pipe somewhere.

You don't say where your located (I'm assuming) a colder climate.
The cold/freezing temps are pushing your ground, and house to a point where the pipe(s) are twisting if broken or slipping apart if not connected properly.

The problem could even be under your basement slab, and its coming up though the concrete.

It doesn't take much of a gap for gas to permeate.

K

K,
Thanks for responding. The ideas you had are some that the most recent person to investigate have pondered as well. We have a company called Sanitrol, we are in Ct. coming out next week to do some testing to check on them. They use camera's inside the lines, and also do smoke testing. Hopefully they will see something that we are unable to and the problem can be rectified. One thing that has been suggested is perhaps the gray water tank does not have an external trap.

Thanks again for the ideas, I will print them and share them with Sanitrol when they come to the house next week. I will share their results when I receive them.

Kjmcc

Whew! With it being over a week, I was hoping you didn't shut off your email notifications.

Well, it sounds like your in good hands now.

One of the least destructive repairs would be to have the problem area lined with a sealer or sleeve, but it can be expensive.

If this is the Company your using, they don't say if they offer that service, but ask, if not they should be able to steer you to a Company that does.
Sanitrol Septic Services, LLC 2400 Foxon Road North Branford, CT 06471/ Video _ Inspection_Service

It's a toss-up in which way you go...
Do we go with the lining or do we go with tearing out walls or busting up the concrete floor.

• Lining = least destructive, quicker, but more expense.
  
• Replace the pipe/fittings = Destructive, but repairable (New concrete, drywall, paint), takes longer, less expense.

Which ever way you go, make sure whoever starts the job, especially if you go the demo, repair, replace. That they leave it as if no one was ever there.
Might be hard to match the concrete though...

Now... 'bout that gray tank.

You may find as suggested, that the tank doesn't have a trap or it may be damaged, and inoperable. If suggested don't hesitate to put a double trap or double back-flow prevent-er on.

And, if it is missing or damaged it's possible the influent to the gray tank is interacting with the drainage field of the septic, and has caused a pathway back to the house to allow septic to drain back to the house, collect, and permeate through the walls or concrete floor.

If this is the case, your could be looking at excavation around the perimeter of the house or a portion to rebuild the drainage tile, and re-new the water-proofing of the exterior walls.
Even replace the soil that was excavated.

This also asks the question, since your on a well... Have you ever had cloudy or smelly tap water.

This is an excellent site:
inspectapedia.com/water/WaterTesting
Check the left main menu there is a wealth of information there.


I don't mean to alarm, only to present possibilities. Sewer gas is nothing to fool with, especially if you have children.


You've only been here for two years, how long has the house/property existed?


Well... I hear Connecticut will miss this storm, but I got to go an check an make sure the blowers' ready to go. Here near Harrisburg, Pa. the 6 O'Clock news says we're to get 17" :eek:

K

K,
Good luck with that storm, it is supposed to be a doozy! Thankfully it should miss us, although being in the southern part of the state we may be in line for a couple of inches, buth nothing like everyone else is going to get.

Thanks again for the info. I will forward this information next Friday when the company comes to inspect. Unfortunately, I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to these types of things. Fortunately, I contacted the gentleman who did our home inspection prior to purchasing this home and he has taken it upon himself to help us with our problem, even though we assured him that he bears no responsibility for our difficulties. He has been very helpful thus far and I am sure that he will be able to translate your suggestions for me.

As some of your questions. Yes the water does have an odor, but it is not cloudy. There is a sulphur odor, which we mitigate by using a whole house carbon filter. We did a water test prior to buying and the test showed that we have manganese in the water, as well as the detected sulphur odor.

Our home was built in 1955, which is probably when the current gray water well was installed. A new septic system was installed in 2006.

We have 2 small children, 6 and 2, and the presence of the septic odor is something we have been worried about. We have been told that there is probably no danger, but no one offers any assurances.

Thank you again for taking the time to consider our problem. I can not express how much it is appreciated. It is amazing to me that someone who we in central PA is willing to take the time to offer suggestions while local professionals refuse to return our phone calls!

Again, thank you, and best of luck with the blizzard. Be safe and well.
Kevin

Do you have ceiling fan in the bathroom ?

Milo,
No, there is no ceiling fan in that bathroom, just an exhaust fan.
Kevin

My apology... bad terminology on my part... yes, indeed... I meant exhaust fan, of course...

Check if there is caulk around the base of the toilet. If not, caulk it. Make sure caulk fills the gap completely. Then, see if odor problem continues...

Milo,
Thanks for responding. We removed the toilet, replaced the wax ring and sealed it up tight. Unfortunately the odor remains.

Quick update on the Sanitrol testing. The person came out and sniffed around the base of the toilet and announced it a toilet issue. He suggested I buy a double-wax ring and reseal the toilet. I did that, and then as an extra precaution I followed Milo's advice and caulked around the base of the toilet. The gentlemen suggested that I give it 24 hours to assess whether it worked. Unfortunately, it has been 24 hours and the smell is worse than ever! In fact, my wife is packing up the kids and going to stay at my in-laws for the night. The good news, is maybe it is a toilet issue, which may be an easy fix. The bad news, my house is damn-near uninhabitable until we get it fixed! My father-in-law suggests that we seal off the toilet for now, since we aren't using it for the most part.
If there are any suggestions, they would be much appreciated at this point!

Do you have any bubbles or gurgles that you can see or hear when anything's draining? I'm thinking perhaps a vent that's blocked or frozen shut? Let me know, Tom

Speedball,
Thanks for the response. No, there are no bubbles or gurgles we can see or hear. The odor from the toilet increases substantially when we run water though.

Quote:

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The odor from the toilet increases substantially when we run water though.

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Now I'm thinking "partial blockage".
Let me explain. When you flush or drain the discharge goes down the pipe and bangs into a partial blockage and bounces back for a instant sending a bubble of sewer gas ahead of it. This wouldn't necessary have to show itself as big bubbles. Sniff the water in the bowl, now discharge a fixture or give it a flush and smell the water in the bowl now. Is the odor any stronger? Let me know, Tom

Tom,
It is hard to tell if there is a stronger odor in the water. The odor seems to be emanating from the base of the toilet. Makes no sense to me because we put a double ring of wax and caulked the base as well, but the odor does not seem to be in the toilet, i.e.. Coming through the water. When the toilet was off, the smell from the pipe was overwhelming though. The toilet in question is rarely ever used though, maybe 3-4 times a week at most.

At this point, my family and I have abandoned the house for the night. Our eyes and throats were burning from the smell so we decided to cut bait and bunk with the in-laws, which will no doubt cause a burning in another part of my body!

Tomorrow we take the toilet out and seal the line. If there is a positive in this, it is that perhaps the source of the odor which has accosted us for the past 2 winters might be the toilet, which should be fixable.

Thank you again for your response, especially since our plumber(s) here in Connecticut haven't returned our calls!

Kevin


Quick update. We pulled the toilet and sealed the line. No fresh odors all day. 2 interesting things though.
1. It appears as though the odor was escaping from the toilet itself, as opposed to coming from the base. We put our heads near the base and noticed no odor, but it smelled badly around where the tank connects with the base, perhaps a shot gasket?
2. The seal did not go in flush, but we got what we thought was enough in on all sides. To be sure, I layered the entire area with duct tape. It appears that now, on the side that is not flush, the gas is pushing up on the duct tape. I have reinforced the heck out of the tape, but perhaps I should pull the plug tomorrow and look for a more flush alignment?

Question though, one from my wife, although I admit I don't know the answer. Is it possible that the gas will have enough pressure to pop the plug out? And if I put something heavy on the top to hold it down, will the gas find another way in?

Thank you if anyone has a chance to respond. I sincerely appreciate the help thus far.

Kevin

Hi! Kevin,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kjmcc0729

Quick update. We pulled the toilet and sealed the line. No fresh odors all day. 2 interesting things though.
1. It appears as though the odor was escaping from the toilet itself, as opposed to coming from the base. We put our heads near the base and noticed no odor, but it smelled badly around where the tank connects with the base, perhaps a shot gasket?

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I would say yes.
Those gaskets are brand specific, make sure you know the manufacturer of the toilet.
After you get the tank to bowl seal (spud gasket) from your supplier, and go to install it, Just be careful tightening it down. I've always done...Hand tight, then a 1/4 turn....only tight to stop the leak
It is very easy to crack either the tank or the bowl... Oh, an pick up new bolts or a kit.

Toilet problems, Exploded view of toilet.

You may want to consider purchasing a new toilet kit from your supplier or a big box. 'Bout $150 USD

Looking around, check this especially post #9:
The Potty Weed - HELP!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kjmcc0729

2. The seal did not go in flush, but we got what we thought was enough in on all sides. To be sure, I layered the entire area with duct tape. It appears that now, on the side that is not flush, the gas is pushing up on the duct tape. I have reinforced the heck out of the tape, but perhaps I should pull the plug tomorrow and look for a more flush alignment?

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It should hold until you are ready to finish the repair. If its pushin' that hard to be visible, you may have a Partial septic blockage... See #4 in link below.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kjmcc0729

Question though, one from my wife, although I admit I don't know the answer. Is it possible that the gas will have enough pressure to pop the plug out?

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Usually no.

You may be thinking, If the tank to seal was bad enough to leak gas when other appliances were being operated, will it pop the plug.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kjmcc0729

And if I put something heavy on the top to hold it down, will the gas find another way in?

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If it does, then you may have another bad seal somewhere or a rot hole in that line.

I've used plain old shop rags (with no tape) to plug sewer pipe overnight (up to 2days) before I was able to gather all the supplies to affect a repair.

I was looking around, and found this in my chest O' marks:
Diagnosing and Repairing Cold Weather & Wet Weather Septic Tank Odors Sewer Odors
Make sure to save that link. The whole site has a plethora of information.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kjmcc0729

Thank you if anyone has a chance to respond. I sincerely appreciate the help thus far.

Kevin

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Your welcome kj... k