We've had a smell since june17 and still trying to solve it! We've had 3 smoke tests done and all is fine,cleaned all the drains. When we go away for a day and come home the smell is gone until we start to use any of the plumbing! It's driving me crazy! Please help...

Sounds like you have a leak in a sewer pipe underneath the house. When you are away you are not using the plumbing and the soil dries out and the smell goes away. Not sure smoke test would show where leak is if pipes are underneath soil but logic would say that it is most likely in the kitchen drain.

Crawl space or slab?

It's a crawl space as we live in a mobile home. We did have a video camera put through the sewer pipe and
Nothing was found.Just don't know what else to do from here? Thanks for your reply.

Hi hkstroud,
I was meaning to ask if a bad wax toilet seal could cause this? Even if its not leaking water?

Well, crawl up under the house and look for wet spots. Presumably you are also on a septic system. Problem may be related to that if the ground is very wet from rain or if septic field has deteriorated.

Yes, but I would think the odor would be greater in the bath room. Certainly wouldn't hurt to pull the toilet and replace the wax ring.

Not sure a video camera would show a leak in a pipe joint, a person would have to be looking very close to see it.

Thanks hkstroud
We'll try replacing the seal on toilet, also we're hooked up to town sewer so no septic system.
We'll let you know how that goes... ahhh I'm so wishing to be done with this problem. Thanks again for your reply.

In all the smoke tests etc, has any body ever got down in the crawl space to check fior wet areas after you've flushed and used the system? Instead of all the tests on vents and draining in the house the crawl space would be the first place I would be looking. And yet, I see no reports of getting down there a felling for wet spots on the pipes or in the ground. Did I miss that somewhere? Regards, Tom

In addition: Make sure your Sewer Pipe Clean out plug is not missing or loose. Also, look for dead animals under and around the house. Back to you. Milo

Yes all plumbing has been checked in crawl space, the underbelly of home was all removed to expose all pipes while the smoke tests was done.Nothing found wet or smoke coming out of.Thanks for your reply Tom. Oh and we also looked for dead rodents nothing found as of yet.

Thanks Milo I'll have the sewer clean out plug checked.

I know you must have tried the "sniff test" but I got to ask, Where is the smell the strongest?

Quote:

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hen we go away for a day and come home the smell is gone until we start to use any of the plumbing

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Everybody else has had a shot at this let's give us a whack at it.
Let's see id we can nail it down to a single branch or fixture. When you come home and there's no smell use just one fixture, let's start with the kitchen sink. Cycle the dishwasher , Run and drain a sink full of hot water, Do not use any other fixtureswhile testing a drain. Wait for a while and start sniffing around. No smell yet? Move on to the bath and flush the toilet. Wait and smell. Now the tub/shower etc. You get the idea. So far I haven't seen anybody try to localize the smell. You've tried everything else, let's get a general direction to start looking. I got to tell you. Smells and noies are the hardest for us to work with without being there. All we can do is point and you have to do the rest.
Good luck and let me know what you find. Tom

The strongest smell is in the kitchen and can be strong at times outside the house by the kitchen and back door(the area of all the plumbing) I will try all the different fixtures etc to see if the smell is being caused by a certain one. As of now it seems to be with using any plumbing, however I'm willing to give your Idea a try. We did put a new seal on the toilet today, didn't seem to change anything. "Thanks again I'll keep you posted.

hat's outside the kitchen? Could it be as simple as a clean out cover not secured as Milo suggested ? What's out there? The sewer line to the city? Here's one that hasn't been mentioned as yet. If, at some time in the past, you have converted from a septic tank to city sewer we always installed a grease trap to catch the grease before it clogged up the drainfield.
These grease traps could smell worse then any sewer. If you have one it will be about 2 1/2 X 1 1/2 feet (see image and close to ground level. It can be located by following the drain line as it leaves the house. Look for it and let me know what you find. That's the best explanation that I can come up with until I hear back from you. Good luck, Tom

Hi Speedball we did check the clean out cap and replaced the seal on it. We have always been hooked up to town sewer so never had a grease trap. The part we cant' understand is that the smell coming up between the counter top and stove in the kitchen there's nothing there.other then being in the same line with the pipes under the home. The smoke tests done didn't show anything wrong with the vent pipe.. however we're thinking of going up between the walls in the kitchen to see the vent pipe and do yet another test on it... don't know what else to do...

You've flushed and drained each fixture in turn and none of them produced a smell? That doesn't add up. What happened to, " When we come home at night there isn't any smell until we use the plumbing".
Something starts the smell and until we know what it is we can't began to come up with a solution. There's a cause and I want to know what it is. Regards. Tom

Hi Speedball we're still in the process of checking fixtures etc.doesn't seem to be a certain one. I will keep you posted as to what we find. Thanks for your reply