Hi, I am writing because I was concerned about an odor coming from my storage room in my new townhouse that was built in April of 07. The pipes are all in there and I did smell it a few weeks back but very mild. Tonight I went downstairs and it smells very strong it's even coming through the door and you can smell it in parts of the stairs going up and the bedroom next door ( the basemnt is finished). Is this a potential backup?

Is there a floor drain nearby that may have went dry?

OMG! THE MONSTER IN THE BASEMENT IS CREEPING OUT! Lolz... couldnt resist.
If a smell is growing, and creeping outwards, you have a problem. Call a plumber or something.

I'm not sure what a floor drain is. What does it look like?

It would be in the floor, possibly in a utility room. Is your furnace, washer and dryer in this area that you are getting the smell?

What do you have in this room? Describe what's in it, where is the smell strongest?

Yes We have the furnace down there but the washer and dryer are 2 floors up.

This room has the furnace and the hot water tank and all of the pipes are going into the ground from there. The place where it's the stongest is a place near the stairs going down into the basement and the storage room where all of that stuff is. Better yet the Charlotte pipe that goes into the ground.

Ok, on the furnace there will be a white plastic drain, running from the top of the furnace and going to a "floor drain" follow that pipe and see where it leads.

Once you find the drain, let me know if the smell may be coming from there.

All right hold on

OK

There is a big charlotte pipe that leads down into the floor but it's cemented in the ground and sealed.

Well, I'm not sure, it could be a problem that needs to be looked at right away, sewage gas can be very HARMFULL, I would say if this is a new townhouse then there should be some kind of warranty, I would contact the builder and have them get in touch with the plumber. This problem could be coming from anywhere and without being there It's hard for me to tell. There is an expert plumber on here that may be able to offer better advice I'm sure he will take a look at your question.

Thank you for your help :)