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bjla22 · Mar 15, 2011, 12:46 PM

I have a sewer smell somewhere but can't pinpoint where it is coming from. My house was remodeled 7 years ago with all new plumbing. None of my drains in my basement have this oder. I live in the country so I have a septic system. The septic tank in not full and the vent on the top of the house seems to be working properly. When the heater is on the smell, of course, gets circulated throughout the house. Is there something else I should consider?
Thank you!

ballengerb1 · Mar 15, 2011, 02:36 PM

A failed toilet wax ring is frequently the cause of such an issue. Second most frequent is a failed or dried out trap on the basement floor

bjla22 · Mar 16, 2011, 07:15 AM

I have checked both of those and I don't have any dry drains and my toilet isn't leaking. One thing I was thinking about is the pipe that empties out side. Some dirt had been dumped on the pipe durning constriction and we had to cut the pipe shorter. Is there something that I can put on the end of the pipe so that the wind doesn't blow back in the pipe? Sometimes when the wind is out of the south the smell appears to be worse. Thanks!

ballengerb1 · Mar 16, 2011, 07:24 AM

A failed wax ring does not always cause "toilet isn't leaking" The ring can allow sewer gas to get into the home and there is no water spilling on the floor. There are afew ways to check this such as sealing the toilet base to the floor with clay or removeable caulk. If the smell goes away you have found the problem

bjla22 · Mar 22, 2011, 07:56 AM

We can't always smell the smell. There are days when we don't smell it at all. I notice it the most when the furnace is running, but not when the central air is running.

ballengerb1 · Mar 22, 2011, 08:53 AM

Do you have an older model furnace, one that is less than 85% efficient? A furnace can cause a very slight vacuum in a home as well as a breeze blowing across the top of the vent stack. This will try to pull sewer gas inside the home.

bjla22 · Mar 22, 2011, 09:48 AM

We put it in new when we remodeled the house 8 years ago. Somedays the odor is stronger than others. How strong is the suction suppose to be out of the vent pipe that goes out of our roof? We did a suction test with the washer running. There was a suction, but not a strong suction.

ballengerb1 · Mar 22, 2011, 11:46 AM

A wax ring can fail in 1 day or 10,000 days. When nothing is draining there is no pressure or suction in a stack. When you drain a fixture air is displaced up and out the stack. How are you measuring suction in your stack? There should not be any

bjla22 · Mar 22, 2011, 01:14 PM

Well maybe we'll just have to replace the ring and see what happens. Why can't I smell the odor around the toilet?

ballengerb1 · Mar 22, 2011, 02:22 PM

Sewer gas is ligt and floats easily all over. There is an inexpensive test if you want to be sure it's the ring. Get some children's clay and make several "ropes of clay" about the size of your finger. Use the clay to press into the crack between the floor and the toilet base. Make a continuous seal of clay all around the base. If the smell disappears and doesn't come back then you have confirmed the ring had failed

bjla22 · Apr 17, 2011, 06:58 AM

We replaced the wax ring and there is still an odor. What else could be wrong with the toilet? The smell is right around the toilet pipes down stairs. Thanks for you expertise!