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    concernedsenior's Avatar
    concernedsenior Posts: 6, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    May 15, 2012, 03:47 PM
    Bad smell in shower area - is it our septic system?
    We have been living in our home for 3 years. Around the 3rd day in our 12 year old home, we noticed a smell coming from our bathroom. This bathroom is in a one story house. It is located in the back of our house and is the closest room to our septic system. We have tried running water to make sure that our ptrap is not dry, but we cannot tell if we even have a ptrap.

    We keep a rubber bathtub stopper on our shower drain. That helps, but the smell comes through, sometimes more than other times. When you lift the rubber drain cover, you can really smell it.

    Can anyone here help diagnose our problem? How can we tell if we have a ptrap?
    concernedsenior's Avatar
    concernedsenior Posts: 6, Reputation: 1
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    #2

    May 15, 2012, 04:25 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by concernedsenior View Post
    We have been living in our home for 3 years. Around the 3rd day in our 12 year old home, we noticed a smell coming from our bathroom. This bathroom is in a one story house. It is located in the back of our house and is the closest room to our septic system. We have tried running water to make sure that our ptrap is not dry, but we cannot tell if we even have a ptrap.

    We keep a rubber bathtub stopper on our shower drain. That helps, but the smell comes through, sometimes more than other times. When you lift the rubber drain cover, you can really smell it.

    Can anyone here help diagnose our problem? How can we tell if we have a ptrap?
    I read a suggestion in a related post on this website, so my husband climbed up on the roof while I ran water in the sink, shower and flushed the toilet. He felt light suction so I guess that means our vent pipes are not clogged. We have three of them in the bathroom.

    Also, if we remove our drain cover and shine a light we cannot see water. We see the pipe turn towards the septic system.
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    concernedsenior Posts: 6, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    May 15, 2012, 04:34 PM
    Actually, my husband and I were wrong. We do see water when we look down the drain. It is about 3 feet below the drain. We just needed a stronger flashlight.
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
    Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
    		  
    #4

    May 15, 2012, 04:54 PM
    What is under the bathroom: slab, crawl or basement?
    concernedsenior's Avatar
    concernedsenior Posts: 6, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    May 15, 2012, 05:33 PM
    Our house is on a slab.
    concernedsenior's Avatar
    concernedsenior Posts: 6, Reputation: 1
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    #6

    May 15, 2012, 06:04 PM
    My husband says that the drain pipe seems to have some sort of coating on the inside, that it has a somwhat rough texture to it.
    ma0641's Avatar
    ma0641 Posts: 15,675, Reputation: 1012
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    #7

    May 15, 2012, 07:45 PM
    If you are getting a smell without a plug or cap and no smell with one, you could have a cracked trap that is draining out. No fun to repair in a slab.
    concernedsenior's Avatar
    concernedsenior Posts: 6, Reputation: 1
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    #8

    May 16, 2012, 03:53 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by ma0641 View Post
    If you are getting a smell without a plug or cap and no smell with one, you could have a cracked trap that is draining out. No fun to repair in a slab.
    We still get a smell with the rubber drain cover. We are just about ready to board up the bathroom because we cannot figure out what it is. Is there a way to check for a crack in the trap?
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