[dave1230]

I have a ranch house with two baths back to back. Majority of piping comes together in storage closet in basement which allows fairly easy access and visibility. We had a 1000 gal septic tank installed about 6 yrs ago and had it emptied last yr. The smell of sewer gas is very strong in closet and in main bath especially when showers are used, main bath has double sink and laundry chute which allows more openings for gas to rise, master bedroom bath has single sink that is pretty well sealed. I tested by using one shower one day and the other the next day and got the smell both days--do not have any tests on toilets, don't seem to smell it before taking showers and having used toilets. I have a friend who is a general contractor and he looked at it and said no visible cause, could be I need to replace wax toilet seals. There was no smell a couple weeks ago when we had the very warm 3 days, and none this past week one day it was in the 40's, as soon as it got cold again, smell came back. I thought it might have something to do with roof vents, any suggestions or should I replace wax seals?

[speedball1]

Do you see any bubbles or hear any gurgles when you flush or drain? Where is the smell the worst? Can you give us more details? Back to you, Tom

[hkstroud]

Nothing you have said would indicate the wax ring under toilet as being the source. Do you have floor drains in the utility closet or the laundry room? Do you have the odor in the laundry room?

[dave1230]

No bubbling, no loss of pressure when draining sinks or toilets, do not have floor drains--no indication of any problem in septic tank or fields. Smell is in the closet area where all pipes come together and go out to septic. Laundry is in other half of basement and drains out to dry well with extensive field off dry well. Kitchen sink also goes into dry well.

[massplumber2008]

It could be the roof vent(s) icing over...happens sometimes! Here, you can wrap a heat tape (with thermostat) and insulation around the vent stack just before it exits the roof and see if that resolved the issue for you!

If that failed to resolve the issue, you could try a PEPPERMINT OIL test. Here, you use 2OZ. peppermint oil to 1/2 gallon (or so) of hot water and then pour it down the main VENT exiting the roof. The person mixing/pouring the oil/water does NOT go into the home after he/she has mixed/poured the solution down the vent. Then, you sniff the closet area and see if you can smell the peppermint (the closet and then the entire house). If you can smell peppermint, then there may be a crack in the pipe, or something like that. If you can smell peppermint and still can't locate the cause then a SMOKE TEST is the next test and that usually finds the leaks/sewer/vent issues. I can go into more detail if you like...

Mark

[dave1230]

Thanks, you gave me enough to get started. I suspected from the start it might have something to do with the vents---appreciate the input.