[Kellymom]

I'm hoping someone can help me with what has become an all consuming problem in our home.
Let me first explain that it is 6 years old. Septic. Ranch with a walkout basement. We bought the house after it was framed in, and added an upstairs bath. The plumbing for this
Bathroom was tied into a basement bathroom, shower, sink and downstairs kitchen sink. The waste goes into a grinder pump that sits in the basement, then goes up the basement wall to a line that connects to a 2000 gal. septic tank. There is a clean out outside side for the tank and a discharge pump for the grinder.
Since moving into the house, we have had issues with the upstairs and downstairs toilets that go into the grinder pump. Backups, gurgling and even waste in the downstairs shower, and backup into the basement from the grinder pump. The pump was replaced, but the gurgling continued in both toilets.
On 11/28, I noticed a septic smell in the house which originated from the unfinished part of the basement where the grinder pump, furnace and sump pump are located. Odor was being carried through the vents.
11/29, septic tank was cleaned.
Smell continues.
Septic Co determines that line from the grinder pump to the septic is broken, and leaking waste water.
Line is tested with camera, replaced.
Septic odor continues intermittantly.
All unused drains are filled with water in case there are dry traps.

After weeks of troubleshooting, it's determined that the odor is coming from the sump pump, due to waste water from leaking pipe going into floor drains.
Sump Pump is sealed.
Odor continues.
Checked for dead animals.
Had furnace and humidifier checked.
Had ducts cleaned.
Odor continues and we smell it in upstairs laundry room, which was redone in June.
Plumber empties small drain in LG washer and water is rancid. We determine that it was not from that room.

Stack vent on roof is checked (different company and perhaps notdone properly,) and vents on roof are extended.
Smoke test is done, without sealing the vents and produces no results. Soon find out that test was done incorrectly, since the roof vents were not sealed.
Septic co. runs camera down grinder and finds clogged pipe between 2 problem toilets that had been gurgling for years. When upstairs toilet is flushed, downstairs shower fills with waste, and septic sewer smell comes from sump pump (not septic) Obstruction is cleared.
Water hose and bleach is run through sump, and dye is put in to see where is comes out. Sump drains at edge of backyard.

Odor changes from septic to sewer smell combined with rotton egg smell, which we smell in a small craft room downstairs that has no plumbing. It is almost below upstairs laundry room, and odor seems to be coming from heating vent on the ceiling.
Heating co runs camera trough vent to unfinished part of basement, which is close, and finds nothing.
At this point the odor comes two times a day, with no correlation to running water, laundry or toilet usage.
Since the laundry room upstairs was redone in June, we tear out drywall to see the washer is siphoning water and a trap is dry. Plumber that did the job says he tied into an existing vent. Nothing is found. No odor from pipe behind washer or dryer.
Plumber puts camera in line from grinder to see if it works, and is fine.
Checks in attic crawl space and sees and smells nothing.
Next step is to retest the vent stack and properly smoke test the house.
Septic co thinks that there is a leaking plumbing pipe, possibly where the obstruction was.
How could so many differerent things be wrong? I cannot fathom that in a 6 year old home, even though it has settled.
Anyone have any kind of theory? Please let me know.

[ballengerb1]

Soory but I now see both your posts. Don't keep adding a new thread, you can keep expanding this one. I did not have time to read your whole story yesterday but can you first tell me why your upstairs bath was plumbed into the downstairs grinder? That is not code wher I live. Has anyone test or checked your toilets for bad wax rings?

[Kellymom]

Soory but I now see both your posts. Don't keep adding a new thread, you can keep expanding this one. I did not have time to read your whole story yesterday but can you first tell me why your upstairs bath was plumbed into the downstairs grinder? That is not code wher I live. Has anyone test or checked your toilets for bad wax rings??

Thanks so much for responding. The upstairs bathroom was plumbed in after the other bathrooms were plumbed because we added that bath to the guestroom during construction. The plan originally called for a jack and jill bathroom between two bedrooms. As a result, we have 2 sections of unfinished basement. The pipe for that bathroom runs along the unfinished basement below the guest bath and ties into the one from the basement bathroom. Both go into the grinder pump in the other unfinished part of the basement. As far as the rings, there is no odor from any of the toilets, but they have not been pulled as yet. The plumber is waiting to see what the smoke test yields. Problem is, they may not be able to get on the roof due to weather. I'm happy to answer any other questions that I can.