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Sewer smells

Jeff Horton said:
No code here. Actually by law we are under the Southern Building Code but there is not enforcement outside the cities. And I don't know what code requirements are but I am going to look into that.
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Chuck made a good point. Too short will cause problems. Same with fireplace chimneys which need to be two feet above the highest point of the roof. My vents, and most I have seen, are about 18" tall.
 
Did someone mention the floor drain in the basement, As well, most forget the Laundry drain at the Washer. (both can dry out) Also, Vaccum Sweapers can pick up some funky smells and emit them into the room and carpet. Check out the bag for goodies...

In my case, the line from the kitchen to the main drain went 30 feet under basement floor and of course would stop up because of too level (plumber forgot the Stuff flows down hill rule) as a result of 30 years of cleanout the pipe finally broke through into the area below the floor. I would use a pressure baloon attached to my garden hose to blow out any clog and keep clear, every couple of months, The last time, I saw water seep up at every hairline crack in the floor, Meaning the pressure was getting under the floor and coming up through the cracks... Solution was to run the drain along the walls and provide a nice fall till I could re-join the main drain.

Consider this, suppose you have a break under the floor and the sewer is draining under the floor and the fumes are emmiting through small cracks. Not advice you want to hear but when all else fails to resolve, might consider getting a plumber with a camera to search from within.

Oh yes, I once heard of a situation where a bird fell down a vent, although it didn't stop the venting, it dimenished the effectiveness.

Also, too many visits to certain Mexican Resturants can cause this as well.
 
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Well Jeff, I'm sorry for your troubles, but I'm really surprised no one has said this yet........

.......This really stinks........ :rolleyes: :D :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Seriously, trying to find plumbing gremlins like this can be a real pain, almost as bad as trying to find a bad ground in an old car or truck, but at least with the old car or truck, it don't smell so bad..... usually.

How about an ice maker on the fridge, is there a drain on that? :dunno:
 
Frank Fusco said:
Chuck made a good point. Too short will cause problems. Same with fireplace chimneys which need to be two feet above the highest point of the roof. My vents, and most I have seen, are about 18" tall.
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Sewer vents don't need to "Draw" like Flues they just need to be above the amount of Snow can pile up, which brings to mind, IS there a pile of snow on the roof when you have this problem?

Chimneys need to be above the roof, not the highest point, a safety reason with the theory being that two feet falling in air will cool embers to less than enough to ignite the roof. Above the peak will help assure a good draw, however, does not need to be above the higest peak, depending on the natural wind and surrounding trees and structures.
 
Stuart Ablett said:
How about an ice maker on the fridge, is there a drain on that? :dunno:
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Reminds me of the time in the last house when we tracked down a mysterious smell to a mouse that had died and was in the evaporation tray underneath an old fridge that the previous owner had left in the basement. (lets just way that wet mouse carcass does NOT smell pleasant...
 
Bill Simpson said:
Sewer vents don't need to "Draw" like Flues they just need to be above the amount of Snow can pile up, which brings to mind, IS there a pile of snow on the roof when you have this problem?

Chimneys need to be above the roof, not the highest point, a safety reason with the theory being that two feet falling in air will cool embers to less than enough to ignite the roof. Above the peak will help assure a good draw, however, does not need to be above the higest peak, depending on the natural wind and surrounding trees and structures.
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This might be one of those 'depends' arguments.
I had a house with a wood burning stove that wouldn't draw worth a flip. I was a volunteer fireman at the time and one of our guys was in the fireplace and chimney business. He said my chimney, which was on the peak and about 1' high was too low. He changed it to a three footer and the thing drew beautifully.
 
allen levine said:
jeff, did you find the problem?
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I found it Sunday and realized I found it yesterday. And it turns out it was not a plumbing issue after all. It was gas related but not a leak.

We don't have natural gas here so we use propane. The gas company is SUPPOSED to check it regular and keep it full. What was going on was I was running out and while I don't know exactly why, when you get to the bottom of the tank what ever they add to the gas so you smell a leak starts to come out when being burned.

The water heater is under our main bathroom in the basement bathroom. So as it burned the gas the smell was seeping up into our bathroom making me think it was a plumbing issue. I couldn't find a leak in the gas line so I had eliminated that. I figured it out when my water heater would cycle and give me an error. I assumed the control unit had failed. We tried the gas stove and it lite, so obviously there was a little gas left in the lines. My wife finally put it together and we checked the tank to find it was empty.

I have a new Gas company now. This was the third (and last) time they have let us run out. I should have put this together when I started smelling it, but they are supposed to keep it full so I never thought to check the tank.
 
Yep, had that years ago. Many years ago. we were on a Propane tank shared with my neighbor and a meter for each. Smelled the fowl odor all day and into the night, no leak around so assumed it was the toilet. then late that evening the heat went off. Cold through mid afternoon the next day when they came to refill. My neighbor knew of the smell and went to a motel for the evening, I was a newbe and so learned the hard way. Never gave it another thought as it has been well over 30 years ago.

At least you have a list of things to investigate should you ever have a sewer gas problem... :thumb:
 
This morning I noticed a sewer type smell in the laundry room and downstairs bathroom. It has happened a more than a few times before but eventually goes away. I've looked for dead mice, mold, and empty traps but everything seems OK. :dunno::dunno:I've sprayed a whole can of lysol all over the 2 rooms but it still stinks. The rooms are right over the propane hot water heater and the tank is on the outside wall right next to the 2 rooms.
I'm supposed to be on automatic delivery but I checked the tank and it's down to less than 5%.
The delivery guy is on his way. It will be interesting to see if the smell goes away after he fills the tank.
This could be the answer to a mystery that has had me scratching my head for years.
 
Amazing !!
I've worried over this occasional smell for so long and all it was was a low tank.
Now I can't blame my wife on her shoddy housecleaning anymore....only kidding dear:D

Thanks for posting your problem Jeff. Who da thunk to look in a woodworking forum for a smelly problem:rofl:
 
where can we buy or rent a device that will trace sewage or gas odors to their source
 
Sewer Gas contains methane and sometime hydrogen sulfide, look for a gas detector the will detect lel (lower explosive limit) combustable gases and Hydrogen Sulfide. On the McMaster Carr web page they show one made by MSA, it's kinda expensive. You can also look in your local yellow pages and find people who rent Gas Detector. The advantage to that is 1) a lot less expensive and 2) they keep em calibrated.
 
Don Baer said:
Sewer Gas contains methane and sometime hydrogen sulfide, look for a gas detector the will detect lel (lower explosive limit) combustable gases and Hydrogen Sulfide. On the McMaster Carr web page they show one made by MSA, it's kinda expensive. You can also look in your local yellow pages and find people who rent Gas Detector. The advantage to that is 1) a lot less expensive and 2) they keep em calibrated.
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thanks for this tip, renting will be better
 
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