House smells like sewage?

Question

I'm trying to figure out why my house smells like sewage. There are no backups anywhere but it smells. When the toilet is flushed the bath tub and sometimes the sink will gurgle, but nothing comes up from the drains. The basement smells bad too. My renter is an idiot and i am starting to think he has been flushing condoms down the toilet. Is there any way to determine what is happening before my basement fills up?

Answer 1

Locate the source of the odor. If it's coming from a toilet, the toilet may need servicing. If you smell the odors at a fixture drain, the vents are probably blocked. Smells coming from the wall signify the need to repair cracked or disconnected vent pipes.

2

Pull off the toilet if the smells originate there. Do this by turning off the water, draining the tank and unscrewing the toilet bolts with a wrench. Examine the subfloor for moisture damage. If you see any, repair the damaged sections.

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3

Raise the flange if the top is more than 1/2 inch below the surface of the flooring. When the flange is too low, the wax ring can't seal the waste line, and sewer gases can pass through it. Unscrew the flange with a screwdriver, place a flange extender on top of it, and replace the screws to hold the flange and extender to the subfloor. Replace the toilet when you're done.

4

Clear the vents if the odors originate from a fixture P-trap. You are able to smell the gases at that fixture because the trap has been emptied by a vacuum in the waste line. Confirm this by pouring water down the sink to fill the trap and then flushing the nearest toilet. You'll probably hear sucking and gurgling sounds coming from the fixture.

5

Climb on the roof with an extension ladder and clear debris from the vent opening. The vent is usually situated just above the main bathroom. It may be blocked by leaves, sticks or even a dead bird.

6

Pour water down the vent with a garden hose if the opening isn't blocked. The water may clear the obstruction. If not, it overflows from the vent opening.

7

Insert a sewer auger into the vent and push it down as far as you can if the water overflows. Crank the handle to work the auger through the blockage. When the blockage has been cleared, the water standing in the vent pipe will drain. Spray more water to make sure the vent is open.

8

Examine the vent pipes in the wall if the smell originates from there. The pipes may be accessible in the attic or basement, but if they are running through the main part of the house, you'll probably have to remove wallboard to get to them.

9

Re-glue loose joints in the vent pipes with plastic pipe cement. Because vent pipes don't carry water, plumbers often forget to glue them, and odors can seep from unglued joints. Repair cracked or failing fittings by cutting them out with a hacksaw and gluing in replacement pipes and fittings.

Answer 2

Interesting how you come to the conclusion he's flushing condoms. I don't think condoms would cause any issues with the drains.



Since you speak of a basement I have to guess there's a floor drain or two. When was the last time anyone put a little water down them? They have a "P" trap that traps water and blocks sewer gasses from backing up into the house.



And periodically drains should be cleaned. I've been living in this home little over 8 years. Have had the pipes cleaned once so far. When they scoped the drain out to the sewer we could see the pipes were collapsing and in need of repair. We discovered all the homes in this area had the same sort of drain pipes originally installed. I know you won't believe this but the drain pipes are (were) made of cardboard and tar. I didn't believe it either until I saw what was dug up.



Since all my neighbors have the same type of drains we all got a great deal having our drains done at the same time. Saved $1500 each household. OK, Nuff Bout That. You probably should have your drains roto-cleaned. Maybe even have the main checked for blockage, tree roots (which my parents had huge problems with) or broken drains - which I even lived in a condo with a broken pipe.



Good investment to fix problems before they become serious. And stop advertising your tenants are idiots. All that means is you don't know how to rent out your spaces. Looks bad for you.



Bath tub and sinks gurgling sounds like possibly a clogged vent. It happens.



Hope this helps.



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Answer 3

My House Smells Like Sewage

Answer 4

I had a new floor drain installed in a basement and the plumber installed a device that monitored the cold water pressure and every time it shifted (meaning someone ran a faucet or flushed a toilet) the device send a shot of water through a plastic tube into the drain to keep the P-trap wet.

Answer 5

How old is the plumbing?...cast iron drains? The gurgling sounds could be from clogged vent pipes or poor pipe routing/slope but not the cause of sewer smells if the traps hold water. Check all the sink, tub and floor traps to make sure water is in them as others suggest but it could also be that some sections of cast iron drain pipes have corroded away over time...assuming it's an older house with cast iron drain pipes. Check all horizontal sections of drain pipes...feel along the top of the pipes for any cracks, pinholes or sections missing/corroded that could allow sewer gases into the house. My brother had an 80 year old apartment building/rental unit with bad sewer smells in one area and one horizontal section of a main cast iron drain pipe had 4' missing from the top portion of the pipe...only way we caught it was seeing steam / vapor rising from the pipe in winter in the cold basement area...the pipe run was near a 9' ceiling. Sewer gases can have caustic elements in them which can rot out cast iron pipes over time....usually the upper portion of horizontal runs which can go unnoticed since they don't leak water....just smells/odors.

Answer 6

You definitely need to clean out every pipe in the house including the stink pipe. If that involves going onto the roof, then you must do that too. Be sure to visually inspect all the drains you have and flush each. Sometimes the garbage disposal can be plumbed incorrectly so you get sewer gases that way too.

Answer 7

The renter and condoms is not the cause of the drainage problem. The renter might be but condoms are too small to cause the problem. You need the septic tank pumped out or a drain cleaning and routing service to clean the drain so the system works.

Answer 8

It sounds like you have a drain vent that is clogged. Sometimes leaves and debris get into the drain vents from the roof and then prevent air from flowing to allow a good flush which creates the "gurgling" - If i were you, I would get up on the roof with a hose and flush that thing good.

Answer 9

Everybody else has good suggestions, one other thing to check for, is sometimes, over the years, the building can settle and the main cast iron sewer pipe out to the road can crack (or sometimes it rusts out) and lets sewer water leak into the porous crushed stone under the basement slab, this can seep out into the sump pump hole and raise a big stink.

Answer 10

Is the P-trap in the basement floor full of water. If it gets dry you can have sewer gas coming in.

Answer 11

lift the drain cover and look for blockages rod the drains if there is clean all the sinks and toilets u bends with soda crystals to remove drain smells from u bends check u bends for blockages check pipes for loose fittings/leaks

Answer 12

That is right.. put water through unused drains and toilets or you will get back draft gases

Answer 13

Sounds like you need your septic tank emptied

Answer 14

you could have a break somewhere....or sometimes its because you leave the toilet seat up

Answer 15

No