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I Can’t Get Rid of the Sewer Smell in My Basement, Basement Smells Like Sewage
This is definitely a question we hear fairly frequently and most times it’s relatively easy to troubleshoot when the basement smells like sewage. The very first question you should ask yourself or a potential customer is “do you have a floor drain in your basement?” If your basement smells, it’s likely that there is a sewer gas mishap. Why you may ask? Hopefully, this article can clear up just that up; the smell isn’t necessarily coming from a bathroom urine, a sink, a shower, or outside. Learn how to stop and prevent the smell from worsening in your house and educate yourself on the effects of sewer gas smell.
If there is a floor drain in the basement and it is unfinished it is likely they’re to receive condensate water from the furnace. Quite often that is the only water that drains ever receive.
So if there is a floor drain and it’s getting very little use the trap serving, the drain may have dried out. If this proves to be the case mix a little bit of Mr. Clean or a household cleaner that gives off a fresh scent with a gallon or so of water. This will do two things, prime the trap and clean out any nasty water that may have been laying stagnant in the trap.
That brings us to the second question and it definitely ties into the first, is there an ejector pit and pump in the basement? If you have a basement and you have an overhead sewer you should have two pits in your basement. One pit with a sump pump to handle ground water and one pit with an ejector and a sealed cover to take care of ANY waste water. Including condensate water.
It is code to have a gas-tight sealed lid and the pit should be vented. We should back up for a second. Because most ejector pits only receive condensate waste, home builders frequently put in sump pumps without a sealed lid.
If you have an ejector pit and it is receiving waste water from a laundry, basement bath, kitchen, etc. and it doesn’t have a sealed lid or vent piping there is a strong possibility that the pit is the origin. So if you find this is the culprit these are the things you need to do to fix the problem.
- Purchase an ejector pump
- 1/2 HP submersible sewage pump, 100% factory tested
- Automatic model with integral float switch
- 2" NPT discharge, passes 2" spherical solids
- Purchase an ejector lid with a seal kit. Ejector pits come with two holes; one for the waste discharge and one for the vent. (Try and find a lid that fits your pit. Most times the edge of the pit needs to be modified for the new lid to fit.)
- Seal the ejector pit and install the vent piping and tie-in to a vent line overhead.
Not the ejector pump, not a floor drain?
So you’ve checked those two things out and there is still a smell in your basement? The next question we would ask is “Are there any plumbing fixtures in the basement?” For example, a laundry room, basement bath or basement toilet bowl under the sewer line. These groups of fixtures should be vented like any other, we’ve seen plenty of basements vented into the wall and that vent ties into nothing.
The open vent can be the cause of the sewer smell. We have also seen vents for bathrooms and kitchens on the main floors, not tied-in, this sewer gas smell can make it’s way to the basement. If the smell can’t be tied to a basement fixture then a peppermint test can be performed.
If it is none of the above you may have a broken sewer line. How would you know or how should someone diagnose the problem? If a sewer line is broken the brackish water is leeching into the ground somewhere. What receives ground water from the area around the foundation?The drain tile system. The water from the drain tile system makes it’s way to the sump pit. That is usually where you will smell the sewer gas. It causes harmful damage around the drain system.
How To Build A Tile Shower: Your Ultimate DIY Guide
If you’re remodeling your bathroom, you might be thinking about building a tile shower. Many people hire professionals to tile their showers, but depending on the project, your budget, and your timeline, you can learn how to build a tile shower and install it on your own.
How to Diagnose the Sewer Line Being Broken
You have to purchase leak tracing dye. Has anyone here seen pictures of the way the City of Chicago dyes the Chicago River green on St. Patrick’s day? They are using a biodegradable fluorescent tracing dye.
Trace-A-Leak makes dyes in myriad colors. Anyway….the plumbing tech or homeowner should fill up a bathtub and put some of the tablets in the tub or dump some of the tablets in a toilet. Release the water from the tub or begin flushing the toilet. If there is a leak, the dyed water will leech its way into the soil and make its way back to the sump pit. This may take some time but it isn’t uncommon.
Sewage Smell In Basement – Conclusion
As always we hope you enjoyed the article about troubleshooting your basement sewer smell. I hope this does help you stop smelling gross basement sewer gas. If there is anything our readership would like to add about the sewage smell in basement problems feel free to leave a comment. They are always welcome.
I am reading my tail off. Your answer is the best I have seen so far. I have a 4 flat with a full basement. There is a laundry room where there is a sump pit for the building 4″ corrugated building tile. The sump is submersible type, no vent, steel – unsealed lid, discharges to outside through wall just above the foundation.
sitting next to this pit is the ejector pit. the laundry tub and floor drain empty into this pit where it is then pumped to the overhead sanitary sewer. There is a approximate 1″ pipe between the 2 pits. The ejector pit is also covered with a steel lid which is not sealed. No vent pipe for this pit either.
The sewer gas smell seams to be coming from the sump pit. The building pipe is above the water line under dry conditions. I do not have any drain issues from the apartment units in the building. The smell is not constant. It is at its worst when it has not rained for a while (like today). I have 2 additional identical buildings on the same city block, configured the same way and they are fine.
With the cost of plumbers and so many that just guess I do not want to pay big bucks for the unknowing to become knowing on my dime.
Seal and vent the pits? Is it ok to seal and vent? I have never seen sump pits sealed let alone vented.
Should I have them camera the building to city sewer line looking for a break?
Thank You for your time and knowledge,
Jim
Well that was an excellent explanation Jim and you are funny too. Sometimes you fly blind, the only way is to do research but I certainly see your point. Let’s see if we can get to the bottom of this for you. Let’s address the sump pit & ejector pit. Because there is a connecting pipe between the two pits you would have to seal both of them to seal off any sewer gas odor. if you do decide to do that I’d recommend venting as well. I know its rare to have a dangerous sewer condition in a ejector pit but why take a chance.
An ejector pit should never be connected to a sump pit. If that seems like a little much than I suggest you find a way to block off one pit from the other, seal and vent the lid on the ejector pit.
I know you mention the smell seems to be coming from the sump pit. That could be the gas moving over from the ejector pit to the sump pit or you could have a sewer break and the brackish water is finding it’s way back to the drain tile and that is making it’s way to the sump pit hence the smell. Have you checked any floor drains nearby for trap seal evaporation?
Here’s how I would handle video taping. I love sewer cameras they are great diagnostic tools and the new models are in HD so floaters take on extra special detail. lol However sometimes breaks are difficult to see, I would rather know there is a break and then try to find it. Have an experienced plumber dye test first.
Hope that helps. Feel free to email us @ theplumbinginfo@gmail.com if you want to discuss further.
Sincerely,
admin@theplumbinginfo
Hi, Thanks very much for the information on ‘sewer smell in the basement’. I have a similar problem, though the smell is a musty, mildew smell. The basement is in an old property in Italy. There is a ‘well’ under the floor to take up ground water and when the level rises a pump clicks on and pumps it out. There is always a shallow level of water in this ‘well’. It is sealed with a double seal man hole cover, which has been removed frequently recently as the pump broke and water rose up into the basement. Since being fixed and the cover replaced the, always present, smell is much stronger. Should I be groutting over the edges of the cover? If so, I want a sealant which will dry out completely (damp is a problem in the basement) and be easy to pick out when I next have a problem with the pump. Also there is no de humidifier in the basement. I have brought a portable one, and there is an extraction fan which clicks on for 1 hour a day. But dampness remains a challenge. Any tips on that one as well? thanks
Mildew smell is by and large a product of standing water. A dehumidifier will certainly help the problem. Is the sump pump on top of a platform of some kind? If the pump isn’t on the bottom of the pit you will always have standing water and over time that water will get funky. Hope that helps.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Ever since I had new pumps and parts installed in my dual chamber septic tank I have had smells in the basement that seem timed to the pumping of the septic tank-about every 150 gallons.
I read online that the chamber with the pumps should be vented out the lid. We never had this before and had no problem. Could this be our problem now?
We have a sewer clean out pit in our basement and it has a musty, damp odor. It is under the floor in a finished room, with a lid that comes off in case of servicing. Is there a way to get rid of the odor?
If this pit takes drainage from something other than ground water it is technically a sewage ejector. You say sewer clean out so I’m assuming it is an ejector pit. If so it should be vented with a sealed lid. That will take of your odor problems.
admin@theplumbinginfo
This is the best explanation of sump pump/ejector pumps I have come across.
I have a similar issue with sewer order. The odor is intermittent and occasionally surfaces when we run the washing machine.
We have an ejector pump that is sealed (hard plastic) and the smell is very strong along the cover. How can I check whether the plumping (washer, sink etc) drain to this pump?
There are several rubber gaskets on the vent pipe coming out through the cover lid. Is there an inspection process to test whether they are still sealing appropriately (other than an odor check)?
Any other inspection tips would be helpful.
Bob
Hey Bob thanks for the compliment we certainly appreciate it. This is definitely something you can check yourself. I’ll address the questions as you wrote them.
Question : “How can I check whether the plumbing (washer, sink etc.) drain to this pump?”
Answer : Unbolt the lid and run the sink and or washer. You should be able to hear the water running into the pit, then when the pit fills up the pump should cycle. You could just run the water and put your hand on the discharge pipe and wait for the pump to cycle (you’ll feel/hear the pump cycle) but it sounds like you may have a bad gasket or gaskets so you’re most likely going to have to unbolt the cover anyway.
Question : Is there an inspection process to test whether the gaskets are still sealing properly?
Answer : Honestly, I’m not going to make this any more difficult than it has to be. You are doing the inspection process already. If you are smelling sewer gases near the ejector pit you have one of three problems:
#1. Your gasket around the perimeter of the pit is pinched or more likely dry rotted and needs replacing.
#2. Your gaskets sealing the discharge piping and/or vent piping is pinched or more likely dry rotted and needs replacing.
#3. You have a crack in your vent piping and sewer gases are escaping. This is the least likely of the three.
If it’s a gasket issue, measure the diameter of the pit or the piping and call your local plumbing supply house with those dimensions and they will help you out.
Hope that helps, let us know if you need any more help.
Sincerely
admin@theplumbinginfo
Thank you for the follow up reply.
Upon further inspection of the ejector pump cover I noticed the basin bin, which is about 22in diameter, does not sit flush to the concrete. About 2/3 of the bin is inside the basement slab while the other 1/3 is on top of the concrete slab creating a 1/2 to 3/4 inch gap.
The gapped area is where the odor is the strongest and even without the odor currently noticeable in the room if I can detect some odor in the gapped area
Should the basin bin sit inside the concrete slab or on top?
Can I apply silicone to seal the gapped area?
Bob
Let me give a bit more detail on our setup and troubleshooting steps we have conducted.
There is a floor drain in the basement with a vent pipe. The floor drain connects to the ejector pump pit. The ejector pump pit does not have its own venting pipe so I’m assuming it uses the floor drain vent pipe.
The only water that uses the floor drain is the HVAC (AC condensation and Aprilaire for the heat) and the water softener.
Note: The odor is very strong after the water softener runs its discharge cycle and drains into the floor drain. The odor clears out after several hours, less time when open the basement window. The HVAC draining does not provide enough water to have the ejector pump engage.
I placed my nose by the HVAC vents and I can detect t (slightly) the same odor we get in the basement.
I removed the pit cover (there was a broken screw). I replaced the broken screw and gasket. Even after I tighten the screws the pit cover moves slightly when I push it down. Not sure it that is its own issue.
Although we conducted these procedures, after the softener discharged we still had the odor.
Any additional advice before I call in a plumber?
Any information is appreciated.
Bob
Huh? Thanks again Bob for coming to us with your problem. You’re making us put our thinking caps on. I have two questions for you, you are positive there is nothing else draining into that pit? No laundry tub? Is the smell coming out of the pit a sewage smell or a sulfur smell like rotten eggs? Let me give you my thoughts assuming there is nothing else but the condensate, softener and the floor drain. I will say my initial response is to tell you that pit needs it’s own vent. There is a possibility that when the ejector discharges the negative pressure pulls the water from the trap seal of the floor drain, but the smell doesn’t seem to be coming from the drain.
If nothing else is going into the ejector pit then there is something else going on in that pit. My first guess is that somehow you have brackish water making it’s way into pit. Softener water can have a sulfur smell when hydrogen sulfides are present in the potable water. You can use dye testing on your house sewer to see if the dye makes it’s way back into the pit but that is a long shot if that pit is really only taking water from the above. Just to clarify, dye testing is very affective when the smell is coming from the sump pit. If there was a sewer line break, the brackish water will seep into the drain tile system and eventually make it’s way back to the sump pit. So if you dyed the waster water that dye would show up in the sump pit.
Let me give you one more piece of advice before you call the plumber. You can try using a can of Bioclean. It uses natural enzymes to break down organic material. It works very well in ejector pits. I’m going to leave you an email. I’ll sell you a can if you want. They aren’t up here yet but I’ll send you a paypal invoice.
BTW The cover should fit tight to the pit.
Sincerely,
admin@theplumbinginfo
Sorry for the lateness of the reply, I thought I submitted a follow up.
After much trouble shooting and cover gasket replacement, I decided the plastic cover had too much play and may have lost its integrity through the years.
I applied a bead of silicone between the cover and the rim of the pit and I have success, no more odor.
Thanks for all your help
Bob
Hey Bob I’m glad we could help, that’s why we’re here. Please let your friends and family know about theplumbinginfo.com for all their plumbing issues. Don’t be a stranger.
admin@theplumbinginfo
my basement smells strongly of sewer gas after i finish doing laundry…the smell usually doesn’t go away for a couple day after, and my plumber says he doesn’t know what the problem is…any suggestions? we are desperate for answers, we have a bedroom down there!!
Hello and thanks for the question. Before I can answer yours I need for you to answer a few of mine.
Do you have a basement with a sump pump or an ejector pump?
Do you have a floor drain in your basement?
If you answer those for me I can trouble shoot for you. Thanks.
Sincerely,
admin@theplumbinginfo
l have a floor drain and a ejector pump and a sump pump the sump pump is on the outside of my home.Yes only certain times my ejector pump smells but there are a couple missing bolts from the lid and also the vent pipe that comes out of the pump has spray foam around the lid area and pipe,the toilet downstairs and the kitchen sink and shower downstairs are the only things that drain into the ejector pump.
Trying to replace the missing bolts is one way to assure yourself that no sewer gas is leaking into your basement. With regards to the spray or leaking from the vent, that could be condensation or there could be a leak on the vent connection. There should be a gasket at the connection. Check to see if that is in good shape. Other than there being a crack in a vent pipe those two reasons are the likely culprit.
Sean K
Hello. I am in search of answers. I too have a sewer smell in my basement. I thought it was just dirty drains so I put drano down the shower and the sink. No luck. The stink still comes back. I read your questions to try and trouble shoot and the only one I can answer is that I have a floor drain in my basement. It is covered with carpet – which makes me think “what’s the point?” When I put my nose to where the drain is I don’t smell anything. It is more like it is coming from the heating/cooling vents in the ceiling. We had a leak in the upstairs bathroom galvinized pipe under the sink had rotted out. The leak dripped down of coure into the basement through a light fixture. We had that fixed, however the smell continues. Could I have some sort of sewer related leak in my basement ceiling? It’s all drywalled up so I can’t see the pipes. Ahh! DO you have any suggestions. Can a plumber come out and diagnose the problem? Can a camera be run through the pipes to look for leaks?
Any information would be appreciated.
Harmonie
O.K. sorry for the delay in my response. My first question to you would be do you have an ejector pit in the basement? If not I think you may have a leak in the ceiling or maybe a broken vent pipe somewhere. You can use a camera to inspect waste, vent and storm piping but it really isn’t practical for inspecting water lines. You are better off taking some ceiling down to visually inspect the piping. Galvanized piping has gone out of favor for use on water piping because it oxidizes and deteriorates over time. You telling me that you have galvanized piping puts the house at over 30 years old. Maybe someone used it later than that but I’m guessing not. The piping could have pin holes leaks in multiple places so a skilled plumbing technician is a must for this issue. Let me know how I can help.
admin@theplumbinginfo
I too have a sewer smell in the basement. There is a floor drain for overflow from furnace. There is no sump pump, ejector pump or any other openings or holes in the floor. I tried bleach and water to prime and clean the trap. This seemed to work for a short time. Recently people moved into the house(it was vacant) and I had them do the water and bleach also. It only worked for a day. The home is on a high elevation, and there is very little water from the furnace. It was built in the fifties. Did they not use S traps then? Can we just seal the drain?
Thank-you,Laura
Hi Laura, they actually did use S traps back in the fifties. It is possible that the drain isn’t trapped, that would certainly cause the odor issue you talk about. I have a question for you, can you see water laying in the bottom of the drain? If you can the drain is likely trapped. Are you sure the odor is coming from the drain? There could be an open vent line somewhere in the basement. The only other suggestion I have would be that you may have a broken sewer somewhere under the floor and the brackish water is making its way back to the drain somehow. Fill me in and maybe I can give you a better diagnosis.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Wow definatly alot of very good info on this forum. Hopefully the problem I have is somehting that is easy to fix.
I full bath was installed into my basement with an ejector pump to push out the water from tub sink and toilet into the regular plubing line. nothing else should be going into that ejector pump however when ever we use the bathroom upstairs the smell of sewer gas overwhelms the house. Our central air/heating system is inside the basement as well and when the basement stinks up the whole house gets the circulation. Its a gas cause its the kind of smell that sticks the back of you throat. the smell is coming from the area where the pump is at but that area is also where the house main vent pipe is as well I dont know where exactly the smell is coming from, if from the vent or the pump. How could I fix this. It seems to be getting worse and worse. I have tried flushing clorox and lyson down the drains to see if it can make the smell decrease but it doesnt seem to be working. I am about to call the plumber but hoping from some guidance from here first!
O.K. let me give you my initial thoughts and then we can move to diagnosing the issue. Is the cover on your ejector sealed and bolted down? Is the pit vented? If it isn’t sealed and bolted and you don’t have a vent that is very likely your problem. The sewer gas is escaping the pit, the odor is getting into your air returns and it’s dispersing that pleasant smell throughout the house.
If you have a sealed cover and it’s vented then there are some other issues. The first thing I would do is to check the vent piping for any cracks.
If after you’re finished troubleshooting the ejector pit and pump and you still have an odor issue you may have a cracked or open vent. Here is how you can test to see if you have a vent issue. Do a peppermint test. Close all the windows in your house and make sure all traps are sealed, floor drains, toilets, lavatories, kitchen sink traps, etc. Locate the main vent going out of the roof of your home. Go on top of the roof (Please use the utmost care when climbing on a roof, make sure to where a safety harness and tie yourself to something sturdy in case you slip (Or better yet call a plumbing professional to do the test for you) put a bottle of peppermint oil in the main vent stack and seal off the top. It is very difficult for the individual introducing the peppermint to the vent system not to smell the peppermint so you need someone else to be inside the house to check for the peppermint smell. Start in the basement and work your way up into the house. If you catch the peppermint odor in the basement or somewhere else in the house chances are you have an open or cracked vent.
Please follow up with us and if you need further assistance leave you questions here.
Sincerely,
admin@theplumbinginfo
Ok, so Ive read and re-read all the posts and comments and advice. (by the way, this is by far the best site with all the information given) Im so lost on what to do. Back in November the water board came over (because I thought I had a leak, no leak was found) (( there was NO smell then)) and told me that the water softener we had in the boiler room was a waste of time so we switched it off. Not since then but around that time we have had a rotten egg smell in our basement. First we thought it was the bathroom down there but Ive run water in the traps (?) is that right.. traps being the toilet u bend and sink u bend etc etc. That didn’t do anything. I then filled the sump pump with water/bleach and let it run through a couple of times, thinking the water might be stagnant, that didn’t help. I then called a plumber who told be he has no idea what it is but he thought it might be the sump pump and to put more bleach down it. So I put a bottle down it.. it sort of helped for a day.. then its come back. I then read that we should check our floor drain and pour water down it as it might be low. We did that (even though the water level wasn’t low) and miracle of all miracles.. it worked….. for a day.. it was heaven to be in a house that didn’t smell of sewage. Then it came back! The next day! It seems to get worse.. much much much worse when I run the washing machine and Ive read somewhere that water might be sucked out of somewhere with the force of the washing machine etc etc creating sewer gas smells to come through but I have no idea where to look or what to do with it. I have also read that it might be the condensation line running from the AC/furnace (?) unit and it might be cracked somewhere and sucking all the foul air through the house? Then I just read about doing the peppermint test which can tell if its a cracked vent.
So, I have no idea where to start, which one to check first and how to do it.
The floor drain has a white PVC pipe going to it and also 2 little tubes going to it. None are in the water of the drain. I can’t see where the little tubes are coming from as they go behind the boiler and there is no room to see where they are actually attached to. (the water softener unit maybe?)
We don’t really have enough money to keep calling plumbers out for them to tell us its the sump pump. However, when we open the lid of the sump pump there is definitely a smell coming from it. (it hasn’t run since the summer by itself) But I don’t think its the same smell that we smell coming from the vents and in the basement.
What on earth can it be? What can I do to check the options I’ve read about and not get too freaked out that it might be a really really huge problem. I can send a pic of the floor drain if that helps explain?
Please please help.
Thank you in anticipation
Stinky Basement lady
Dear Amanda (a.k.a Stinky Basement Lady)
First of all thank you for reading and for the kind words. We will always attempt to give you the very best and most accurate plumbing information and advice on the internet. I’ve got a few questions for you regarding your issues.
#1) What is the “water board”? Other than a now banned CIA torture technique. Am I to assume this is a municipal service? Again maybe I know the service by a different name. Did they give you a reason why they thought the softener was a “waste of time”? Do you have hard water issues? If so the softener is not a waste of time.
#2) What kind of odor do you have? You’ve said a “rotten egg smell” and then you mention “sewage” smell. Although both can be caused by decay related to sewage a strong rotten egg smell and a sewage smell are distinctly different. As I’ve said in some of the previous posts rotten egg smell is sulfur or hydrogen sulfide.
#3) Do you have a septic field for your waste removal?
#4) The smell started after the “water board” told you to turn off your water softener?
If you could answer those questions it would help me out quite a bit. Just so you know, I have an idea as to the cause but before I give you an opinion I’d like some clarification.
admin@theplumbinginfo
If you could answer those questions for me that would
Hi there, Thank you for your quick response. Its greatly appreciated.
OK,
#1. The ‘water board’ is a term we use in the UK,(I’m originally from there) I revert back to my native tongue when I dont know what else to write, no torture required.. the smell does it for us.
#2. It is a sewage smell, not rotten egg.
#3. No septic field, we have 2 run offs to the road. (?)
#4. We turned off the water softener after the ‘Water board’ told us it was a waste of time and energy, that we have the best water in the country (biased I know but we agree) as we have no lime scale etc etc. The smell started around that time. Since then we switched it back on a few weeks ago and nothing changed. So, we switched it back off again.
I ran the washing machine 3 times today and the smell was hideous. Overwhelming. I cant invite anyone round as its so embarrassing and my kids are starting to think this is normal.
The sump pump and drain are in the same room so I cant tell if its coming from one or the other. I lift the sump pump lid off (its not secure, just a trash lid laid over it) ((however, we have never smelled it in the 3 years we have lived here)) and it smells stagnant but the drain area definitely smells like a sewer.
I was even tempted to get on the roof and check for a blockage in the vents up there.
Again, waiting in anticipation… Please please please tell me its going to be an easy fix.
SBL.
Haha, I love it “native tongue”. Last question I promise. What is running into that sump pit? i.e. laundry, condensate waste, ground water, maybe a basement bath or non of the above? This can only be one of three issues. If you have laundry drainage or some kind of waste running into the pit (laundry waste can get funky if is sits on a pit because it’s tough to remove all the lint not to mention the soap) you need to get a gas tight cover and the pit needs venting. If nothing else is going into the pit and you are confident the odor or odour in your native tongue is coming from the pit than somehow sewage is getting to the pit.
The most common way sewage gets to a sump pit is when a house has a break in their house sewer. You can have a sewer line break and not experience a back-up….yet. It will happen eventually but you could go years. In order to find out if this is happening you have to dye your waste water with florescent dye. You put the dye in your toilets and bathtubs or kitchen sink and you run your water. You have to have two people working on it because one has to watch the sump pit. If you have a breach or break in your sewer line the dye will make it back to the sump pit. If that happens you know how the smell is emanating from the pit. If that doesn’t solve your problem then there is a broken vent somewhere.
It is possible to have a clogged vent but it is unlikely that the issue would result in sewer smell in your basement. You would have drainage issues that would go along with the odor.
Hope this helps you. If you think you need to get a plumber to your house let me do a little magic. I think I can get someone to help you out. Let me know. Do you live in Denver?
Sincerely,
admin@theplumbinginfo
Hi there, thanks for all the info,
There is only ground water going to the sump pit, nothing else. My husband and I went down there last night as it smelt soooo bad and double checked the sump pit, it definitely is not the place where it is smelling. my husband put his head way down there and confirmed it was not the same smell as we have in our basement. So, is it still worth doing the waste water dye kit? The sump pump has not run (or filled up) on its own since the summer.
Do you think it might be a broken vent then? If so, is there any way I could check for it myself? etc etc
I have a feeling we are getting to the core of the problem and have a hope that this might be resolved??!!!Thank you.
Your magic… what would that entail, yes we live in littleton, Denver.
SBL
I’m going to ask one more stupid question. Where does the basement waste water go? Where does the discharge from your floor drain go? Does your house drain run under your basement floor or does it run over head? If you’ve given the sump pit the whiff test I don’t think it’s necessary for a dye test. It’s very possible you have a broken vent somewhere and you need to do a peppermint test or you could have a vent blockage. Answer those questions for me and we’ll move on to the next phase.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Hiya,
The washing machine dumps into the sewer line but I think it is above the basement floor. There is only one pipe, the main sewer line, that goes under the basement floor. I would guess the washing machine waste goes under the floor from the back porch to about the oven then joins the sewer line directly below. I really don’t think it is coming directly from the floor drain, I can see water in the drain and it doesn’t smell like the source. If it wasn’t trapped, it would have smelled long before now? One of the plumbing shows (Holmes I think) said that basement traps are not gravity traps (like a sink and thus easy to fill) and only last a certain period of time? May need replaced?
I also noticed today that I didnt run the washing machine but the furnace kicked on it smelled again. Puzzling? Im guess there must be a smell down there and either the washing machine and/or furnace pulls the smell up? I can try taking a picture this evening but I really dont know what Im taking a picture of? Let me see how my photographic skills are.
What Im getting ocnfused about is if it wasnt/isnt vented then why havent we had this prolem before?
SBL
Truthfully just because you had no smell before has little to do with you having it now. We have traced down open vent in homes that have no smells for 15 years and because of a clogged vents or a change in home stasis due to settling and such the sewer smell rears it’s ugly head. Stay tuned.
admin@theplumbinginfo
My basement has an ejector pump. Not sure it has sealed lid or not. It does not smell all the time — on an average once a week or so. We hardly use bathroom in the basement. It puzzles me. If there is a problem, should n’t it smell all the time?
Thanks.
Hello and thanks for finding and reading. We certainly appreciate it. The very first thing you should do is see if the lid is sealed. An ejector pump should always have a sealed lid, especially if it’s taking some waste. Even though you only use the bathroom occasionally. The pump doesn’t remove every bit of sewage, so as it sits…….you get the picture. To answer your question “If there is a problem shouldn’t or wouldn’t it smell all the time?” There may be no problem other than getting a sealed cover, if it isn’t sealed and you’re getting intermittent sewer gases it may simply be the air pressure in your house is changing sucking the sewer gas smell into the atmosphere of the house.
Check and see if you’re pit is sealed. If it is please post again and I’ll be happy to walk you through trouble shooting the issue.
admin@theplumbinginfo
I have been reading your forum (and others) and hopefully looking for a solution to my problem.
Here goes:
First the house was built in 1978, all pipes appear to be PVC. The septic system is new (2007) all HVAC is new (2008) and this is the first year we have ever had this problem.
Now the problem – everyday, following our morning showers (2) we have a smell that permeates our house – like a dead animal. There is also a corner of the basement that has a musty, sewer like smell(approximately 25 feet down wall from where the pipe goes out to the septic) which gets worse after the showers.
After much investigation (1st plumber) we found that there were two dead mice decomposing under the waste pipe draining from the shower (in a section of drywall that finishes the basement). These were removed along with all debris from their nests and droppings. We also visually checked all lines that we could (those not covered by drywall) and found everything is in good order. All clean-out traps were checked as well.
We thought this would be the answer, but no – the smell persists.
We then went to plan B and the second plumber entered the scene. We again visually checked all lines/connections to no avail. Next step was the smoke test. The plumber ran the smoke test for about an hour – we checked everything possible and found nothing. No breaks, leaks, etc. After 3 hours the plumber gave up.
The smell persists.
As a follow-up I have thoroughly vacuumed every nook and cranny that I can reach. I have poured bleach into the ground traps and checked the sump (which is in the opposite corner of the basement from the smell (approximately 200′). The sump and ground traps have absolutely no odor of any kind. I have run water in all sinks, tubs and showers. No help.
Again, the smell only occurs when we run the shower (hot water). Running the washing machine, dishwasher, sinks, etc generates no odor. I have looked under and in the hot water heater. Checked under the furnaces too. Nothing – just the persistent smell (I also checked outside along the basement wall to see if there were any visible dead animals – nothing). By the end of the day, the smell fades and is not noticeable – until the next morning shower.
Bottom line is that I have reached the end of the line and have no idea what to do next to solve this problem – help, please!
@ Howard, first of all thanks for finding us, we’ll figure this out. This is going to take some real problem solving. I have one question for you, is that shower trapped and vented properly? Because the issue is so isolated my first thought would be to see if maybe that shower has no vent and no trap. I’m emailing you my phone number so we can go over it in more depth.
admin@theplumbinginfo.com
Yes. This was checked and verified by both plumbers.
BTW, there appears to be something funky with your web site. All links keep taking you back to the home page and not the blog. I had to circle around via Google/cached entries to get get back to you.
@Howard Please leave me an email address or send me an email to theplumbinginfo@gmail.com
With regards to the website, my website guys are doing some maintenance to speed things up. Unfortunately its not a couple hour fix. Please keep trying. We will figure this out.
admin
Thanks for the email Howard. Here are the final questions I have for you before we go trolling for an expert in your area that can get acquainted with the issue. So here goes.
1) Have you tried the hot water on any other fixture the first thing in the morning? If not, please try.
2) Are we to assume the odor is only noticeable when he uses the hot water??
3) When you turn on the hot water in the shower do you notice any discoloration in the water that eventually disappears after the shower is running.
4) Have the plumbers mentioned doing a test on the plumbing waste system with peppermint extract?
5) Has your septic tank been cleaned recently?
6) Has a sewer camera been inserted into the waste piping verifying everything is “OK”?
7) Has any plumbing remodeling been done recently and if there has was it done over or near where the smell is noticed?
8) How old is the domestic water heater?
Before I’d do anything else I’d try the peppermint test.
admin@theplumbinginfo
1) Have you tried the hot water on any other fixture the first thing in the morning? If not, please try.
Ans: We’ve run other fixtures, but did not notice anything.
2) Are we to assume the odor is only noticeable when he uses the hot water??
Ans: Yes.
3) When you turn on the hot water in the shower do you notice any discoloration in the water that eventually disappears after the shower is running.
Ans: No, everything looks OK.
4) Have the plumbers mentioned doing a test on the plumbing waste system with peppermint extract?
Ans: No
5) Has your septic tank been cleaned recently?
Ans: Yes, one year ago. Only 2 people in the house not a lot of use.
6) Has a sewer camera been inserted into the waste piping verifying everything is “OK”?
Ans: No
7) Has any plumbing remodeling been done recently and if there has was it done over or near where the smell is noticed?
Ans: No
8) How old is the domestic water heater?
Ans: 3 years old
Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you, but in the interim I have solved the problem. The solution, to me, is somewhat bizarre and perhaps it will be useful to others.
As you will recall from my original post, the odor only occurred when we took showers in our master bath. Running hot water anywhere else in the house did not trigger the smell. Upon investigation, following several hundred dollars with plumbers, I found that the only thing different about the waste line in this section of the house was some insulation wrapped around the waste line leading from the master bath – exactly at the site where the smell was strongest.
Simple solution – remove the insulation, take showers, see the result.
Bottom line – the odor is gone and has not returned since I removed the insulation.
Upon inspection, the insulation showed no mold, mildew or any kind of discoloration that would indicate a leak (ditto the surrounding area and the pipe itself). Smelling the insulation, there was no odor of any kind. So I have no idea what the source of the problem within the insulation may be, but it is gone so I don’t really care.
As I said, this was a very strange situation which is now fortunately resolved.
Hope this information is of use to you and your readers although it is not a plumbing problem.
Hey Howard thanks for getting back to us. I was beginning to worry. I’m glad you solved your issue. If you ever have any other plumbing problems please don’t hesitate to contact us.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Let me begin by saying Great Site!
I leaning towards the smell in my basement coming from a poorly installed 2nd shower which may have been for a basement apartment which I plan on removing. What are the necesarry steps to remove the shower?
It is tied into the main waste drain but either not vented and/or no P-trap installed and hence the bad sewer smell.
Any advice on how to go about successfully removing the pipe work in the shower would be great.
Hey thanks for the compliment I appreciate it very much. I can help you with your issue.
Is the water piping exposed? The very first thing you need to do is shut the water off. Quite often when a plumber installs a basement bath they also install shut off valves so they can isolate that bath to facilitate any future work. So if you have shut off valves turn them to the closed position. If your house is not equipped with isolation valves you’ll have to find the valve serving the whole house. You need to drain down the piping serving the bath and make sure you have a positive shutdown. Meaning the valves should hold the water back with no slight trickle of water. It is very difficult to make any kinda of repairs on copper water piping when there is water going through it. Once you get the water shut off take a look at where the water piping leads. You need to cut and cap the pipe where it connects to the main. If there are isolation valves cut the water piping right before the valves. For this kind of repair/alteration look at Sharkbite fittings from Cash Acme. You should be able to do the whole thing without lighting a torch.
With regards to the waste piping, remove the shower base. Take newspaper, crumple up and stuff it into the drain line. Cover with concrete and finish. If you wish to reuse that waste line mark it with spray paint and you can just knock out the cement to make your connections in the future.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anymore info.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
I’m wondering if you can give some direction. We have a 1950’s era home. The basement has been fully finished. There is a “floor drain”, or rather a pipe in a hole in the floor — the pipe has a loose fitting metal cap in the laundry room. I can visually see no sign of a sump pump, or ejector pit as you discuss.
After we moved into our home 5 years ago, the floor drain backed up several times with brackish water, flooding the laundry room with 1/8-1/4 inch water. We started treating all of our drains with liquid plumber every 4-6 months, and it the overflow problem went away. Frequently now, we have brackish standing water in the floor “drain”, or whatever that pipe is. The water seems to be water from the laundry room and possibly even kitchen waste. When we run a couple loads of laundry, two of us take showers, and/or run the dishwasher, the “drain” blurps. There are nasty rust colored stains on the flooring surrounding the “drain.” It stinks in the laundry room as a result of the nastiness. Do you have a suggestion for me as to what I am looking at, how we can treat the problem?
Thank you!
Hi Heather thanks for finding us and I’d be glad to answer your question. You don’t have a overhead sewer, your waste piping drains down to it’s lowest point which is under your basement floor and makes its way to the city sewer. The reason you are getting brackish water coming up in that floor drain is because you have a partial blockage somewhere after that drain. The liquid plumber was treating the blockage to some degree but now that waste line servicing the floor drain needs to rodded asap. I never tell people that can’t do it themselves but this is probably one of those occasions where you need a plumbing professional. It could be grease, it could be tree roots and only someone with some experience can get it done right. Let me know how it goes. If you need any help picking a contractor let me know.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
I seem to be having an issue related to this forum and would appreciate any advice.
Background: In my basement, I have an ejector pit (with pump) and a sump pump. The ejector pit is located right behind my furnace. We have a bathroom in the basement that is used frequently and and wash machine that all drains into the ejector pit. Furnace/air conditioner condensation also drains in the ejector pit.
Problem: I get a sewer smell when:
1. We use fireplace in basement.
2. We use airconditioner
3. We do multiple loads of laundry in one day.
I suspect a vacuum is being created in the basement when either the fireplace is burning and sucking heat up the chimney and when the air conditioner is on…the smell seems to be coming from behind the furnace from the pit itself. I recently changed my ejector pump, and the pit is not sealed. I suspect this will solve my problems. The house was built in the eighties, and the pit is not in the greatest shape. the lid is rusty. I am rambling….any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!
Thanks for the questions, we appreciate all of them but I have to say on this one you answered it yourself. An ejector pit should always be sealed and with the amount fixtures draining into it it’s an absolute must. Go to your local plumbing supply house and get a gas tight ejector pump lid.
The only thing I would ask to expand upon this problem would be “is the pit vented?” It should be.
Hope this helps a bit. If you have anything to add or clarify please don’t hesitate to ask. If you aren’t sure how to seal a lid, let me know I’ll post a video of it.
Admin@theplumbinginfo.com
Thanks….the pit is vented.
Would it be too much trouble to post the video? I would appreciate it.
Great site! Thanks for all of the useful advice.
Brian
O.K. Brian give me a few days and we will get a video showing how to seal an ejector lid.
admin
Interesting situation. I had a very bad sewer type of smell in a room on the ground floor of my house. Had a plumber come check it out, he ran a camera through the trap in the basement. He told me that the pipes were separating and essentially falling apart, leaving the water to settle under the concrete.
Now, once he left, the smell eventually (within an hour or so) disappeared. It’s been gone for days now and I have no clue as to what was wrong in the first place. Is it possible that there was a blockage that the camera cleared out?
@Jewel that could be the case. We have certainly pushed blockages with the sewer camera however we usually see the blockage while we are pushing. There is no doubt that a separation in the piping could cause the odor you’re detecting. I’ve got a real simple question for you, did the plumber run water down the trap before or after the camera work? If so the trap may have been dried out or partially dried out and when he ran the water he filled the trap and now it’s working as it should.
Admin
No, he did not run any water down the trap before or after. However… even though the smell is not permeating the room like it was before, I have noticed that it is still there, faintly. The closer you get to the floor, the more you can smell it. Guess it’s still a problem after all! It’s interesting that it went away though.
Thank you for the very helpful information on this website.
We have a bad smell coming from the unfinished part of our basement. It actually smells like its coming from the ejector pit, however its not being used. There is a sump in this room next to the HVAC. It receives condensate waste via a pvc pipe on the floor. About 2 feet away from the sump is an ejector pit with is not currently being used at this point because the bath room is unfinished with a 3 piece roughin that will drain into the ejector pit when the bath is finished.
This is a new construction, we moved in about a month ago and notice the smell only days after moving in. We were told that water may have been left in the ejector pit and needed to be pumped out. of course that did not work. Then we were told that mud may have entered the roughin pipes during construction and were flushed. That has not worked either.
This area is directly below the laundry room and the smell is worse when we are washing cloths. The smell is being carried throughout the entire house when the air is on.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
ML
Sorry for the delay Marcus. As always thanks for the correspondence. Here are some questions for you that may help in leading you to a solution.
1) Is there a floor drain in the basement? If so the trap seal may have dried out. This drain should discharge into the ejector pit but test it out.
2) The condensate discharge should go into the ejector pit not the sump. I realize this is only condensate drainage but it can get funky if your sump pit isn’t evacuating.
3) Mud in the waste lines should not smell like sewage so you can take that off your list of possible causes. There may be a sewer line break and the brackish water is getting back to your sump pit. Believe me, this is not uncommon, if the foundation isn’t back filled properly there can be air pockets in the fill. As the ground settles it can shear the sewer piping most commonly at the foundation. We are not trying to scare you, I’m just making you aware.
4) I know this may be a little shocking but I think this may be the source of the problem. When a house is being built there are no toilets and quite often especially now with the lack of homes being built there is no satellite toilet either. I don’t think I need to get too graphic but the tradesmen building the house have no where to go so the ejector pit is the place. If the pit wasn’t thoroughly flushed out that could be the cause. Please don’t get freaked out it happens quite a bit.
Hope I helped.
Sincerely,
admin@theplumbinginfo
Thank you for responding:
Here is the latest. A few weeks ago the builder sent out a couple of plumbers to do a peppermint test. We did not get a peppermint smell in the house however, after reading the post from your site, i questioned whether they had pour the mix in the right vent. Later in the week they returned and cut the pipe to where the sink and commode will go and the smell from the sink pipe almost knocked them off their feet. After cleaning the mud from the pipe and the pit he seal it shut. They then ran a camera through the pipe to see if there were cracks. The camera got stuck and they claimed that there were no visible cracks. The smell was gone and so was our problem smell (so we thought).
Last week I hired a plumber to install an ejector pump. When he cut the vent pipe to the pit, all of peppermint water came splashing out of the pipe (hum). Once he was done he told me that the gasket to the vent pipe was missing and i could get one and place it on the pipe. Two days later the smell returned!
Here are the answers to your questions:
1. we dont have a floor drain in the basement.
2. the condensate drain does discharge in the sump.
3. the smell is definitely not coming from the sump.
Hello, Have a rotten egg smell that has suddenly appeared in our basement bathroom.
Had septic cleaned out about a month ago. No sump pump nor ejector pit. From what I understand eveything just drains downhill in our house. Have open floor drain in the basement that a sink and shower drain into it and that is the room with the smell. Smell is like rotten eggs. I think that it is at its worse if multiple loads of laundry are done. No other holes in the floor and the smell is only from the basement bathroom. Have a field and not sewer. Please let me know if you can help and/or if further information is needed.
ps. this site is by far the best I have found so far
Hey Matt thanks for the love, we appreciate it. On to your issue, my shoot from the hip answer to your problem would be that your basement floor drain isn’t trapped or that the trap is being compromised while you’re doing laundry. It’s possible that the water from the laundry is rushing past the trap and pulling the trap seal with it. The only thing that bothers me a bit is the nature of the odor. Rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide or sulfur, can you differentiate the smell from sewer gas? Let me know Matt, I’d be glad to help you further.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
We have recently noticed an odor in the lower level of our house. The level is finished living area and we have not had this problem in 18 years we have lived here. At first we thought it was possibly a dead mouse or even a gas leak (had the gas checked and found no problems) but can’t seem to isolate the smell and it comes and goes. We haven’t been able to tie it into specific activities like flushing or showering. We have a septic system. The smell does not seem to be coming from the laundry area or floor drain. Any ideas?
Jeff
You’ll definitely want to rule out a vent line break and that could be anywhere even though you are smelling it in the basement. Sewer gas smell is heavy and will settle in the lowest spot in the house. Do a peppermint test using the vent stack on top of the roof. If you smell peppermint anywhere in the house you have a vent line break somewhere.
Sean
theplumbinginfo.com
Hi. You have a very informative blog. I hope you can help.
We have a city 3 flat with a basement apartment.
No sump pit. Catch basin is outside. There are 3 washers and a slop sink in the basement that drain into a drain line tied to a floor drain line), and that flows into the main sewer line under the floor.
About a month ago the floor drain backed up and we had the lines rodded out. Around that time, but I can’t say if it was before or after the clog, we started getting a heavy sewer gas odor in the basement. It wasn’t all the time, and we think it develops when the washers are used.
The floor drains have P-traps (S-Traps?) which always seem to hold water in the bottom. I have tried pouring bleach into the drains. It doesn’t solve the problem, but at least I know they are not holding brackish water and they don’t give off any smell.
The washers and slop sink are not on a vented line, but i don’t understand why they would push up gas only when used. On the days in between use, there is no smell.
We just noticed that the water in the floor drain is tending to rise when the washers are used, with some evidence that the water is rising out of the drains a little bit as there are wet spots on the concrete.
As I said, there is no sump pit, pump pit, nor anything like that. No smell coming from the 2 floor drains.
The floor over the sewer line is solid wall-to-wall concrete, so even if there were a sewer crack, how could the gas get through the concrete? And do is so strongly?
If the washer-sink-floor drain line were clogged with lint, could that push up gas, maybe back out the in-wall washer hose drain thingy?
Any other thoughts?
You have S-traps? I’ll give you my thoughts, you finally have your sewer flowing freely, it’s probably be slightly clogged for awhile slowing down the flow of waste water. Now that everything is clear the water moves with quite a bit more velocity. When the water rushes by the S-trap it pulls the trap seal with it. It’s a big reason why S-traps are illegal in many municipalities.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
Well after 6 months of looking we finally found the source of the basement oder. There was a crack in my toilet collar on the first floor of my house. The plumber replaced the collar and the basement oder is gone. Finally.
Thats awesome, glad you finally found the cause and the solution.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
We recently purchased our home and it appears the septic tank is running into the sump pit. There was never a sump pump in the house before and I had to install one. I even had the septic tank drained but it continues to backflow into the sump pit and every time we use the shower, toilet, laundry, etc. the sump pit just fills up and waste water is ejected outside. Any suggestions??
Hey Chad thanks for asking the question. I have a few questions for you.
Why are the sump pit and septic connected? How are they connected? They shouldn’t be and quite frankly it’s a health hazard especially because the pit isn’t gas tight. You’ve have to a have a tremendous odor issue? Please get back to me. The sump pit has to be divorced from the septic system. I’m afraid that your septic system is installed improperly.
Is the brackish water leaching into the pit?
Again let me know.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
Yes this really has me baffled. The brackish water is leaching into the pit and will flood the basement if the sump pump doesn’t work. There are also some solids that will appear at times. I assume they are connected because I tried to drain the hose from the pump into the cleanout in the yard and it would run continually. When I had the septic tank drained, I watched the pit as they were draining it and the water was all sucked out. It was fine for a couple of days and then filled up again. I have drained the pit all the way down and there is a 3 inch pipe on the bottom side of the pit and another drain in the bottom. I don’t think the drain is draining. There is a cleanout on the floor next to the pit and appears to be inline with the pipe. Is there some kind of valve that may be open or some kind of plug I can use to stop this?? The house was built in the 50’s and the basement was actually finished and carpeted at one time.
I live in an 8 flat condo building. I am I’m the garden condo. The rehab of this building was done poorly 17 years ago. I have lived here for 6 1/2 years and recently over the past few years I have been getting some backup issue on a floor drain in my furnace room. To set the stage all the condos above me have their furnace and water heater overflow pipes converge into one big pipe that goes into this floor drain (in my condo). Recently, I have heard bubbling and now suds have been flowing up and the sewer smell is obvious. Why is this happening and how do i fix…or does the condo association need to get involved?
@Tania first of all you probably need that sewer line rodded out. If you’ve never had issues before that would be the first thing you should do. If the line backs up through no fault of yours it’s most likely a condo association issue. We do this kind of problem solving all the time. A reliable plumber will be able to tell you and the association were the problem is occurring, inside your unit or at the waste connection for the entire building.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
This was the only posting that helped. Thank you very much. You are the only one that mentioned the ac drain pipe in my basement. I poured water and bleach down the pipe and the smell went away instantly. Thank you because we were having people over for the weekend and I was so worried that my house was going to smell like POOP!!!!!
I have an interesting issue that we just can’t seem to solve. I too have a rotten egg smell coming from my sump pit. I am on well/septic. We have lived in the house for 8 years and have never had an issue until now. Unusually mild winter this year.
Smell will come and go (usually lasting a day). I don’t believe it’s sewage (as I’ve been around when my septic tank was pumped…I remember that smell…ug). pouring bleach in the pit helps a bit. Since it comes and goes I don’t think it’s a sewage line break.
we have an ejector pump but it’s only pumping grey water from our water softener and laundry. it’s sealed and vented.
no other water is entering the sump pit other than our from our weeping tile (as designed).
We were told that the water table could have shifted and now we’re getting naturally occuring gasses in our ground water? But our well water doesn’t smell out of the tap (we do have it softened and also through an iron filter and whole house filter).
I’m at my wits end as this stinks up the whole house for over a day and renders a full finished basement useless for a few days at a time. Is sealing/venting my sump pit a good option?
Thanks much
Hello Brad, Thanks for asking the questions. Let’s see if I can help you out. It is very possible you have a broken house sewer and the brackish water is seeping into the ground, making it’s way back to your drain tile system.
It is very possible that the ground around your property has settled and some brackish septic water is getting back to your drain tile system. This would not effect your drinking water. I’d imagine your well is driven to a depth of at least 40ft to 60ft. and if that’s the case it would affect the water table.
I’d suggest using dye tabs in your bathtubs and toilets. Keep running water and see if the dye makes its way back to your sump pit. If it does your sewer has a break.
Hope that helps.
Sincerely
admin@theplumbinginfo.com
Where do I begin? I bought our house 2 1/2 years ago and I know that the basement has experienced some type of flooding in the past. As a result the previous owner put a pit in the basement floor that has a sump pump in it. There is a thick drain pipe that runs through the pit (horizontally) with a drain opening that comes up the middle (vertically). I previously had some smells coming from that open drain hole so I replaced the ‘back up protector’ with a new one that has a rubber stopper that holds the off the smell (and water back up). Everything seemed fine for about a year until recently. I noticed a bad smell coming from the pit and opened it up only to find several inches of murky water in it. The Sump Pump kicks in every so often and dumps the water out to the side of the house. The water is the result of a leak in the thick pipe that runs through the pit. A plumer friend suggested I use JB weld to fix the crack and vacuum the drain with my shop vac to clear it out.
When I vaccumed the drain the water level was near the top of the drain hole opening and what looked like sewage waste was pulled out. I’m concerned that the pipe cracked because of too much water pressure – perhaps the result of a sewage back up. I don’t think that any of our toilets or sinks drain into this area – with one exception. The basement kitchen sink. A flexible drain pipe was retrofitted to drain near the top of this thick pipe.
At the same time I have a tenant in the basement who believes the floor is rising behind the toilet. I’m not sure if this is actually happening or not, but I’m fearing that the concrete could be buckling. I’m thinking that the first thing I should do is call the city and see if there is a blockage to the sewer line. Any advice would be greatly appreciated….
We purchased our house about 3 months ago. About 2 weeks ago, we started noticing a growing odor in the basement. Not an overpowering odor, but uncomfortable regardless. The strange thing is that the odor is coming from, what I would assume, is the least logical location. Furthest away from the sump area, water softner, any floor drains or plumbing pipes. The wall where the smell seems to be coming from is toward the front of the house and it’s a painted, block wall. No water leaks or visible moisture at all. We put a dehumidifier in there which made the odor disappear almost completely, but it returns when the dehumidifier isn’t running for a certain amount of time. We do have a septic field under our front yard which is my only guess as to the source. We haven’t experienced any of the common septic field issues that I’ve researched online (slow drains, flooding yard, etc). But with no visible moisture, it seems as if that isn’t the culprit either. Definitely perplexed as to whether it’s simply the way the basement smells come spring or if there’s a bigger problem that we’re missing. Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated.
This is an odd one to be sure. Here are my thoughts/questions to you. Do you have any vents that are in that area of the basement, do you have an ejector pit? Could there be a floor drain on that end of the basement that was carpeted or skim coated over? If not my first guess would be that you have some breach in your sewer somewhere. It maybe small and slowly drain into the soil toward the front of the house. It’s not a break large enough to create a leak but it’s enough to to leave things damp. When you put a dehumidifier in that location you’re removing the dampness from the area and hence the area doesn’t smell. I would say this is most certainly a septic issue. I Just consulted a septic system expert regarding your issue (Western Sewerage, Antioch IL) and he said there is a possibility the grading at the front of the house is slightly pitched back to the house and you may be getting some brackish moisture coming in at the seam between your floor slab and block wall. When the dehumidifier removes the moisture your problem is temporarily fixed. Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you need anymore information.
admin@theplubminginfo
Thank you for the very quick response! Let me answer your questions.
1) Not sure if an ejector pit is the same as the whole where a sump pump is. If so, that’s on the opposite side of the basement. Checked that…no smell at all.
2) I don’t believe there is a floor drain on that side of the basement either. We just put down some carpet down there and didn’t see anything. The only two drains I’ve seen in the basement are about 15 feet away and the floor slopes in that direction. Regardless, I’m going to take another look.
3) After I read your comments about the septic and the grade, I decided to take a walk outside and consider that possibility. Let me try and describe the house the best I can. The basement location where the odor appears to be coming from is almost directly below our front door. Looking out the front door, our garage is to the right and we have a porch that stretches about 10 to 12 feet ahead of the door and 20 feet to the left along the front of the house. Is it a safe assumption that any septic lines wouldn’t be below the porch and would most likely be a few feet clear of the porch? Our front yard slopes down towards the street at about a 5 to 10 degree max angle. The street is probably 30 to 40 yards away from the porch. I honestly have no clue where the septic pipes are and only suspect where the tank is. I suppose my follow-up question would be if it’s still possible that anything leaking from the septic field could still flow back towards the house considering what I just described. Thank you again!
OK let me ask you this, has the septic tank been pumped out recently? If not that could be your issue right there. From what you’ve described to me it doesn’t seem like a grading issue but then again not knowing were the septic field is makes it difficult to diagnose with any certainty.
admin@theplumbinginfo
We were told by the sellers that the tank was pumped in October. We have an inspection scheduled for next week so I’m hoping to get a definitive answer. I certainly understand that it’s tough to accurately determine what the problem is with only a text discription. I’ll report back if I learn anything about it from the inspection. Thanks again!
Hey Larry it’s no problem here, I’m glad you found us. Feel free to keep in touch.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Hi, I have been smelling a oder of sewer in my unfinished part of the basement. I only have a floor drain. Put my nose to it and it seems that air is comming into the house from the floor drain with the smell. I had new plumbing put in throughout the house last year with pex. they replaced the toilet part of the drain to the sewer but they broke my stink pipe. They fixed it but it is behind the wall and it has been plastered over. But I can smell it comming from the floor drain. but what is weird is the air that is comming up. What are your suggestions? thanks so much dorothy
My first guess would be that the p-trap is dried out. Take a bucket of water and some pinesol and pour it down the drain. That should do the trick.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Hi
I own a small motel with 12 rooms. Room #7 in a building with 8 rooms has a sewer smell that I can not diagnose. It is a small room with a kitchenette. There is a kitchen area with stove, fridge and sink. The bathroom has tub/shower combo, sink and toilet. There is an in wall air conditioner in the kitchen and it is heated with electric baseboard heat. There is no nature gas on the property. The strangest part of this whole situation is that it is not consistent. The entire room will smell so bad you have to walk out and a few hours later there is just a hint of the problem. A couple hours later it will be horrible again. I can have the windows open and it will smell horrible or have them closed and it will be horrible. There seems to be no consistency. The first time it happened it was winter and the top of the exhaust had crusted over with snow. A few days after cleaning out the snow the smell went away. The next time was in April. It was spring like weather, no snow. This last time started about 10 days ago and the weather has been hot. I have had 2 plumbers over to look at it and they are stumped as to the cause. The following is a list of things that have been done to try to solve this problem:
1. Checked all pea traps. Water in each one. Ran water through each one and flushed toilet several times.
2. Cleaned all hair out of drains. Ran liquid plumber and bleach through all drains.
3. Checked exhaust vents on roof for any type of blockage. Nothing. Dropped garden hose down them and ran water through vents. No back flow issues.
4. Checked attic for smell. Nothing.
5. Removed toilet and ran camera down the sewer line. No blockages. Lines clear. Resealed toilet with new gasket.
6. Checked property for ground seepage. Nothing noticed.
7. No wet spots on carpet area.
8. Checked under tub. Area is dry.
There is no gurgling in lines when you flush toilet or run water in problem unit or units next to it.
Please any suggestions or solutions would be greatly appreciated. It is summer and we are losing $100 per day in revenue as I can not rent the room in this condition.. I have this room reserved in 10 days and have no where that I can move the customer. I will have to cancel his reservation. I do not want to let my customer down.
Your thoughts please.
Greg Loughins
250 819 4198
I just texted you.
Admin
Hi
A new (built just about a year ago) but never used until recent basement shower, toilet, sink STINKS!!!
Smells like sewer!
i have washed thoroughly, used bleach in toilet, shower, and sink but the smell continues. Even from shower drain.
When I use the shower, it seems the smell gets stronger!
HELP?!
I hate the smell!!!
Thanks
Huh weird situation because the fixtures should be trapped so no smell should be coming directly from the fixture. Unless however your traps where being compromised somehow do to back pressure or trap siphonage. Do you know if your fixtures are vented in the basement? I’ve seen many basement bathrooms not vented that have the same issues. Let me know if that helps.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Hi, We have sewer smell in our basement for a month. We had a plumber out he used a camera he said we have sewer in our footer tile.We dug up the main sewer line by the house didnt find any leaks.We have a drain tile in the basement no sump pump or ejector pit but there is sewer coming out of it out side never did that before, the house is 17 years old we have a septic tank that tile in the basement runs under the main sewer line and septi tank. What would be the next step?
OK lots of stuff going on here. First of all and it has to be asked. Have you had your septic tank pumped? If you haven’t that would be my first step. It’s very possible for the brackish waste from your septic field to leach into your drain tile and make its way to the house. How far did the plumber camera the sewer? If you did have your septic tank pumped then my next guess would be that you had a break in your house sewer somewhere. Its leeching into the ground water and making its way to the drain tile system. Hope this helps. Please leave another message if you have more information.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
Great Website with GREAT Info… The problem I have is similar to others. I’ve been in house 11+ years never had any problems. Over the last week starting to get rotten egg smell from mechanical room in basement (sump pit NOT sewer, water heater, furnace). The only drain in basement floor is sump pit that drains into the back yard. Small bar sink drains into sump pit, but rarely used, typically only to drain dehumidifier tub (set on 40-50%)into it when drain hose gets clogged. No sewage (toilet) in basement, but can see black sewage line overhead. Have had homemade sump lid on or off for extended amounts of time over the years with no smell, until now. During the summer we were in a severe drought (Northern Indiana), could that have something to do with it? The smell is not sewer and not natural gas, just musty, rotten egg, yuck. It gets bad enough sometimes that you can smell it in room above (kitchen). Poured in some bleach last night helped for a while but wife called to tell me it’s back. Thought about throwing a toilet tab in?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Doug, rotten egg smell is sulfur. It is very possible you are getting the smell from the water. Are you on a well? Does your drinking water smell of sulfur? Let me know, we’ll get to the bottom of this.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
Sewer Smell coming for Sump Pump
I have read a lot of sites and this one seems to have to best solutions
I have been getting a bad sewer smell from my sump pump pit when i use my washer
my washer drains into a wash tub then drains into the ejector pump , my sump pump is on the other side of the basement, i noticed water entering the sump pump pit through the corrugated when the washer drains, that is when i get the heavy smell, the water trickles in , any solution Thank You
Thanks for the kind words. So your ejector does not cycle when the washer is on? It only goes to the sump pit? If that’s the case then there is the answer. If your ejector comes on and you are still getting some of the water into your sump pit then you have another problem. I would say you have crack in your sewer line somewhere and it’s making it’s way back to your sump pit. There is an easy way to see if that is occurring. Have a plumber die test using your laundry tub. Fill the laundry tub full of water and have them use plumbing dye (food coloring can work but it breaks down and it’s not very bright.) If you see the dye come back into your sump pit there is your issue.
Admin@theplumbinginfo
We have an ejector pit installed in our basement with all new lines and fixtures in 2010. In the room next to our ejector pit (seperated by walls, etc) – we have a very strong sewer smell…comes and goes, etc. but has been very strong over the past week. I can alleviate by leaving the window open and the smell is gone, but returns…no smells anywhere else in the house or by the pit. IT seems to be most prevelant in the winter. My thoughts are the vent goes to the roof and comes out on the North side of house. Here in Colorado, north facing in winter is bad since it get’s no sun…could it be bound with ice? What a great site!!
Todd Phelps
303-809-9170
Hey Todd thanks so much for the kind words. Believe me the site is only going to get better. On to your problem. Some of these questions are just to rule things out. Is there a floor drain in the room with the odor? Did someone cover it when putting in flooring etc.? How is the vent line piped coming out of the pit? Does it go straight up and tie in to the main vent stack? Does it run into the wall separating the two rooms? Answering those will help big time.
admin@theplumbinginfo
We have an unidentified odor that only comes out when we use or walk around the basement. The smell is not constant. It smells like fish. We had a condensation line run to a floor drain and then cemented over it about 2 years ago that I suspect may be the issue? The plumber who ran it says it is not possible. We have had a plumber, electrician, hvac and builder try to figure it out. We have even had an air quality test done because they said it would identify all of the smells. It didn’t identify the mystery odor. Because of the smell we cannot use the basement.
Please help me a bit here. You say the odor only comes out when you “use or walk around the basement”. Does that mean that the act of walking or using has a causal effect on the appearance of the odor? Again I’m not trying to be a smart guy I’m trying to wrap my brain around your issue. Having a fishy smell in drinking water although not common can certainly happen. It usually happens in cities that get their fresh water supply from a river. During the river run off season sometimes bacteria gets in the water and the water treatment plants can’t remove all of the unpleasant smell. I suspect this isn’t the case in your situation. I do however believe it is a bacteria issue. The first thing I would do is uncover the floor drain your plumber covered over. I have no logical explanation as to why this was done. Condensate should always be drained into an open-site drain. Covering it will only promote stagnant water and bacteria growth. If you have any other information I’d be glad to take a look at it.
admin@theplumbinginfo
Thank you for the information! We just had a Sewage Ejector Pump installed in our condo so we can have a way to do laundry in home and within 8 hours of using it for the first time the smell started. The plumber gave a lot of suggestions that have failed, I’ll be calling to have him come run the Studor vent through the roof since it’s currently venting in our laundry/utility room instead of completely outside.
Studor vents are illegal in most municipalities around the US. The problem is it’s mechanical and if it fails you’ll always have an issue. They have their uses especially when venting an island kitchen sink but I don’t recommend them especially in your situation.
admin@theplumbinginfo.com
Great site and great answers. We have an ejector pit problem. Shower, toilet and sink drains to ejector. We stopped using the toilet. We still get intermittent smells. It varies. Sometimes when you run the shower. Sometimes just depending. The Main vent stack had a hole I sealed it. helped a little. However, when pit ejects, on occasion, water will back up into drain line for the washing machine. The washing machine does not drain to the pit but, it is tied to the main. My guess is ejector pit is too strong…pushes water gas through the system…? the ejector pit has 2″ pipe, and 3″ vent. Maybe pipe is too small causing too much pressure. Not sure. SOS
Thanks John for the kind words. Is the washing machine in the basement with the ejector pit? If you have a gravity sewer that runs underneath the basement floor why do you have an ejector? Without seeing the piping configuration on the outlet of the ejector it’s hard for me to tell why you would get some backup in your washing machine line. Pop a couple pictures for me and send them to skavanaugh1@gmail.com and I’m sure I can figure it out for you.
admin@theplumbinginfo.com
Hopefully this thread is still active, or, if not, I can be directed someplace that my issue can be addressed.
As with many others, we have an older house that has a number of plumbing issues we’ve discovered. At first, we noticed that we would get a sewer smell in the house when the temperature was cold enough (below 60 degrees or so) and we would run the upstairs water/dishwasher. It turns out, after a lengthy troubleshooting experience, that we have some cracks in the pipe between the overhead drain and the main sewer line. We believe the air pressure is keeping the sewer gas from escaping the vent stack and the force of the water is pushing the gas back up the pipe and out through the holes in the pipe/connection to vent stack. A smoke test has confirmed the existence of many holes in this pipe located in a crawl space. We are going to address this issue shortly. When the conditions are right (ripe), there is a very strong sewer smell coming from the crawl space. Conveniently, this is located right next to our furnace/HVAC unit which does a wonderful job of spreading the smell throughout the house.
However, I am writing in regards to another issue that we are having; we get a horrible sulfer/old laundry detergent smell in the basement when we run the laundry.
Our setup is as follows. The washing machine expels it’s water into a dual basin slop sink. This sink drains into a pipe that runs into a floor drain about 5 feet away. The floor drain drains into an overflow pit about 2 feet away. Once the water level is high enough, the water overflows into a sump pit (about 18 inches away) where it is pumped up about 5 feet and into the overhead drain line by a sump pump. Which then ties in to the problem pipe mentioned above which is located in a crawl space. We have been told that the sump pump replaced an older, sealed tramco unit. The current sump pit just has a makeshift wooden cover.
We seem to be getting a very pungent sulfur/stale laundry detergent odor in the basement. I have tried to locate the source of the smell, but to no avail. It doesn’t appear to be coming out of the floor drain or the sump pit. I have sealed the metal overflow pit and the smell doesn’t seem to be coming from there either. And, unlike the sewer smell, this smell doesn’t seem to be coming from the crawlspace area.
There aren’t any vents in the overflow pit or the sump/ejector pit, but we have been told that the sink is tied in to the vent that the upstairs kitchen sink uses.
Obviously we have some serious re-routing of the whole drainage system to look at, but I am hoping that you might have some ideas as to how we can resolve the smell after the washing machine expels its brown water.
Thanks!
I stand corrected. The water doesn’t flow from the sink drain to the floor drain. It goes from the sink to the overflow pit to the sump pit.
And last night I poured some bleach down the floor drain and when I ran the laundry this morning, the smell wasn’t nearly as pungent.
It’s active for sure. I’ve seen this so many times where someone decides to run a lavatory or laundry tub waste to a sump pit with no gas tight cover and vent and what happened to you usually happens to all of them. My suggestion would be to install another pit with a gas tight lid and vent or install a Zoeller 105 above the floor ejector pit and pump. They work great.
Sean
Sean – Thanks for your help. We have looked into getting one of those contained pits/pumps. Given our setup, it will probably be the best.
I have another question.
We thought we resolved the sewer smell issue with the fixing of the pipes in our crawl space. It has reduced the problem significantly.
However, we notice the smell every once in a while and also notice the smell coming out of the catch basin/grease trap that lies just outside of the house under our deck. We think that the smell is emanating from the pit and then making it’s way into the house via holes/cracks in the foundation or possibly through gaps in the bathroom window which sits not too far from the catch basin.
We have noticed that we can put some drain cleaner (not draino but something bought at Home Depot) down the kitchen sink and it will take care of the smell for weeks/months.
As far as we know, it’s only the kitchen sink that drains into that catch basin.
Is it possible that we are just getting the smell of rotting food/grease coming from that catch basin? We had the main line scope a while back and the plumber didn’t see any breaks/blockages.
My next step is to use some plumbers putty to attempt to seal around the catch basin lid, but I was curious if it is common to have to do some sort of routine maintenance on a catch basin sink drain line or if this is indicative of a much larger issue.
Ideally we want to route the kitchen drain to the main drain line and avoid the catch basin, but that is larger project than we can take on at the moment.
Thanks again for the insight and it’s reassuring to read others having similar issues and sharing here.
Are you in Chicago? First of all I would suggest rerouting your kitchen line to eliminate the catch basin all together. They aren’t code anymore and they can be a pain. If you want to keep it around I’d dump a bottle full of Bio Clean in there once every 45 to 60 days. The enzymes will eat the small amount of waste you’re putting in there. Question for you, do you have a disposal?
That issue is probably just what you think it is. You’re getting a back draft of sewer gases emanating from the catch basin. Ah remember those catch basin day very well. If you do separate the kitchen from the catch basin you have fill it in with sand, CA-7 and then cement over the last 12″ or so.
Yes, we are in the suburbs of Chicago, in a town with a lot of older houses with quirky problems like this.
We do not have a disposal, but some food waste does make it down the drain from time to time, despite our best efforts.
Thanks for the recommendation on the Bio Clean. I will get a bottle of that and add it to the catch basin. Hopefully that will keep things a bit fresher for a bit longer.
It was a huge breakthrough for us noticing that the addition of the drain cleaner seemed to stop the problem from happening for a while. Also, that the smell seems to be coming from outside now that we have fixed the holes inside.
I have a smell of eggs in basement. I have a sump pit no ejector. I had a plumber in he put zinc pellets in hot water tank, even though I told him no smell from hot water in taps. The smell is only located in basement by the main pipe going to septic system and area where water heater is. Septic tank was done 1 year ago. No dry traps and no floor drain in basement.
Ohh this is a tricky one. Rotten egg smell is generally hydrogen sulfide gas which is sulfur. Your plumber used zinc tablets because he thought the water was attacking the Aluminum or magnesium anode rods. But unless you have a faucet or some source for your water to get outside the tank it wouldn’t be coming from there. Has your T&P valve tripped lately, has there been water on the floor? That could be a reason for the sulfur smell. Is There a vent line anywhere close to that area? Has your septic tank been cleaned lately? Sometimes if a septic tank is filled the brackish water will spill out and permeate the ground near the house and seep around the penetration from the sewer line or any crack in the foundation. Let me know if that helps. I’d like to know more about the problem.
Sean
We’ve lived in this house for 5 years without any kind of odor in the basement. Today I decided to have the fireplace looked at/maintained so that we could light it for the first time since we owned the house. (And I honestly don’t know when it was lit before that, if ever.) It ran for a bit and of course we love it… but now I smell something in the basement. I think it is pretty obvious that the fireplace needs to pull air from somewhere and so it is sucking the smell out of something… a vacuum is being created. I don’t know where the smell originates. It smells a little like the smell they put in gas, but it also smells a little musty. I don’t know what to do from here; tomorrow I’ll call the guy that did the service on the fireplace, but I was looking for more opinions. There’s one floor drain, one sump pump pit that does not have a sump pump in it, two sinks, one toilet and one area that is plumbed for a shower. Somebody told me to make sure water was in the drain and the toilet. Those are fine. I ran water in the sinks for kicks, but I doubt those are the issue. The sump has never run, and there’s a loose plastic cover on it. There’s a sort of cracked cover over the shower drain… is that, perhaps, my smoking gun?
The shower is where I would start for sure. Either with a vent that isn’t capped properly or as you mentioned a shower drain. Please let me know how it goes.
Sean Kavanaugh
Thanks for the reply.
I spent a bit more time sleuthing this issue. First, I aired out the basement a bit and then tried to identify smells. It is the furnace that is making the musty smell (and we have a pretty nasty-looking old humidifier on it that we’ve never used… might be related.) But the gentleman who cleaned up our fireplace and got it in working order also said that running the fireplace circulates the air and it likely just caused the smell to be drawn out of the furnace area and it will subside with use, each season. (Meaning it will be strong, and subside over time each time we start using it again.)
I do also smell a slight — and I mean to the point that I’m not even sure that’s what it is — gas-like smell… it is in the area under where you’d turn the key into the floor to open the valve to allow gas for the fireplace. I tried the old “dishsoap and water” trick to make one of the joints bubble, showing where gas is escaping, but to no avail. Nothing bubbled.
I’ve got a guy coming over to check out the furnace and the possible gas-leak this week.
HI there!
I’ve lived in my home for 8 years and haven’t had an issue until now. I have a foul sewage smell coming from a floor drain in my basement. I have poured drain cleaner and gallons of water down the drain with no relief of the smell. It started a couple months ago, there was a small sewage backup from that drain when the downstairs toilet (sits right beside the drain) was flushed. This happened 2 times in the same week and has never happened again. The smell fills the entire basement unless I set a paint can over the drain. If I block the drain you can’t smell anything so it’s definitely coming from that area. There has always been water in the pipe. Why does it suddenly smell like poop?!?!
My shoot from the hip trouble shooting would be to say that the trap is being siphoned some how. Whether the trap is broken and letting enough water out to break the trap seal or when you flush the toilet the negative pressure is pulling some of the water out of the trap. You may ask “why is it it happening now?” You may have a clogged vent. It being super close to the toilet is also bothersome. I’ve seen a toilet lose it’s seal and waste water seeps into the ground and makes it’s way to the floor drain through a connection point.
Sean K
Thanks for all the information!! Just this week, we have had an odor that is coming from my sump pump area (located in the sub-basement). It started to smell in the sub-basement and seems that it is being circulated through the house by the furnace, almost like thinner or varnish. We took the lid off the sump pump pit and noticed the smell seems to be coming from the black corrugated pipe that brings the water into the pit. We have never had an odor like this before. We do have a drain in the sub-basement by our laundry area and have added water to it. I have also added water to the drain in the shower (located in the basement) that we don’t use. We have opened a window and shut the door in the room that sump pump is in and it seems to be helping. However, the smell is still in the room, stronger now that the door is closed. We have a ejector pit that is sealed and located by the furnace that doesn’t seem like it has any issues. Any ideas? I will try the dye to see if there maybe a cracked drain tile but really don’t know what else to do. Any ideas? Thanks:)
I recently had a broken 2″ cast iron drain from my kitchen sink repaired under the basement slab. I suspected the break after sewage odor showed up around the main floor drain. Then I confirmed the break when I discovered sink water flowing into the drain from the weeping tiles. After breaking into the slab and repairing the pipe, sewage odors continue to rise out of the floor drain in the basement I now suspect that kitchen sewage is permeating the gravel under the slab and decomposing, with gasses venting through the weeping tile. Any suggestions how to eliminate these odors? The plumber suggests blocking the floor drain and back flushing water/detergent/bleach under the slab through the weeping tile. I am doubtful that I can kill all the organic material that has settled there. Do you have any suggestions? Do you think it will “go away” with time?
Interesting issue. Probably not for you but from a plumbers perspective it’s interesting. So I’m slightly confused as to why contaminated water is making it’s way back to your floor drain? It sounds to me like you make also have a break in the floor drain. A relatively simple solution would be to break out the floor drain and some of the waste line servicing the drain and replace with new piping and bedding. That’s a permanent solution. I wouldn’t count on the organic matter breaking down over time because the “how long” is the ultimate question no one can answer. I also don’t like flushing bleach and detergent down the line hoping it permeates the ground and kills the odor causing bacteria. It’s a crap shoot and I’d rather solve the problem for good.
As always thanks so much for reading. If you have any further questions drop them here or you can email me at skavanaugh@todaysgrowth.com
Followup to the odor problem: The original break was just below slab and not far from the main drain, so grey water could find its way to the drain through the weeping tiles. I have attempted to accelerate the organic decomposition by introducing septic tank bacteria (Septo-bac product) into the troublesome area. I did this by running a hose down the weeping tile, back in the direction of the original break and flooding it with Septo-bac using a funnel on the hose. I needed to stuff rags around the hose so the solution didn’t just run back into the drain. After two weeks, the odor has subsided significantly, although not completely gone. I’m hoping it will continue to improve.
Hopefully I can explain this right….
I had a new Ejector Pump put in my basement floor which takes the water from my upstairs Kitchen Sink, basement Slop Sink, and Washing machine and pumps it all the way over to my trap. My upstairs bathroom runs straight down to the trap not needing the ejector pump. Every time the ejector pump runs, an awful rotten egg smell comes from the trap area (not from the pump area).
I would think that since it meets up with the upstairs bathroom line before hitting the trap, that the bathroom vent line would solve any air issue. (Note: When I flush bathroom toilet, there is NO smell anywhere).
I do notice that to the left of the trap there is a 3rd cap.. which is air tight sealed and I am guessing maybe that SHOULD have been a vent that never got built??
I am not good at plumbing..but I am at a loss as to what can be going on.
Please post a picture where the ejector waste leaves the house. You can email me skavanaugh1@gmail.com
Sean K
I just moved into a house that smelled musty. About a week ago, the city who is working on the fire hydrants on the streets, shut off the water. Now there is a sewage smell throughout the house. The upstairs water facet now leaks and the upstairs toilet is wobbly on the floor. I read in a reply from you that a wobbly toilet can cause some issues. I need to tell my landlord to send out a plumber to get rid of the smells aka fix the problems, but i need to know what it is that the plumber needs to do to fix the problem of the sewage and musty smell in the house.
I only have a sewage drain on the floor, no sump pump or pit. I have tried running water down the basement floor drain. I can see standing water in there. There is another area in the basement where I see what looks like a large pipe in the floor with a large plug on top. Is that perhaps part of the drain system as well?
I have read most of the questions and your replies on this site. It is very informative, but none seemed to be quite the answers that I need.
The house was built in the fifties I believe. Also, are the sewage and musty odors hazardous to ours and our animals health?
Thank you for any replies.
Nisa
Thanks,
Nisa
Hey Nisa thanks for the questions. Let me first say that I feel for you. Chasing plumbing problems can be a real pain. Having a musty odor in the house leads me to believe that the house has had flooding or standing water issues in the past. I for the life of me can’t make the connection between the fire hydrants being worked on and the sewage odor. They are completely separate systems, the only issue I’ve ever run into is that when the hydrants run freely or being worked on they can pull rust into the domestic water lines servicing the surrounding homes are businesses. But again a sewage smell is a waste line issue not a water service issue. So for the sake of this response let’s keep them separate.
A wobbly toilet can be the single reason for your sewer smell, if the seal is compromised you could have waste water seeping from the seal causing a sewer smell.
With regards to your basement floor drain. Congrats you did the right thing by pouring water in the drain. You are filling the trap seal in case it’s dried out or the water has become nasty over time. I have seen cases where there is a crack in the p-trap and the water slowly drains out of the trap and you get sewer gas coming back out of the floor drain.
The last question you had was regarding a capped pipe coming out of the floor in the basement. My guess is that at some point it picked up a plumbing fixture in the basement or from the kitchen upstairs and it’s been rerouted and capped off. It could also be a stand pipe which is used to alleviate flooding in a basement. When the city sewer runs full the water backs up into the house and the standpipe gives the water someplace to go without flooding the basement. However, if you cap the line you render the stand pipe useless which is why I think it is an abandoned waste line.
Sean K
I have an intermittent sewer smell in my basement. I do not have a sump pump or an ejector pump but there is a floor drain next to the water heater. A few times I’ve noticed the floor drain has dried out because it is also near the furnace but the furnace has been off and it seems to be happening more often. Also in the basement is the laundry washer, no bathroom, no visible leaking from the upstairs bathroom. Thank you
Hey Dominique, Thanks for reading the site and thanks for the question. You have a sewer that runs down a stack and drains be gravity under your basement floor and then out to the municipal sewer. So this should be a fairly straight forward explanation. Your trap is drying out or being siphoned out. If it’s just drying out from lack of use just fill a bucket with warm water and add a cap full of Mr. Clean and pour down the drain every few months. If you find that this isn’t working then something is pulling the water out of the trap. My next explanation for the disappearing trap seal would be the washer discharge. The discharge from a clothes washer comes out so fast and with so much volume that it can pull the trap seal from a floor drain nearby. Especially if the laundry tub isn’t vented. And last but not least is you may have a crack in your p-trap serving your floor drain. So basically you have a slow leak in the trap. In a case like this you have to break up the floor around the floor and excavate a bit, replace the trap, reinstall the floor drain and patch the floor.
Hi All,
Great information on this site! I really appreciate all of your comments, I’ve learned a lot. We recently purchased our first home in January. I am not sure if the setup on the basement is per code or allowed. We have an ejector sewage pump and next to it a regular basement sump pump. Our house has 3 floors including the attic. Basement is unfinished underground. There is a toilet, and plumbing underground from what it looks like an unfinished setup for a bathroom. The toiler is located in the back of the basement. The main stack comes down to the back of the house, then it goes in the ground floor of the basement then directed to the front where the connection for the public sewage line is. What seems particular to me is that the main stack connects directly to the ejector pump! The ejector pump then connects to the public sewage line. ANYTHING (kitchen, all bathrooms in the house) coming out from the house is going to this ejector pump which then connects to the public sewage line. Could you advise if this setup is allowed? The Ejector pump also has a pipe for venting fumes out. From what I Have read, the ejector pumps are in use to send any gray water from basement bathrooms to the main stack which is then connected to the public sewage line. Please advise. Thanks you for your time.
I have quite a few questions for you. Does the discharge from the ejector pump, pump all of the waste water up over head to the sewer leaving the house? It has to or there would be no need for an ejector, everything would run by gravity underneath the basement floor. The only thing I can think of is that someone tried to put in a what I would call a modified force main with an overhead sewer. PLEASE SHOW ME THE SET UP. I must see it. I wouldn’t say it’s illegal but it’s certainly really stupid. An ejector pump is not meant to take all the waste from an entire house but it can take more than just gray water. As long as the pump can pass solids it should be OK. The life of the pump is going to be real short unless it’s a dedicated heavy duty grinder pump.
Sean K
Shortly after moving into my very first home two months ago I noticed a sewage smell coming from the closest that contains the ejector pump in the basement. Water comes in from the toilet, sink, shower and washer. The pump lid has been sealed with silicone, pit has been cleaned from the inside, closet cleaned and painted, carpet pulled and crack in concrete underneath carpet sealed and the smell persists! The traps have water in them. For the past few months I’ve been pouring Biologic down the toilet. I’ve done all I can with my handyman and various plumbers short of replacing the lid, a smoke test or peppermint test. What else can I do to get rid of this stench? Thanks for your help.
I think a peppermint test would just tell you what you already know. There is obviously a leak in the lid somewhere. It could be around the lid or more likely at the seals around the discharge or vent piping. I’m assuming you have a vent pipe?
Sean
Thanks Sean. Yes, I have a vent pipe. Several joints have been sealed on it. What do you suggest as a next step, replacing the lid?
For sure. That would be the next logical step. The other two issues I can think of is that maybe you have a crack in the vent piping or a crack in the pit itself. You mentioned you sealed a crack next to the ejector pit. Maybe there is a crack in the pit and it’s letting sewer gas out? Please let me know who it goes.
Sean
Hi. I enjoyed reading your article. I have recently noticed a sewer gas smell in our basement. We do have a floor drain the laundry room. However, prior to smelling this, I have also noticed really strong sewer smells at area businesses just up the road as well, or in simply driving up the street. The smell was so bad in one place we kept passing, we kept thinking our toddler had dirtied his diaper, only to realize it was the same location every time, and not our toddler. That being said, I did just pour a gallon of water down our floor drain, along with a bit of olive oil. When I poured the water, I didn’t notice the smell anymore, at least not in the moment. Still, I don’t know why the whole neighborhood smells like sewer. Also, during very heavy rains, the sewer sometimes backs up through the shower, toilet &/or drain in our basement, along with some of our neighbors. Therefore, I still wonder if it is more of main system problem versus just our home. Any advice would be helpful as we hope to fix our house up and sell it soon.
Hey Angel thanks for reaching out. The info you’ve given me is much appreciated. First of all, I think you’re 100% correct. Your neighborhood probably has a combined sewer meaning both the waste and storm are separate in the house but combine outside the house and run into the city main. The city main is most likely woefully undersized. When it rains the city main runs full and the excess water and waste runs back up the laterals to the homes connected to it. Hence, the continual neighborhood backups. I believe you have two issues. The first is that your trap protecting you from sewer gas is compromised. Although you’ve primed the trap by pouring water into it, it’s draining for some reason. It could be that there is a crack in the p-trap or that the discharge from your washing machine is rushing wastewater past the trap so quickly that it is sucking the water out of the trap. Is your washing machine vented? If not it should be. Is your floor drain vented? If not it should be if it is further than 5ft away from the washing machine or another fixture that is vented.
On to the sewer backup. There are several ways to combat this. The most economical ways to fix this are to install a standpipe or to install a floor drain with a ball. The standpipe is just a pipe with a smaller diameter jammed into the floor drain opening. When the water backs up it fills the standpipe instead of your basement. The backwater floor drain works like this, the water backs up and the ball moves and closes the opening. Both are cheap fixes but nothing I would offer as a plumbing contractor. The three that I would recommend would be a backwater valve at the foundation, installing an overhead sewer or installing a forced main. And those are given in order of price.
Sean
Hi, Just got the house a few months back and, I have sewer smell in the basement. there are French drains in 2 side of the inside basement to drain the ground water that never dries out?, I cant figure out way yet? into a sump pit where 2 pumps are installed. one that runs every 3,4 minutes and the other a back up pump. The pit isn’t covered at all, I cleaned it but the small continues,. I took a sample of that water and it seems that the water from the French drains is smelly. had plumbers checking but couldn’t find where the smell comes from. why would the water itself be smelly? and if I cover the pit and vent it how likely it is to get rid of the smell? what if the sewer line is broken? and I cover the pit?
Hi there. This is a very informative site!! Thank you for all your advice.
Tonight we noticed a very strong sewage smell that did not exist a matter of hours ago. We have a septic tank system that gathers only the waste water from the bathroom. All other waste water goes into a dry well. We only notice the smell in the basement. There is no smell coming from the bathroom sink, tub or toilet which is on the main floor. Any suggestions? We rent the house and the landlord told us that because of the three tank system, the septic tank would only have to be emptied after 3 to 5 years. We’ve been here for a little over a year and it was emptied just prior to us moving in. Not having dealt with a septic system prior to this, is there any information you could provide as to diagnosing this problem?
Thanks a lot for the correspondence. Do you have a floor drain in the basement? If so your trap seal may be dried out. Just take a 5-gallon bucket of soapy water and pour it into the floor drain.
Cheers
Sean
I have a strong sewage smell in basement after someone showers. The downstairs shower,sink and toliet all drain into a 30″×18″ ejector pit. The pit is sealed with a lid and silicone caulk (again newly sealed). Any suggestions?
Does the shower have a p-trap? If so it may be that the trap is cracked and the trap seal is draining allowing sewer gas back into the room. If it’s not the trap you could have a cracked vent.