Septic Tank Odor - Vent pipe (Why now?)

[Longjt]

Not for sure if I have this posted in the right area or not - I'm new to the forums. If I need to relocate - let me know or a moderator can relocate it for me.....

Here's my issue-

I had lived alone (for about 6 years) in my 1100 sq ft ranch home up to June of last year when my fiancee and her 2 girls (9 and 7 yrs old) moved in. I had the septic tank emptied just after they moved in because I anticipated a quite a bit more water usage and I knew the 1500 gal tank was way over due. This was the first time it had been emptied since I bought the house in 1996 (I know it should be emptied every 3 - 5 yrs) . Ever since having it emptied, I can smell a sewage odor (H2S?) on the back side of my house (close to where the vent pipe is located on the roof) on a breezy day. I have climbed up the roof and verified that it's the same smell coming out of the roof vent. I have never smelled this odor before until after the tank was emptied. I thought it would eventually go away but it hasn't yet.

Any thoughts anyone????????

I have had no problems with the leech beds (knock on wood). I have a diversion/splitter box after the tank that allows me to alternate between the two leech beds (I do it every spring). I just added some Rid-X for the first time about 2 weeks ago thinking that maybe there's no biological matter in the tank to break things down. Could the waste be going septic? If so, how can I fix this problem????????


Please help....


Thanks!!!

[Terry]

Rid-X is for killing roots.

You may be better off with Bio-Clean to add some bacteria to the septic.
They also make filters for vent pipes that help with the smell issue.

[AL_2007]

Sounds like a leach field problem to me. I had a similar problem and even emptying the tank didn't solve the problem as it was quickly refilled with waste water. The problem of odor and leaking water near the septic was solved after I built a new leach field.