Septic smell

Terry

Terry

The Plumbing Wizard
Staff member
Messages
29,942
Reaction score
3,483
Points
113
Location
Bothell, Washington
Website
terrylove.com
Terry, we have a constant low level septic smell which comes out of our heating vents, but there are times when the smell is so strong it smells as if there is an open septic tank. There is no rhyme or reason why this smell gets so bad. We are at our whits end . Thank you

User Name: Unregistered
 
We have had our vents cleaned.No dead animals.The smell is always underlying throughout the house.But when the smell is really bad it seems that running water makes it much worse ie.draining a tub,running shower,flushing a toilet in the upstairs two bathrooms.And the smell is much more relevant in the upstairs bedrooms when the smell is really bad.
 
Do you have a crawl space?
Do you have any fixtures that you don't use that may be the water seal has evaperated??
 
Do you have a septic tank? Does it need to be pumped? Look to see if there's anything in the vicinity of your incoming air causing it? A floor drain that needs a primer? Smelling upstairs the most, could you have a vent that is terminating in the attic space rather than out the roof? Aha! I bet that's it. It sounds like you have some investigating to do in order to figure this one out, no matter what.
 
Last edited:
We are on city sewer and we do not have a floor drain in the basement. Also the smell is maybe not heavier on the upstairs we just had the vents closed on the main floor. When we open windows in the house, the smell is gone. Could this be an a/c issue?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Baffled by smell
Replies
15
Views
791
Reach4
Reach4
SAS
Sewer Gas Smell When Running Water into Drain
Replies
2
Views
800
SAS
SAS
M
Sewer Gas Smell
Replies
0
Views
1K
Mmueller
M
2
'40's plumbing+modern dishwasher operation
Replies
1
Views
278
Breplum
Breplum
M
Is this wet vent done correctly?
Replies
0
Views
2K
Mmueller
M
Back
Top