Sewage stench (not the pee trap)

[Vbort44]

I have an unbearable stench coming from my sewer drain in the basement. Here I’ve been dealing with this for 1 year, on and off.

My father in law first thought it was the washer water that was coming back up and festering in the drain, but he re-piped everything and the stench came back.

The only time the smell was completely gone was when we had a ton of rain. I am guessing that the rain water (which drains through there) washed everything out.

My pee trap is full and the water level in the drain actually sits higher than usual (but it doesn't seem like a problem). I checked my main out and everything seems to be flowing out without a problem, so there seems to be no clogging. I can pour buckets of fresh water down the drain and the water is clear again, but it seems like dirty water begins to float back up after some time...

I have no clue what to do. Any initial thoughts?

 

[phishfood]

Man, I am drawing a blank on this one. No ideas at all are coming to mind.

I will think it through some more, but hopefully someone else will post with a credible explanation.

 

[havasu]

By chance do you have exterior drain lines that are tied into your sewer lines?

 

[Vbort44]

I'm not sure havasu. I see 3 holes in my basement floor drain:

The one hole runs to the main sewer line. The second is a plastic pipe and I have never seen anything drain from there (I've run everything in the house) the third is simply a large hole in the concrete wall of the drain.

As mentioned, there is always water sitting in the drain.

What can I do to find out if my exterior drain lines are tied into your sewer lines? If they are, what are you thinking is the problem?

 

[havasu]

I'm thinking you have a break somewhere in your drain lines, causing a siphoning effect of the drains. Here, it would illegal, but I can't speak for other parts of the world.

 

[Vbort44]

Hmmm, interesting. How can I identify if I have a break somewhere in my drain lines and how would this cause a siphoning effect of the drains?

 

[havasu]

I can't think of any easy way except thru the process of elimination. You will have to inspect every incoming vent pipe, looking for hairline cracks or signs of leakage.

 

[Mr_David]

By your description it sounds like you have a square/rectangular drain in the basement. are all 3 holes in the side wall of the drain or is the one going to the sewer in the bottom with a p-trap buried below it.
Being the lowest drain in the house and if it is flat or just a little back graded sewage water from say a surge from a flushed toilet can dribble back into to the floor drain
Suck out all the water from the floor drain. Does it look like it has a p-trap under it. Now that it's dry go flush the toilets and dump a couple loads of laundry water. Do you see any water back washing in to the p-trap.
When you dump water in to drain does it go out the side hole or down through the bottom
Take a picture and post it if you can.

 

[Vbort44]

Hi Mr. David,

Thanks for your response. The drain is circular and one of the holes in the sewer is the one going to the sewer in the bottom with a p-trap buried below it. I haven't sucked the water out in order to see if I am getting some dribble back, but I'm quite positive that is what is happening (I'll confirm this weekend).

If this is the case, what can be done? Is my only option to dig up the floor and level the main?

Thanks for taking the time to post this image as well - I really do appreciate it

 

[Vbort44]

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[phishfood]

Did you try the things that Mr. David mentioned?

If you are in fact getting some backflow from the sewer outlet, I would probably spend the money to have a drain cleaning company come out and camera the piping before you break up the floor.

 

[Vbort44]

Hi phishfood,

Yes, I did what Mr. David mentioned and I did get some backflow from the sewer outlet. Why would hiring a drain cleaning company in order to come out and camera the piping make sense? Could there be something other than a down-grade in the main sewer line?

 

[phishfood]

Because if there is a partial blockage in the line causing some water to remain in the sewer pipe , it would be easier to have that cleared before you go through the process of breaking out the floor to fix backfall on a pipe that doesn't have backfall. Over the years I have learned to gather as much information as reasonably possible before making blind stabs at fixing a problem. A sewer camera with an operator who knows what they are looking at is one of the best sources of information in this type of situation.