City Sewer Odor in Basement

[billyruh]

Hello all!

Having some sewer smells coming from the basement which takes over the whole house. Had a scope run through the main sewer line out to the road, nothing blocking it, everything looked good. Had it snaked by a professional anyway, it went right through and didn't pick up anything. He then added some sort of detergent/disinfectant in to the lines and sinks/toilets which helped for almost 24 hours, but its back again. I did my own smoke test by putting the smoke bomb in my cleanout in the basement. Didn't see any smoke coming from any of the lines. (Some of the stink pipe is cast iron) There was a little smoke coming out the stink pipe out the roof, but a lot coming out my floor drains. With the house being built in 1905 I guess this was kind of common for floor drains to tie in to the main sewer line?? Would the majority of the smoke coming out the floor drains indicate the stink pipe is plugged? I'm at a loss and everyone I talk to just spins me. I keep a basement window cracked which helps tremendously but its getting cold here in Michigan and we need to get this figured out. ANy help or ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Seal up the floor drains and see if the stink goes bye bye

 

[GReynolds929]

If smoke is coming out of the floor drains then stink will too. Add water to seal the traps or seal them some other way.

 

[Bird Doo Head]

Trap Getting Vacuumed Dry?
Maybe a DWV System vent is plugged. While draining something specific in the house, a vacuum is pulling on one of the basement drains, drying the trap.

Check every trap with a flashlight to find water sealing it. Use every water using item and re-check all traps. Check also laundry machine drain and basement sink drains. Ideally, someone uses water while someone downstairs listens for gurgling.



Heating & Cooling Equipment?
Air Conditioner evaporator drains can get stinky when not used for a week or so. The odor will drift up through the ductwork. Check yours for mold. Check your furnace humidifier's sump and drum also.


Sump Pit?
If you have a sump pit, maybe it's gone moldy



Non-Trapped Drains?
Perhaps the floor drains are not trapped or one of the traps is cracked, thus draining itself.

At a previous house I owned, 2 of the floor drains went to the main un-trapped and 2 went to a building trap first. The house in which I currently live also came with a non-trapped floor drain (and 2 trapped).

In each house, I never noticed any smell until one day it arrived. Perhaps there was sand or gunk or something blocking the pipes. When it washed away or dried up, the odor arrived. Also, it may have been a wind change.

To stop the gas & varmints, you can put in test plugs until you figure out & fix the problem. Get the mechanical type instead of inflatable. They stay sealed longer & are less expensive. (Photo Attached)

I've seen people inflate plain-old party balloons in the pipe to stop sewer gas temporarily.

I hope this helps and you can fix the troubles easily!
Paul

 

[humbolt]

For what it is worth...Whenever I begin to smell a sewer smell coming from my basement, I call my water department and let them know of the smell. A day or two later a truck from the water department comes by, opens the sewer cover near my street, places a round looking hose into the sewer, and do whatever they do. After they complete their work, I then notice that the smell disapates. The water department also sent out a staff member. He then told me to pour 2 caps of clorox into 1 gallon of hot water and poor the contents into every drain in my house before I go to bed. This person also recommenced to pour a small bottle of white vinegar down my drains at night before going to bed.

It seemes to help and I do this once every two to three months. I only call the water department if the sewer smell returns and does not go away. Your situation could be way different then mine but anyway, for what it is worth.

 

[Bird Doo Head]

For what it is worth...Whenever I begin to smell a sewer smell coming from my basement, I call my water department and let them know of the smell. A day or two later a truck from the water department comes by, opens the sewer cover near my street, places a round looking hose into the sewer, and do whatever they do. After they complete their work, I then notice that the smell disapates. The water department also sent out a staff member. He then told me to pour 2 caps of clorox into 1 gallon of hot water and poor the contents into every drain in my house before I go to bed. This person also recommenced to pour a small bottle of white vinegar down my drains at night before going to bed.

It seemes to help and I do this once every two to three months. I only call the water department if the sewer smell returns and does not go away. Your situation could be way different then mine but anyway, for what it is worth.

I wonder why, when the city needs cleaning, the odor shows up inside your house. Do you have a dry trap? Is outdoor odor being drawn in through windows or cracks with combustion air?

When I have an odor at a particular drain and see water sealing the trap, I suspect mold or grease build up on the pipe leading from drain to the trap. Sinks & tubs are notorious at home due to the all natural soaps we use.

First, I take a paper towel and one of those long, grabby screw picker-upperer things. The towel gets wet with white vinegar and I wipe inside the pipe and the drain pop-up.

After 10 or so minutes, I flush the vinegar out & leave the trap with warm water in it. I mix up some enzymes in warm water & dump it in the drain. I'll leave that for as long as possible.

The enzymes eat the remaining mold and soap film. They eat grease, too. The enzymes will cling to the gunk in the pipes downstream & continue to work for days.

Downside? The room smells like bread baking.
Baking yeast works. Septic Tank Enzymes work, too. Zep brand is about $2.00 at home centers.

Enzymes cling to the piping after the trap and continue to clean the pipes.

Paul

 

[billyruh]

Seal up the floor drains and see if the stink goes bye bye

Thank you! That seems to have done the trick. Thank you!

 

[billyruh]

Trap Getting Vacuumed Dry?
Maybe a DWV System vent is plugged. While draining something specific in the house, a vacuum is pulling on one of the basement drains, drying the trap.

Check every trap with a flashlight to find water sealing it. Use every water using item and re-check all traps. Check also laundry machine drain and basement sink drains. Ideally, someone uses water while someone downstairs listens for gurgling.



Heating & Cooling Equipment?
Air Conditioner evaporator drains can get stinky when not used for a week or so. The odor will drift up through the ductwork. Check yours for mold. Check your furnace humidifier's sump and drum also.


Sump Pit?
If you have a sump pit, maybe it's gone moldy



Non-Trapped Drains?
Perhaps the floor drains are not trapped or one of the traps is cracked, thus draining itself.

At a previous house I owned, 2 of the floor drains went to the main un-trapped and 2 went to a building trap first. The house in which I currently live also came with a non-trapped floor drain (and 2 trapped).

In each house, I never noticed any smell until one day it arrived. Perhaps there was sand or gunk or something blocking the pipes. When it washed away or dried up, the odor arrived. Also, it may have been a wind change.

To stop the gas & varmints, you can put in test plugs until you figure out & fix the problem. Get the mechanical type instead of inflatable. They stay sealed longer & are less expensive. (Photo Attached)

I've seen people inflate plain-old party balloons in the pipe to stop sewer gas temporarily.

I hope this helps and you can fix the troubles easily!
Paul

Thank you! Blocking off the drains seems to have worked. I'll grab some of these permanent blockers shortly.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Either the p traps were dry and just need water added or the traps are compromised and do not hold water any longer.

 

[Bird Doo Head]

Thank you! Blocking off the drains seems to have worked. I'll grab some of these permanent blockers shortly.

It's good to know you got the odor stopped. But, the test plugs aren't really meant to be forever permanent.

It's pretty important for you to figure out why the odor came into the basement. Something is not operating correctly and it's important to make sure it isn't creating a danger. But, now that the odor is stopped, you have time to investigate.

Paul

 

[turdchaser2000]

Hello all!

Having some sewer smells coming from the basement which takes over the whole house. Had a scope run through the main sewer line out to the road, nothing blocking it, everything looked good. Had it snaked by a professional anyway, it went right through and didn't pick up anything. He then added some sort of detergent/disinfectant in to the lines and sinks/toilets which helped for almost 24 hours, but its back again. I did my own smoke test by putting the smoke bomb in my cleanout in the basement. Didn't see any smoke coming from any of the lines. (Some of the stink pipe is cast iron) There was a little smoke coming out the stink pipe out the roof, but a lot coming out my floor drains. With the house being built in 1905 I guess this was kind of common for floor drains to tie in to the main sewer line?? Would the majority of the smoke coming out the floor drains indicate the stink pipe is plugged? I'm at a loss and everyone I talk to just spins me. I keep a basement window cracked which helps tremendously but its getting cold here in Michigan and we need to get this figured out. ANy help or ideas are greatly appreciated.

1905 in Michigan there’s a chance that the floor drains originally had a bell trap. Hard to tell without seeing it.

 

[Bird Doo Head]

1905 in Michigan there’s a chance that the floor drains originally had a bell trap. Hard to tell without seeing it.

Good Point! Thanks for mentioning it as a possible (probable) cause for the poster's odor problem.

The house I grew up in in Detroit (built early 1900's) had bell traps. One of my chores as a kid was to dump water with a teaspoon of olive oil into the drains every Saturday. My brother's (1930-ish) still has bell traps.
Paul