Sewer Smell

Our house is really smelling like sewage. There is no blockages in the pipe. We have no idea what this is. We need a really strong diagnostic plumber who can help us figure this out. It seems like it’s coming from the closet where our sewer trap is, but you can smell it on the top levels of the house and it’s just really upsetting. I don’t even know what to do.

returnrestoration

in General Discussion 3 years and 9 months ago

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alexwithak | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Do your drains gurgle at all when water is running through them? If the vent stack is blocked you might hear that, but agreed that it will still drain. It could also be improperly piped, causing siphoning which means the water that’s supposed to sit in the drain trap and block sewer gas is getting sucked out.

namahs | 3 years and 9 months ago

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We had something similar to us last year after the roto guys finished cleaning our main sewer line from a bad block. Basically the metal cap cover of the trap had a small hole and was slowly leaking the sewer gas up. When I called the same rotor guys back they said they did not break it, I didnt want to argue with them and just paid for a new replacement cap.

returnrestoration | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Hi Brit_in_brooklyn. We have wondered the same, however the smell is super strong in the actual sewage pit that holds our trap. It’s worth exploring with a moisture meter, which exact meter do you recommend?

Guest User | 3 years and 9 months ago

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We actually had a similar situation. It turned out to be our neighbours sewer pipe leaking in the cavity wall between our houses. We picked up the moisture with a moisture meter and then had to rip open the wall to fully diagnose.

May be worth seeing if your neighbour has a bathroom backing up against that spot where your closet it.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 3 years and 9 months ago

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I also had a blocked vent years ago and it didn’t stop water running

cate | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Just seeing this post after answering above. Our vent stack has been blocked and water still ran. Please contact me at cate at brownstoner dot come for more info.

returnrestoration | 3 years and 9 months ago

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The plumber said that the water wouldn’t run if the vent stack was blocked. Do you think that is true? We keep having ppl come who don’t even seem to investigate. It’s really upsetting. I have texted Dov Sewer. We have looked into Smoke investigation, has anybody used this? I am beside myself, I can’t live in a house that smells like this. There was a back up in November caused by a guest flushing pads/tampons, but the roto rooter ppl came and took care of the blockage. I really think the smell started in early January and has now gotten so much worse. I called roto rooter suggesting they broke my system, so they came out and used the camera and said they didn’t see a break, but the guy tried to sell me on cleaning out my pipes, that they’re really corroded and perhaps there are breaks under them. I feel like he suggested ultimately that I need to literally tear my entire house apart. We don’t have the money and it’s not even a gurantee anything would be fixed and I am so panicked and absorbed with this.

hasibur.rahman07 | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Dov Sewer and Drain (718) 288-7559 seems to be popular on Google

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 3 years and 9 months ago

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    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(13) "shahnandersen"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(31) "brownstoner@brownstoner.com.old"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(27) "brownstoner.com/renovation1"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2006-09-08 20:12:54"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(6)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Perhaps the vent stack is blocked