Help! Im sick from a year of breathing low level sewer gas in my house I purchased a year ago. Built 1965. Headaches, nausea, stomach ache and more. Google sewer gas poisoning. I have it all. After Im away from the house after awhile Im ok. Ive had countless plumbers and sewer people out to find problem. No luck. Clean out put in outdoors. Sewer people cleaned from vent on roof. I think they used a camera. Not sure. Plumbers smoked 3 times. Replaced wash machine trap under the concrete. Taped vents on roof as experiment. Smell got worse inside. Can smell outdoors also. Most plumbers think Im crazy because they dont smell it. My carpenter wont work anymore here. Bad smell. Handyman quit. Bad smell. He feels sick here. But one plumber smelled it when he got out of his truck from the street. Its outside too. Plumbers want to argue. They dont smell it so nothing is wrong...They put extensions on the vent pipe up to 3 feet tall for another experiment. No luck. The only time the fowl odor stopped was when the wash machine trap was being replaced. Once water run from machine to new pipes smell returned.
Floor drain trap and pipes under concretee is all I can think of thats left? Im in process of moving out. I cant take it anymore and no way to stop it. I took down the duct work and removed furnace as I thought this was the source. I hired someone to install a furnace. He put the furnace in the basement and worked awhile. The next day he said he was coming to pick up his furnace. And away he and the furnace went. Then I hired two other hvac companies to rehang my old clean duct work and they quit because they were overcome and couldnt concentrate. So I have no heat. I have a carbon monoxide detector and had the gas company out. Had my blood tested to be sure it wasnt CO.
Do I need to jack hammer up the pipes and drain under the concrete and replace? Syphoning somehow? Ive been up since 5 am driving around to get out of the house and before that sleeping in car. The cat ran in the basement and wouldnt stop crying. I cant sell the house now.
Thanks for any suggestions



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This might be a radical resolve, but have you consider a powered vent on top of your roof vent(s). This way any idle gases are pulled to the outside.
It is most difficult to resolve this kind of issue via the internet.

Best Wishes

If the odor is that strong it should be fairly easy to located. I'd probably cap off a few pipes and air test the system. It could be as simple as a dry trap, or uncapped pipe.

It is low level odor thats why all the plumbers that cant smell cant find the source. Everything is repaired and capped off. Many licensed plumbers here and smoking done. 3x. No leaks. No dry traps.



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What is an air test?

I would rather have the leak or whatever it is the problem repaired than an exhaust fan going. There is something totally wrong here

an air test consists of capping off or plugging any and all drains and vents. once this is done compressed air is blown into the system to 5 PSI.
if there is a big leak the pressure will go down pretty quickly. if there is a small leak it will take longer depending on the size of the leak.
if the system holds the 5 PSI for a few hours and it was done properly, it is 100% foolproof. there are no leaks...

That is interesting about the air compression test. I doubt any one in my town does that. Would it show for syphoning though for basement drain trap?

no, it will only show leaks. if the basement floor drain is suspect to be syphoning then a trap primer will solve that.

Trap primer. Ok. Does a plumber place that directly into the basement drain? Sounds like that might be a good test anyway. If it works then I know it was the trap. That way I wouldnt have to jack hat wasnt hammer uup the floor and then find out he problem after all. Can water still drain through trap primer? Or does it permanently block the drain? Thank you

i apologize... upon further thought, a trap primer will not solve your problem.
my fingers were typing faster than my brain was thinking.
a trap primer will replenish the water in the trap periodically which will help with evaporation but not syphoning.

Is.there a way to test and figure out if its syphoning? If that is the problem is there a way to fix it? Dig up concrete and replace trap?

just look down inside it to see if there is water in it. the water laying in the trap is what stops sewer gas from coming back up into the house. check it periodically to see if the water stays or goes. you can watch the water in it and have someone flush toilets and let a couple of sinks of water go at the same time. if it is syphoning you will actually see (and possible hear) the water being syphoned out.
a plumbing vent connected to the trap drain pipe will stop the syphoning. you may have one but it may be blocked. or you may not have one at all.
you don't need a plumber for this test, just a good flashlight and a good helper.
so, one step at a time.. do the draining a bunch of water at the same time test and report back your findings.

There is always water in the trap. I run water in it every day. That does nothing to stop the odor. If its siphoning will the level go down? I had a retired sewer man help me do that test and the level didnt go down. He had me put an enzyme in it and the cleaner smell was taken away. Ill go do the test again and let you know. I havent done the test since I replaced the wash machine trap. There was no sewage smell at all when the trap was taken out and there was nothing there. It was so nice. But didnt last. Next day the plumber ran water into that line and stink returned. There was nothing wrong with the trap after I had it replaced and jack hammered the concrete. Is back drafting ever a cause? Ive had 5 plumbers and 4 sewer men. None could figure it out. Going to do the test now...

I measured and marked a broom handle last week of water depth in trap. About 10-12". Now after other trap replaced there is about 5-6" in drain floor trap. The main trunk is about 2' from drain. Wash machine trap about 4' away from main. I had no helper. But ran down after flushing and didnt see anything. But too late I guess. Ive kept a wet towel over the drain to keep gas out. Put a screw cap over the drain but couldnt get a good seal as rough edge and broke screw. Doesnt do any good. Ill get another one and put plumber putty around it.



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one thing we studied in plumbing school was "how many ways can a trap lose it's seal?".
the answer back then was 7.
the word we learned was "SAMOBEC"..
syphonage
aspiration
momentum
oscillation
back pressure
evaporation
capilary attraction

Thanks Packy! From what I described does that sound like the trap seal is broken and thats maybe where the sewer smell is coming from?



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you do not need to lose ALL the water in a trap to lose its seal.
some can remain and be below the trap weir but sewer gas can pass above the water.

will any of these help you?
[www.google.com]

I dont know if the trap is even the problem at all. Its just smoking didnt show anything. I put a cap from lowes and a wet towel over the open drain last night and it smells just as awful today. If the trap was the problem wouldnt it stop smelling with wet towel over the drain? I appreciate your help!
The cap was not sealed because the drain has rough edge. Will get putty today



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If u haven't found your answer yet, I would try pressure testing system like already suggested. I can't tell u how many times we have found broken rotted cast iron drain lines in walls in need of replacement.
Also, personally had a sewer like smell in my shower. After a year of investigation, found it to be mold in the shower pan. Every time I showered at about the 2 minute mark the smell would appear to well up from the drain like clockwork. Thought it was the drain. A few bleach treatments did the trick..house was 12 yrs old when it started. I did the shower pan. We weren't pre sloping the pans back then. It's my theory that water getting thru the grout and around drain was not getting out thru the weep holes in drain. Anyway, it appears to have been the problem. That mold would activate and give if the worst smell.

I have battled mold in the house for a year now taking down walls etc. Mold is not longer my issue but sewer gas. I will look into getting pressure testing. Plumbers seem to want to smoke it. Do you think pressure testing might work better? I think the problem could be cast iron pipes in basement floor. Would the pressure test tell that? Nothing came out of the floor in smoking



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You said:

"The only time the fowl odor stopped was when the wash machine trap was being replaced. Once water run from machine to new pipes smell returned."

That sounds like a clue. Temporarily cap/plug the washing machine (go to a laundramat instead) as a test.

I havent used the wash machine in several days. The odor doesnt come when I run the wash machine. Its constant. Does a smoke test show problems with cast pipes under concrete?



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Have you had air sampling done and tested by a laboratory. If not, that should be the first step, to determine exactly what's going on. The fact that you already had mold issues raises a red flag.

I contacted an air test company today. He has a method to test for low level sewer gas. That will at least let me know if it is truly the fowl odor. If thats not it then Ill do the mold test. It does not smell moldy or musty at all. But at this point who knows?? Another plumber came today and looked around. It looked fine he said. I wonder if it could be a venting problem of some sort. Its worst at the landing of stairs leading to basement. And right there a door leading outside and opening it is the nasty smell. I replaced the threshold as it was moldy. Ive contacted the city plumbing inspector. Maybe he will have an idea. I am moving out tomorrow.

Today the sewer gas smell vanished at the back door landing. And usually I can smell around back door when door opened and it was gone too. Then I opened the front door and about gagged of sewer smell outside! Maybe I should put a hog odor cap on roof. Do you think that would control the gas floating all over the place? Wind from the west tonight.

It wouldn't hurt to try that, aside from costing a few dollars.

At this point, you need to start trying various ideas in a methodical way to see if it helps or hurts.

With a complex problem like yours, it may be unrealistic to expect any kind of professional to be able solve it in a single attempt. You need someone who has the patience and ability to work through the various possibilities until a solution is found.

I suggest performing a peppermint test, it will confirm the integrity of your dwv system. Are you connected to a central sewage system or private septic system -septic systems are more likely to produce foul odors.
There are dozens of ways to produce septic like odors including: dead,rotting rodents / birds / bats / animals, pool chemicals, fertilizers, power equipment batteries, dry cells, car batteries, natural or propane gas leaks,freezer / refridgerator condensate pans, lavatory basin overflow cavities, sump pits, stored food items, air conditioning units, chimneys, pet caskets, pet & livestock food, pet & livestock feces, fish tanks, worm farms, bait tanks, pet cages, litter boxes, garbage receptacles, mudset shower pans, generators, rain barrels, cesspools, cisterns, wells, household chemicals / cleaners, kennel drains, footing drains, crop seeds, bedding / mulch, decaying leaves / grass / soil, ponds / lakes / streams, fountains, bird baths, combustion gases / fumes, etc..



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I had it air tested this week. Will take a couple of weeks for results. Had another plumbing company come and they put a camera in the pipes in the concrete in the basement. They said they were bad all the way to the street. Then they put a smoke bomb in the pipes and the basement smelled of smoke and outside the smoke came up through the ground! 3/4 of all the plumbing companies town have been to my house. No plumber did that even though I kept asking and saying I think its the basement pipes as everything else is perfect. I have moved out now sickened from living in sewer gas. Why isnt this checked routinely when complaints of smell arent solved??? And all the money Ive spent with no answers until now.



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The plumbers had a video screen and showed me that water was standing in the pipes. They said it should not be doing that but it should drain out to the street. Also some unlevel areas between where pipes go together was causing water to get so high before could drain out. I cant believe I would have to redo all the drain plumbing in the house! The clean out I had put in was a total waste they said. The location in the middle of the front yard not good. They said it should be closer to the house. Ive spent a fortune so far. Living in this for a year. Its been 4 months of lots of plumbers$. No diagnosis. Meantime Ive gotten sicker and now my lungs are damaged from the sewer gas. I just dont understand why that couldnt have been figured out to begin with! I had to move out and rent an apt and waiting to get their bid. What a nightmare!



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The air test came back positive for sewer gas. Pipes in basement replaced.



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