Bad odors in house

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splash123

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Hi,

I have an issue with bad sulfur and rotten egg smells in my home,and we can't seem to pin point the source of the odors.These odors seem to come and go but recently they have been getting worse,I'm now wondering if it could be due to the way my plumbing has been done,old school plumbing is what some plumbers have been calling it.The one thing that I'm concerned about is the way the vent stacks were installed,they don't seem right to me and I'm afraid that the flushing of the toilet could be sucking p-traps dry...I have a drawing I've done giving the locations of the fixtures and vents and was wondering if anyone could tell me if this could be the problem according to the system any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks in advance...Splash123
 

Reach4

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It is not obvious that a smell is sewer smell or H2S. Do you have black deposits when you drain you water heater or in water from a tap when you have been away for a week? Good chance that the smell is from sulfur coming out as H2S. Consider flushing your water heater. You might be surprised what comes out. Annually is good. Most people never do it.

There are various things to do. Step one in good weather would be to sanitize your well. an plumbing. http://www.moravecwaterwells.com/index.php/maintainance/disinfection-and-testing is my favorite method.

Some H2S can be produced as a reaction with your water heater anode. That would only affect hot water, so sniff around that. A powered anode will protect your water heater and not react with the sulfur compounds. Some remove the anode and accept shorter water heater life.

There are backwashing filters that can take out the sulfur and iron. Expect to pay on the order of $1000 in the US plus installation. You know how things translate. But water is important, an that is often much more effective than cheaper options.

But do sanitize your well and plumbing when weather is more moderate.

You can search for details on these items for more info.
 

splash123

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It is not obvious that a smell is sewer smell or H2S. Do you have black deposits when you drain you water heater or in water from a tap when you have been away for a week? Good chance that the smell is from sulfur coming out as H2S. Consider flushing your water heater. You might be surprised what comes out. Annually is good. Most people never do it.

There are various things to do. Step one in good weather would be to sanitize your well. an plumbing. http://www.moravecwaterwells.com/index.php/maintainance/disinfection-and-testing is my favorite method.

Some H2S can be produced as a reaction with your water heater anode. That would only affect hot water, so sniff around that. A powered anode will protect your water heater and not react with the sulfur compounds. Some remove the anode and accept shorter water heater life.

There are backwashing filters that can take out the sulfur and iron. Expect to pay on the order of $1000 in the US plus installation. You know how things translate. But water is important, an that is often much more effective than cheaper options.

But do sanitize your well and plumbing when weather is more moderate.

You can search for details on these items for more info.
Hi Reach4,

I recently had an element replaced in my hot water boiler and the water was clear,no bad odors coming from it and the hot water has no odor as well, I was thinking that it could be the well water also but this is not the case, however I will be getting my well shocked in the meantime just to rule this out, the smell is rather distinct and sometimes smells like septic,this is very disturbing to myself and family and I am somewhat concerned that it could be causing us harm, this is why I would like to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, I forgot to mention that I have a septic system as well and recently had the tank replaced, I have an air quality expert coming to see if he can figure it out but the cost for this service is out rages and I was hoping to get some ideas of what I could check on my own...
 

Reach4

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Seems unlikely to be the septic system.

Can you locate the smell to a drain or a room? Close the doors to help with that.
 

Daniel Collick

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Hi,

I have an issue with bad sulfur and rotten egg smells in my home,and we can't seem to pin point the source of the odors.These odors seem to come and go but recently they have been getting worse,I'm now wondering if it could be due to the way my plumbing has been done,old school plumbing is what some plumbers have been calling it.The one thing that I'm concerned about is the way the vent stacks were installed,they don't seem right to me and I'm afraid that the flushing of the toilet could be sucking p-traps dry...I have a drawing I've done giving the locations of the fixtures and vents and was wondering if anyone could tell me if this could be the problem according to the system any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks in advance...Splash123
Sewer smell & sulfur/rotten eggs are two very distinctly different smells in my opinion. I've seen old plumbing installs where the entire house has one common vent, but do you have a photo of your piping diagram?
 

Cacher_Chick

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If there are any floor drains in the building, be sure to pour a liter of water down them on a regular basis to prevent the trap from drying out.
 
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