Laurie
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Hi,
We're wondering where to turn for an intermittent mystery stink in two bathrooms in our new home. We had the home built for us and have been living here for 8 months, so the plumbing is basically new. Here are some details:
1) The plumber who installed the plumbing says that the awful smell is NOT sewer gas. It's stronger than sewer gas.
2) The odor is NOT caused by dry pipes and drains; the plumber flushed out all the pipes in the bathroom, ran water for a long time, and the stink returned after just 2 days.
3) The odor is like a stinky PortaPotty or latrine, seems like raw sewage to me or possibly something decomposing, but what could take so long to decompose, and why would the stink come and go? We just had 3 weeks of no stink and now it's back.
4) Plumber says *all* the plumbing vent pipes on the roof reek like sewer gas. He doesn't know why but says maybe it's because our house is at the extreme lower end of the subdivision and that when more homes are built near ours, maybe this will reduce the sewer gas coming out the roof. (I'd love feedback on this theory!)
5) There is often a smell of sewer gas outside the home. We called public works and they told us our subdivision is built over a new, large sewage pipe. I don't know if it runs under our home though. I noticed the smell of sewer gas outside the home during construction, before the plumbing was installed.
Public works came and caulked all the manhole cover openings but said it might not stop the smell of sewer gas outside the home.
I don't know if the outdoor sewer gas smell is related to the stink inside our home. I can smell the outdoor sewer gas smell halfway up the street sometimes. The outdoor sewer gas smell tends to come with the cold and on windy days (things that don't let the gas rise and escape/dissipate).
6) The indoor stronger stink isn't always present. It comes and goes. We're trying to see if there is a correlation with the weather. Sometimes it comes after heavy rain; a few days ago it came with a lot of wind and a cold morning.
7) The stink has been present in two bathrooms, one on the ground level, one in the basement. The basement one hasn't been stinking for some months, but the ground floor one does.
8) The stink seems to be especially bad in the bathroom *sinks* in question. When brushing my teeth, the smell is so strong I nearly gag.
9) No one else in the neighborhood has a stink in their home.
10) I've tried pouring different types of cleaners and deodorizers down the sinks, even tried Drain-o, but these don't help.
Who can we contact for help in this matter? Should we call the Health Dept?
Any ideas or advice is welcome!
Laurie
We're wondering where to turn for an intermittent mystery stink in two bathrooms in our new home. We had the home built for us and have been living here for 8 months, so the plumbing is basically new. Here are some details:
1) The plumber who installed the plumbing says that the awful smell is NOT sewer gas. It's stronger than sewer gas.
2) The odor is NOT caused by dry pipes and drains; the plumber flushed out all the pipes in the bathroom, ran water for a long time, and the stink returned after just 2 days.
3) The odor is like a stinky PortaPotty or latrine, seems like raw sewage to me or possibly something decomposing, but what could take so long to decompose, and why would the stink come and go? We just had 3 weeks of no stink and now it's back.
4) Plumber says *all* the plumbing vent pipes on the roof reek like sewer gas. He doesn't know why but says maybe it's because our house is at the extreme lower end of the subdivision and that when more homes are built near ours, maybe this will reduce the sewer gas coming out the roof. (I'd love feedback on this theory!)
5) There is often a smell of sewer gas outside the home. We called public works and they told us our subdivision is built over a new, large sewage pipe. I don't know if it runs under our home though. I noticed the smell of sewer gas outside the home during construction, before the plumbing was installed.
Public works came and caulked all the manhole cover openings but said it might not stop the smell of sewer gas outside the home.
I don't know if the outdoor sewer gas smell is related to the stink inside our home. I can smell the outdoor sewer gas smell halfway up the street sometimes. The outdoor sewer gas smell tends to come with the cold and on windy days (things that don't let the gas rise and escape/dissipate).
6) The indoor stronger stink isn't always present. It comes and goes. We're trying to see if there is a correlation with the weather. Sometimes it comes after heavy rain; a few days ago it came with a lot of wind and a cold morning.
7) The stink has been present in two bathrooms, one on the ground level, one in the basement. The basement one hasn't been stinking for some months, but the ground floor one does.
8) The stink seems to be especially bad in the bathroom *sinks* in question. When brushing my teeth, the smell is so strong I nearly gag.
9) No one else in the neighborhood has a stink in their home.
10) I've tried pouring different types of cleaners and deodorizers down the sinks, even tried Drain-o, but these don't help.
Who can we contact for help in this matter? Should we call the Health Dept?
Any ideas or advice is welcome!
Laurie