Does water from a septic backup always stink?

Posted by Ken on September 25, 19100 at 14:48:50:
I sold a house to someone that is now having flooding in their downstairs bathroom/laundry. Even though they are having septic problems, they claim that the flooding can not be a result of the septic backup because the water is clear and it does not stink. They want me to pay for a very expensive french drain to keep rain runoff out of the house. The current homeowner has stated that she discovered the septic problem months earlier. Water was backing up into the downstairs shower when the washing machine was running. She stopped the washing machine before the shower overflowed. Rather than correcting the septic problem at that time, the homeowner simply stopped using the downstairs bathroom and washing machine. No changes were made to the household's shower or bath habits. (The upstairs bathroom runs off of a tankless hotwater heater) The kitchen is immediatley above the downstairs bathroom. The waste from the kitchen drops straight down to the first floor. The upstairs bathroom waste lines merge with the downstairs waste lines downstream from the bathroom/laundry. One last thing, the flooding started after heavy rains. Could the heavy rains cause an existing septic problem to get worse? All comments would be greatly appreciated!!

Posted by Ken on September 25, 19100 at 14:48:50:

I sold a house to someone that is now having flooding in their downstairs bathroom/laundry. Even though they are having septic problems, they claim that the flooding can not be a result of the septic backup because the water is clear and it does not stink. They want me to pay for a very expensive french drain to keep rain runoff out of the house.

The current homeowner has stated that she discovered the septic problem months earlier. Water was backing up into the downstairs shower when the washing machine was running. She stopped the washing machine before the shower overflowed.
Rather than correcting the septic problem at that time, the homeowner simply stopped using the downstairs bathroom and washing machine. No changes were made to the household's shower or bath habits. (The upstairs bathroom runs off of a tankless hotwater heater)

The kitchen is immediatley above the downstairs bathroom. The waste from the kitchen drops straight down to the first floor. The upstairs bathroom waste lines merge with the downstairs waste lines downstream from the bathroom/laundry.

One last thing, the flooding started after heavy rains. Could the heavy rains cause an existing septic problem to get worse?

All comments would be greatly appreciated!!

Replies to this post

Re: Does water from a septic backup always stink? John 09:03:30 9/26/100(0)
Re: Does water from a septic backup always stink? Bud..Suncoast Plumbing Inc 20:08:09 9/25/100(0)