Please help. Sewer gas smell only at night, only January-March
toughproblem
8 years ago
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Comments (6)
klem1
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Sewer smell in cold weather - need help understanding this
Comments (16)I don't see how any toilet - save one on a boat or R/V - could possibly function without a vent stack. "but the vent goes to the garage" would not be approved by any building inspector anywhere in this country. Perhaps it was a "SPOT" - stupid previous owner trick. There is one possibility - other than installing a toilet and vent properly - which apparently was not done. The vent or soil pipe could have been pierced by a drill, nail or screw, especially if PVC was used. As an appraiser. I've seen that happen before. And yes, I *almost* made that rookie mistake myself, installing a new cabinet over the toilet. Since this is a 1938 house with plaster on lath walls, I was using a stud finder and drilling pilot holes. One was in an unexpected location, but it was *perfectly* placed. But it wouldn't drill...and that's when I realized it was the cast iron vent stack. No harm done.......See MoreIntermittent and annoying Sewer Gas smell in the flat
Comments (0)IâÂÂm experiencing an intermittent issue with the sewer gases (rotten onion smell) entering the flat through the bathroom. Very annoying as you can imagine. Bizarrely it âÂÂonlyâ happens 2-3 times a week, usually between 6pm and 8pm and it lasts for about 0.5-1h but it then goes away. It seems to happen more frequently in cold weather conditions⦠but there are exceptions to that. Some extra detail: WeâÂÂre on a top floor of a four storey refurbished office building. The neighbours directly below us are not affected by the issue but people opposite sometimes are too. It only ever starts in the bathroom and comes from behind the wall where the vent pipe is. The plumber sent by the developer came earlier this year, did the smoke tests and checked the installation in our flat. Apparently itâÂÂs all fine and the issue must be outside our flat. He mentioned that we share the soil vent pipe with the flat directly below so he went downstairs and âÂÂsealedâ something in the shaft holding the vent pipe (apologies for the lack of technical know-how and wrong terminology). Then it was fine for four months (summer) and itâÂÂs just started again! IâÂÂve done some research and due to the intermittent nature of the problem it shouldnâÂÂt be related to the toilet wax seal or t-trap or air admittance valve for that matter (donâÂÂt have any in my flat). I might be wrong though so I donâÂÂt want to exclude that just yet. ItâÂÂs definitely not cooking smells either. No smell on the corridors or in the basement. The plumbers seem to be out of options (!?) but the issue persists so we need to find the solution. Has anyone come across anything similar and managed to fix it? Could this be related to the usage of appliances/water/waste during the peak times? Please help....See MoreOT: HELP! I can't plan the kit bcs of sewer gas in bsmt bath!!
Comments (35)Can I get in on this conversation with a question? I have something similar in my 22 year old house. It is three stories. We do not have city sewer. We sometimes have a sewer gas odor that comes up the vents in two bathrooms only. They are exactly on top of each other. We have had a plumber out to the house three separate times. At first he said make sure to keep traps wet. We did that, smell sometimes comes back. He came out again, same thing and checked everything. Last time he said that all fixtures go into one large vent pipe on roof. Husband got up there and sure enough only one for 4.5 baths, washer, etc. The smell is only in these two bath areas. There is one bath below these two exactly as well. He said tub downstairs is not used much and trap could be dry. He extended the vent pipe up several feet in the air. He said sometimes when weather system moves in, it can hold gases down. We have absolutely no idea what this could be. It only happens every couple of weeks, but when it does, it smells so bad. We have also smelled this outside once or twice and it was so bad, I was so embarrassed. We were gone one week and our friends walked by the house to make sure everything was okay. They said they thought something BIG had died there and they actually walked around the back of the house but could not find anything. Please any thoughts. Desperate in NC...See MoreBad smell ONLY when the AC is on and ONLY in one room
Comments (15)I'm having the same issue except I live in an apartment building with central air. Depending on what, where, how, when, why --- your apartment could be surrounded by other apartments, with other people and their living habits. Typically an apartment is separated by a sheet rock wall... there could be small cracks or gaps at the base of those walls, thru flooring possibly and or other possibilities. (They are often built *cheap* for the lack of a better more beautiful word that someone won't be offended by... *usually the builder or the apt. owner*) I say this because we might draw a builder into this conversation. LOL. (fine dining, fine accommodations, contractual obligations don't spell anything good for apartment owners.) When AC / Heat turns on in your apt. as well as other apts near yours the rooms of such are blown up like balloons and in some cases sucked into a vacuum drawing air anywhere from whence it can get it. If one apt is blowing and another apt is sucking? GIGO. Garbage In / Garbage Out... the net result is more or less smells collide among other things like odd noises. This is yet another reason why apartment living isn't for everyone. Not to knock you, but to give you context as to WHY?...See Moretoughproblem
8 years agoklem1
8 years agoHU-578229083
3 years agoStax
3 years ago
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