Phew! What's that awful smell in my house?
Frequently Asked Questions
It could be sewage, and the smell means something is wrong somewhere in the plumbing system.
What Does Sewage Smell Like?
The smell is similar to rotten eggs or decaying human waste. Sewage creates bacteria and a mix of gases that range from hydrogen sulfide to methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
Is the Smell of Sewage Hazardous To Your Health?
Exposure to the gas can produce physical symptoms that range from fatigue and headaches to dizziness or lightheadedness, poor memory, difficulties concentrating, nausea, as well as vomiting. The severity depends on how high the gas level is.
Is It Dangerous?
Yes. Sewage gas is flammable. The gas can catch on fire and create an explosion. Keep any open flame away from it.
Where is the Smell Coming From?
Follow your nose to see where it smells the worst. See if you can find the source. Is it a fixture or an area in a room? Isolate the smell, and it could lead you to possible solutions. Getting rid of the smell could be easy or difficult, depending on what you find.
Why Does the Smell of Sewage Seem To Be Coming From the Drain?
Drains can be one of the common causes of a sewage smell. It could be from a blockage somewhere in the drain pipe or a dried-up trap.
Why Is There a Blockage in the Drain?
If it’s from a kitchen sink drain, the likely culprit is all the debris that’s been ‘washed away’. The kitchen sink can become the receptacle for bits of food particles, crumbs, coffee grounds, as well as oil and grease that will solidify in a cold drain. It will build up, smell bad, and eventually block the drain.
Why Does the Bathroom Sink Stink?
This sink is often on the receiving end of toothpaste, soap, hair, and more that coagulates into a slimy green/black mass of gunk over time. Water is slow to drain when it builds up, and as the drain blocks, it may start backing up.
Smelly Shower Drains
Like bathroom sinks, the drain pipe can smell because of accumulated hair and soap.
Can the Toilet Block Too?
Yes. It could be the unintentional target of toys dropped into the bowl by children or pets. Also, avoid flushing problematic items such as wipes, too much toilet paper, cat litter, grease, etc.
Why Does a Trap Make a Plumbing Fixture Smell Like Sewage?
The trap is a goose-neck-shaped plumbing pipe that is connected to your drain. It is located underneath sinks, bathtubs, showers, and floor drains etc. In a toilet, it’s built-in and can be seen in the exterior curve of the fixture between the bowl and the floor, in some cases.
The trap will dry up in fixtures that have not been used for a long time. It is the main culprit for the smell of sewage in your home because water or wastewater in the trap keeps the odour where it belongs, in the drain pipe that leads to the sewer line. When the trap dries up, the sewage gas has a direct route into your home.
To prevent it from drying out, turn on a tap and let water flow down the drain from time to time. Adding a little bit of vegetable oil to the drain will help prevent the water from drying up in a fixture that doesn’t get used a lot.
What Is the Most Common Source of a Sewage Smell?
The toilet and there are two different reasons. It could be the result of a gasket that has dried out or failed. Its role is to keep water from leaking onto the floor. Made from rubber or wax, it creates a seal between the toilet bowl and toilet flange which is located on the floor.
The smell of sewage will also occur if a seal has dried up or cracked, as well as if the floor underneath the toilet has deteriorated, or the toilet itself is loose. This seal, a toilet gasket or wax ring, seals the toilet bowl to the floor. It prevents water and sewage from leaking out onto the bathroom floor. If there has been a renovation and the floor level has changed, from linoleum to tile, for example, an adjustment will need to be made when replacing the toilet. It will affect the seal between the toilet bowl and the floor.
There could also be an issue with the toilet flange, which bolts the toilet to the floor. It looks like a disc with holes. The flange can break if stressed by a change in floor level or if the toilet is loose. The flange connects to the toilet base, which leads to the main drain sewage pipe or septic system. To bridge the thickness gap, a renovation flange can be added to make up for the height difference. Alternatively, a double or thicker gasket can be added to raise the toilet to the new floor level.
Residents of a multi-story building can be impacted by another issue that affects the toilet seal. As heat rises through each floor, the wax ring softens and deteriorates. A foam-type gasket is recommended for these applications.
Why Is the Smell of Sewage Coming From the Floor Drain?
The floor drain is usually located on the lowest part of the basement floor. It connects to a drain line underneath the floor that goes to the main drain pipe and municipal sewer system or septic tank.
The floor drain is designed to remove water that has come into the basement because of heavy rain, a major snow melt, a leak from a water heater, and more. If that does not happen or if it only occurs infrequently, the water in the floor drain can dry up. Prevent that from happening by pouring some water down the floor drain from time to time.
We are your best choice for plumbing services. Contact us today.
All Drains Lead to the Main Drain or Septic Tank
The smell of sewage could also be coming from your main drain/sewer line, which can be a serious issue.
Everything in the plumbing system is connected, from the water coming into the house through waterlines to the sinks, showers, and toilets. The outgoing water and wastewater flow down the drain of each fixture to hook up to the main drain line, which flows into the municipal sewer system or septic tank.
The main drain can block, resulting in multiple slow-draining sinks and even causing sewage to reverse course in the pipe, moving back into the house through the drain.
There could be an obstruction in the drain outside the house, such as roots growing into the pipe. Roots look for water wherever they can find it. Roots can grow up to 10 years after a tree has been cut down. It could also be an issue with the pipe itself. Perhaps it has rusted, cracked, crushed, or is not aligned correctly.
What If the Smell of Sewage Isn’t Coming From a Drain?
There are a variety of other situations where the smell of sewage can occur.
A vent pipe is an essential part of all plumbing systems. It helps to regulate air and releases sewer gas from fixtures such as toilets, sinks, and showers. If the vent pipe has not been properly tied into the plumbing fixture, it will smell.
As the vent pipe rises through the roof, it can become plugged if it isn’t high enough. It can become plugged with leaves and debris, snow or ice, or even a small bird that becomes trapped. If the vent blocks, the sewer gas cannot escape, and air cannot be regulated in the plumbing fixtures.
If there is a higher building or hill nearby, the building located on the lower level may get a downdraft from the higher one.
The downdraft means the wind is going into the vent, so the sewer gas cannot vent naturally. Plumbtech can install a 90-degree or 180-degree elbow in the vent pipe, which will help to correct the problem in some applications.
Why Does My Water Smell Bad?
Anywhere bacteria have the opportunity to grow, a foul odour will follow.
If your hot water starts to smell bad, it is likely coming from a defective anode in the water heater. The anode rod (a sacrificial anode) helps protect against corrosion and rust. Replacing it will extend the life of the water heater.
There are many different types of anode rods available, depending on your water source (municipal, well, lake, or river).
The cold water line can smell too, a rotten egg odour, indicating hydrogen sulfide, from bacteria. This is more common in private well water than municipal water. Some forms of iron will also affect the appearance and smell of well water.
Water softeners will also smell and may produce discoloured water if they have not been used for a long period of time, or maintained, or have run out of salt.
The Sewage Pit
Another common spot for homeowners on septic systems is a sewage pit. Located in the basement of the home, it has to be pumped out regularly. If the lid isn’t fitting correctly or isn’t replaced properly, it will smell.
Sometimes the seal on the lid has been compromised in some way, or it could have compressed. It may also be the extra seal on the access panel, which serves as a reminder to pump it out. It may need to be resealed.
Another possibility is that the wires between the float and the pump have become dislodged. The pump inside the pit may need to have the rubber grommets replaced, and/or the pump may need to be resealed.
A sewage pit can also be found in the basement of a home or cottage that is on a septic system.
Septic Tanks
Septic tanks are part of a septic system. To make sure everything runs smoothly, the tank(s) will need to be pumped out regularly. How often depends on how much it is used. If it isn’t pumped out, it will back up, plug, and smell bad.
Cleanout
All homes are required to have a cleanout as part of the plumbing code. It is usually found at the front of the house, inside, on the floor or going out of a basement wall or crawl space wall to a septic tank.
Cleanouts should also be located on a drain pipe under a kitchen sink and laundry tub. It is capped and sealed to make sure sewer gas does not escape. Because they don’t have a trap, all cleanouts have a seal, a rubber ring, or a Teflon seal or gasket, which may need to be replaced if there is a sewage smell. An older home may not have a cleanout.
Plumbtech Plumbing receives numerous calls about sewage smells daily. Give Plumbtech a call to help isolate the source, diagnose the cause, and fix it. Be prepared to answer questions and take a picture. Call Plumbtech at 705-722-7209 for more information.
