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Boy the conversation and attitude seems to stink almost as much as a septic
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i have a three bath house with 2 people living in it . the house is 1.5 years old. it has 1-3in. , 1-11/2 vents 3-studder vents.the problem is with a strong odor around the outside of the houes .no visable signs of line failure.no odor in the house.the septic system is a pump and everything is working with it. can anyone help?
*Hi Jim,I assume by all your info on the type and size of the vents, you suspect that the smell is coming from the vent on the top of the roof. Have you gone on top of the roof when the smell is strong to verify the source?If the smell is coming from the ground on your lot, you should be able to localize it.Are you sure that the smell is not coming from the neighbors? Before anyone can attempt to zero in on a cure, you have to be sure of the problem.Gabe
*Jim:If you determine the odor comes from your roof vents, your troubles are over. I experienced septic odor that wafted from the vents down the lee side of my roof into the patio--it seemed especially strong in morning or evening when the air was cool, not creating an updraft to pull it away. I sought advice everywhere, and the only lead i got was a suggestion to extend the stack several feet, something i found aesthetically distasteful. So i was buying catfood one day and near the kibble was a box of charcoal used to filter fish tank water. I got couplings the same size as my vents(one 4" and one 3"), fitted them with 1/8" hardware cloth (the charcoal should be about twice this size) resting on the ridge inside, dumped in the charcoal to the top of the coupling, and set the whole business on top of the stack without glue, so it could be removed to change the charcoal. It has been almost a year and i'm thinking of dumping in fresh charcoal, but there has been NO odor since and the vents aren't clogged and performing per usual. Saw a similar gadget in one of those homeowner mags for $29.95. Not bad waages for a 1/2 hour's time!Please let Gabe know if this works for you.
*This is a prime example of an idiot's advise that can go bad.No consideration to codes, no consideration to climatic conditions and no real information to base the advise on. For all anyone knows, the smell could be coming from anywhere within 50 miles. The backfill material around the house could be contaminated or over an old disturbed septic system. The smell could be coming from the neighbors vent.The reason the smell coming from vent pipes lingers, is due to not being high enough or located as to not allow air currents to disperse the foul air. By inserting anything that can block or restrict air flow you are defeating the purpose of proper venting. By restricting the air flow, you will increase the possibility of smell coming into the house via the kitchen, bathroom and especially floor drains. Drains that are not flushed with water by constant use are subject to evaporation of the water in the Pee Traps, allowing the gasses to back up into the home. By having any type of a screen with material spread over it at the top of the vent, also invites ice blockage during ice rain or snow storms, if enough of the pipe is exposed to cold weather and the reduced hot air passage is insufficient to keep the pipe clear.Also makes a great place for birds to nest, on top of a heated nest of charcoal.Great advise, right.....Gabe
*Jim,Get someone to do a smokebomb test. It will show any leaks.KK
*Gabe, darling, please re-read the first line of my original post--doesn't that kind of rule out the 50-mile radius unless it's an unusually large estate?Yes, something smells around here, but i assure you my house is as sweet as a mid-summer lily.As for the Pee Traps--we use gray water in my area, but then that could just be local code. If they go dry, odor gets in the house no matter what, charcoal filter or not. Some of the little yuckos in the tank are born artists, taking the road less travelled.Ice blockage--nope, not here in Montana, but who knows what could happen if you live in a cold location. Kinda windy here in Big Sky Country, too, but sometimes it would stop and there'd be that smell again...Birds--well, actually they seem to prefer a little shrubbery. I suggest Jim plant a tree somewhere if there are none in the area at present. You'll have to watch that filter like a hawk until your saplings gets some girth, but i doubt you'll need any expensive equipment, like binoculars or such.I'm thinking this charcoal is meant for filtering wah-ter, a slightly more viscous material than air--but i've only been monitoring a year, and i may go back to preferring the smell of SOUR GRAPES. Or not.Advice--it's spelled with a "C". Think of moral failings, if that helps you remember.
*Boy the conversation and attitude seems to stink almost as much as a septic
*What part of "not to code" is it that you're too dumb to understand?Gabe