My house is 25 years old- have never had a flood and have 1 sump pit that drains two drain tiles the circle the foudation. The bottom of one of these tiles is about 9-10 in from the basement surface, the other about 12-13 inches. Recently it has been dry in Chicago and the water level in the sump is about 8 inches below the lowest drain tile.
The lawn sprinker guy shut down the sprinkler system for the year on wednesday and on thursday we started getting an awful odor from the sump pit that permeated our home. We checked all the other floor drains in the basement- filled them with water and mineral oil , but the ofdor continued. The only way I could get rid of it was shut off off the sump pump and backup pump and fill the sump pit with water ABOVE the drain tiles. I put the sump pump on to confirm and the next day it rained about an inch friday but I noted nothing came out of the drain tile excpe t an awful headache causing odor so I filled it up again. .
Is it a coincidence that the lawn sprinkler guy shut off the valves- any idea o finding the cause? I cannot keep the sump pit filled and the pumps off. Should I raise th sump pump so there is always a water seal in the drain tile. /
Thanks
Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products
Utility Knife
Disposable Suit
Roof Jacks
All New Bathroom Ideas that Work
Large-Capacity Lightweight Miter Saw
Replies
There could be a leakage path between your sewer lines and the tile lines. If the soil is wet it would prevent the leakage, but if the soil drys out cracks occur in it and the leakage can occur.
Or it could just be that your house is built on stinky soil of some sort (eg, an old barnyard), and, similar to the above, you get the soil stink when it's dry and there are cracks.