I had no idea where to post this mystery. Don’t know if there are any plumbers or HVAC folks in the crowd… Here’s the set-up. (We’re looking to solve the mystery.)
We hadn’t really left the house in a couple of days. Came back from a long day trip running around and…phew!
Walked straight to the basement…odor is worse. Smells kind of like wet, moldy laundry. We have these drains sunk into the floor connected in a straight line and heading for the main sewer system under the street out front. The drains…the smell is coming from the drains.
Now, we had these rodded first thing when we took possession of this place. Oh man! The stuff this guy pulled out of there! It had been awhile since anyone had done some maintenance on this place.
Now…why the quick increase in the smell quotient? And, by the way, it is SO bad, it hits you when you walk in the front door on the first floor. Here is what has changed in the last 48 hours that may provide clues…
Wednesday. We fired up the old dishwasher after Sears fixed the door latch and also had the steam boiler serviced for the cold weather.
Thursday…began using dishwasher. Have been using it once a day. Who knows how long this baby has been used. She listed it “as is” in the sale because she didn’t want to go through the trouble of getting a repairman out to look at it. She was also an incredibly dirty person and I have a high tolerance. Cleaning food off of the walls of a person who is pretty young (in their 50’s), is rich enough not to have to work and is in very good health…well, who knows what was put through that DW.
Friday. DH has day off and spends the day catching up on the laundry and small jobs around the house…does about 3 big loads of wash before I get home from work at 6pm (what a guy!). Weather gets cold overnight and for the first time ever, at about 9pm, we fire up the boiler for more than an hour. Mmmmm. Toasty.
Saturday. We turn down the boiler because now the weather has warmed. (It’s Chicago…wait a minute…weather’ll change.) Roll out the door pretty early to be on our way. Get back at 5 pm to a complete stink.
So…where to look first? Clogged mainline drain? Strange boiler issue I’ve never had to deal with? Suspicious dishwasher? Overloaded clothes washer?
Is this house going to blow up? We’ve got the windows open, it’s freezing, and the only one sleeping happily, peacefully is the dog (she’s got a thick coat, that dog.)
I can deal with paint, wood, etc. I’m horrific with water, electricity (beyond the basics), masonry and HVAC. But at least I know when to call the professionals 🙂
Replies
Oh yes, and the cat is accounted for. Dave's up here, hanging out in the linen built-in. No Dave in the drain for this mystery.
1ST suspect is an open trap. Rooter guy busted or opened an in floor or wall pipe and you have a leak, maybe not liquid but an air leak. DW not trapped. DW air locked.
Prior owner not too clean. You have a hidden petrie dish going full bore.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
<<<You have a hidden petrie dish going full bore.>>>
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I have to remember that one...lol
Your NY connection,
Be well
andyTrue compassion arises out of the plane of consciousness where I "am" you.
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
No trap in drain????!!!!???
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
My bet is a no trap, non functioning trap situation. You can try to plug some of the drains in the basement to see if that has an effect. Or maybe try this....
Run all water devices in your house for a minute or two. Run water down all of you drains for a minute or two (floor, utility sink, washer, etc...) Now you know for sure that all drains should be properly water sealed. Now goto the high spot in the house and flush the toilet... listen for gurgling in that bathroom? do you hear any? No..... probably a good situation there. Do that in all rooms (running one water appliance and listening for water getting drawn out of another trap). In the case of sinks, fill them up completely and then let them drain out in one big whoosh. Nothing yet.... Now go and fill a bathtub full. Start to drain the bathtub and have someone flush a couple toilets. While this is going on, goto the basement and listen for gurgling. Do you hear any? Put your hand near all the drains down there. Do you feel air rushing into the drain? That will be the culprit. You are essentially trying to flood the system to test the venting capabilities. In doing this, you should be able to pin point which drain is venting air into the plumbing system (and then also venting gas into the house).
One last thing to check... all of your drain pluming is connected to open air vents through the roof of the house. You should check to see if those are clogged. Had a customer complaining of the same thing one time (also a gurgling bathtub). Went up to the roof to find a dead squirrel in the only plumbing vent for the whole house. When that got clogged, the only place for air to get into the system was to draw water out of one of the traps at a fixture (thus breaking the water seal and allow gas to come in).
Good luck
Rob Kress
Thanks for the help!
Air not water was a great clue. I automatically assumed it was stinky water.
After church, the DH and I crawled under the room on the back of the house and pulled up the cover on the catch basic. STINKY! Noticed that the water was extremely low. Only thing getting into the pipes that drain from back to front of house was air.
Then we checked the drains set in the floor from front to back. Two of the three were sealed with a small amount of standing water in the bottom. Middle one? Stinkiest one? Dry as a bone.
These drains angle from their intake on the basement floor down to the sewer system...(They take a turn and head down on an angle.)
So, the first thing we have tried is this: ran a hose and raised the water level in the catch basin. Poured a few bucketfuls down the dry drain and sealed it up again.
Now we have to go out for a couple of hours. We'll leave some windows open and see what happens. If no go, we will take the system through the checklist of ideas above.
FYI, for the suggestion of "is air being pulled through"...I can never feel this with my bare hand. But someone taught me a neat trick at some point...use one ply of Kleenex tissue and lightly drape it over the opening, holding one end slightly up. If air is being pulled through, the grate will suck that tissue right to it (hard or soft depending on the force). I used it to check a passive stove vent in an old house of ours. Works great.
You guys are the best.
Suh-weet! No smell. Yea-hah! Thanks all.
Traps that are not used will dry out, pour some water down the floor drains every few weeks, often the change in weather and humidity causes vents to draw sewer gas in if the system is not trapped properly.