How can I get rid of the sewage odor in my house?
My husband and I just bought a house and there is horrible sewage smell that comes and goes in our bedroom. We’ve been in the house for about a week and noticed it the second night we slept here. It comes from a specific corner of the bedroom. On the other side of the wall from the smell is the bathroom toilet, and in the crawl space the main sewage line that leads to the city main and a sewer vent.
When we first moved in we had blockage in the sewer lines and we had a plumber out (through our home warranty) to clear the lines. Since the lines have been cleared I called the home warranty back and had them send the plumber back because of the smell. The plumber said that it is gas from the vent coming in through the window. He also said that I just have to live with it! That is not okay. No one should have to live with the smell of sewage in their bedroom. We do not believe that it is coming in through the window. What should we do -call home warranty again?!
Call them again, and again, and again until they take care of it. Wether it’s comign from the window or not it needs taken care of.
Call the home warranty again. Maybe there is a problem with the vent line.
call them again, clean the restroom with clorox or ammonia kills the odor, and good luck that sucks
This may seem an oddball answer, but are you sure it is sewage odor? It would not be the first time someone buried a body on their property. Even a dead rodent in a crawlspace area near that corner of your bedroom can stink the place up real good.
Absolutely call them again–it is not healthy for you to be living with that smell. I truly doubt it is coming in through the window–so they need to fix it!
Yes the vent should be on the roof, and no sewage smell needs to be coming in your room. It sounds like the vent pipe is to short. But you may need a different plumber to make sure it’s not a busted pipe in the crawl space that your warranty people don’t want to fix, because of the cost.
Call them again and again and again. Document everything. You may want to spend $50 to have an independent plumber come and diagnose the problem, them make the home warranty people come and fix it.
You should not smell sewer gas. If it is from the vent, code states the distance and elevation of vent pipes and they should not be by a window!!
if the vent is going out the roof you’re right in thinking it’s not causing the smell. although it is possible. It could also be a broken or cracked pipe in the wall. If on the outside chance it is the roof vent causing the problem, it will have to be relocated. If it is higher than the window I really do doubt this is the cause. A vent is only required to stick out the roof by 1 foot unless the roof is used for something besides protection from the elements. IE: a flat roof with a deck on it the vents have to stick up 7 feet.
If you can figure out which wall the vent pipe is in you may be able to find it in the attic, this is the first place I would check. If all is good there, then the problem is probably in the wall, it will have to be opened up.
It is possible during drywalling, installing trim and what not that a nail gets driven into the pipe. they are supposed to be protected by nail plates but it’s not foolproof. There IS a cure for your problem, you do not have to just live with it .
make sure vent is clear of obstructions[birds nest?]otherwise gasses can be forced back thru toilet/sink drain.Also,if sink trap leaks,placing a bucket under it may catch water,but allows gasses back in home.make sure trap holds water
You might want to check and see if your sinks, bathtub and the like have properly working traps. Without proper traps in the lines the sewer gases can get back into the house. Also there should be no reason why the vent cannot be extended away from your bedroom window if it is to close. You might need to get an independent plumbers estimate of the problem just to check if your home warrinty people’s plumber is trying to save them money.