Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Nov 13, 2011 10:06 pm Hi, We bought a house in the country in the May and had the septic tank pumped out in July as we weren't sure when it had last been done. A month ago we started to notice a wafting smell but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Checked under the house for a dead animal. No leaking pipes. Seemed to be at the front of the house sometimes, and at the back other times. We were advised to check the overflow relief gully under the house - it was bone dry, so obviously allowing gases out. We put water in it and checked all other water traps in the house - all of them have water in them. Since doing this we noticed the smell entering the house about 20 mins after draining the bath (positioned next to the toilet in a separate room). Were told that this may be as a result of siphoning but we didn't notice the level of water in the toilet changing when the bath was draining. This smell inside only started since putting water in the ORG under the house. There is a greasetrap at the back of the house (not far from the toilet) and we've been told this isn't needed as it allows gases out from the septic tank so the plumber has suggested that the kitchen pipes be diverted to the main drainage pipes and we remove the greasetrap. We don't believe this will help the toilet smell though. This weekend we cleaned out the greasetrap and put the lid on tightly to elimate gases escaping, but we still had smells around the house and inside the toilet after the shower was used. At the moment the stink pipe is located near the toilet at the septic tank end of our pipes. The plumber has suggested another stink pipe be installed near the kitchen, which is the fixture furthest away from the septic tank. Still not quite sure why this should be done - is it meant to stop any siphoning? We're totally confused as to where the smell is coming from and why it's occuring. We didn't have any issues until one month ago. Any ideas or thoughts? Help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance. Septic smell inside and out 2Nov 14, 2011 6:27 am We moved into our brand new home and within a week we had a foul odour coming from the toilet in utility (furtherest from HSTP). In the end we worked out it was the gases coming up the floor waste. Retrofitted with DrainFresh drains that prevent odours/bugs coming up floor wastes (did this in all the floor wastes just incase). No more stink in the house ... woot! ------------ Sent from my mobile device ... please excuse the typing missed cakes. ~ trying to build our dream home by the sea ~ Re: Septic smell inside and out 3Nov 15, 2011 8:53 pm Hi Thanks for your reply. We don't actually have any floor waste drains in the house. It's a small 3 bedroom home and the only drains are those attached to basin, shower, bath, toilet and kitchen sink. Besides the toilet, where the smell is intermittent, the other drains don't smell. We just can't seem to work it out. Don't want to pay for a whole lot of plumbing work if it's not going to solve the problem. 4 14309 Unless there is something in special conditions the builder does not have to give you timeline. If your demolition contractor has not removed Asbestos and it was found… 12 28812 Thanks for the informative response! I'll feed that back to the site supervisor. 2 4130 |