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Remedies for Sewer Odors Caused by Plumbing Defects or Septic System Defects InspectAPedia®  -     How to diagnose sewer odors in wet or cold weather Causes and cures for sewer gas odors related to wet or cold weather How to find and cure bad smells in buildings

This article discusses the diagnosis and correction of sewer gas or septic odors (and other building smells and odors with focus on diagnosing odor sources and causes in cold weather. Some of the diagnostic steps pertain to all seasons. Also see ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE for procedures to diagnose and cure all kinds of odors in and around buildings.

Also see our broad-scope article on diagnosis and cure of sewer gas and septic odors: Sewer Gas Odors diagnosing, finding, and curing septic tank and sewer line smells. Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted.

Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author. Technical reviewers are welcome and are listed at "References." This is a chapter of Inspecting, Testing, & Maintaining Residential Septic Systems an online book on septic systems.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Remedies for Sewer Odors Caused by Plumbing Defects or Septic System Defects

• Clogged plumbing traps or drains may result in siphonage of the trap water, then releasing sewer gases into the building. See Trap Siphonage and Sewer Gases and CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS - un-clog the problem traps or drain lines.
• Inadequate plumbing vent size: If it's a plumbing vent diameter problem the solution would be to install a larger diameter vent pipe, eg 2" up through the roof and outside. See Plumbing Vent Defects for diagnostic procedures.
• Smelly dry plumbing traps indoors: Special plumbing traps which include a built-in seal against gas backups are available for use in problem locations. We just pour mineral oil into unused traps to prevent evaporation of the trap seal.
• Inadequate plumbing drain line venting: if building vent piping is missing or inadequate or improperly installed get advice from a plumber on both stop-gap ("V-200 vacuum breaker vents) or proper (vent piping) repair alternatives. See Plumbing Vent Defects for diagnostic procedures.
• Bad Plumbing Vent location: if a building vent is too close to a window or otherwise is delivering gases to occupants, it may be possible to extend or relocate it. See Plumbing Vent Defects for diagnostic procedures.
• Plumbing vent discharging into the building attic or roof space - plumbing vents should terminate outside, above the roof level. This defect should be corrected as soon as possible as there are both health and methane gas explosion hazards when sewer gases are vented indoors. See Plumbing Vent Defects for diagnostic procedures.

Odors and Plumbing Drain Line Leaks or Blockage Repairs

Blocked Drains as a Cause of Septic or Sewage Odors

If building drains are blocked or appear blocked hire a plumber to snake the drains. If all drains are blocked, the plumber might start by snaking out the main drain. During this process an experienced plumbing power snake handler can tell if the drain line is broken or damaged or clogged by tree roots. If this is the case an excavator and drain line repairs are needed.

See CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS

Slow Drains as a Cause of Septic or Sewer Gas Odors

If building drains are not blocked but drainage is slow, sluggish, smelly, or backing up into the building, an inspection of the septic tank can indicate (by abnormally high level) that the tank inlet baffle or outlet baffle are blocked (or missing entirely), or that the tank outlet to drainfield is backing up, or blocked, or the drainfield not working. Also see CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS

Pumping out or cleaning the septic tank to address an "odor problem" probably won't help: while periodic pumpout of a septic tank is important maintenance to protect the drainfield, will never "fix" one of these problems. The cause of blockage or failure needs to be identified and repaired.

We can think of a case, however, where pumping and inspecting the septic tank baffles might help diagnose a sewer gas odor outdoors or in the building. If the septic tank inlet or outlet baffle is partially blocked by the floating scum layer (the tank is past due for cleaning) sewer gases may back up into the building. See SEPTIC TANK PUMPING SCHEDULE and for a guide to inspecting septic tank baffles, see SEPTIC TANK BAFFLES.

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Use links just below at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGS
CARBON MONOXIDE & GAS HEAT ODORS
CARPETS & PADDING ODORS IN BUILDINGS
GAS MEASUREMENT TOOLS
MOLD ODORS, Musty Smells in Buildings
OIL HEAT ODORS
OIL TANK LEAK ODORS
PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC INFO ARTICLES
SEWER GAS ODORS
  First Steps for Sewer Gas Odors
  Dangerous Conditions
  Building Drain & Sewer Line Odors
  Cure Odors in Septic Systems
  Other Causes of Odors from a Septic System
  Plumbing Fixtures or Traps
  Plumbing Vent Definitions, Types
  Plumbing Vent Defects
  Septic System or Sewer Piping
  Site, Weather, or Failing Neighbors
  Tests for Indoor Sewer Gas
  Tracking Odors to Source
SEWER GAS ODORS in COLD WEATHER
  Short Answer in Cold Weather
  Diagnosing Sewer Odors
  Cold Weather Plumbing Vent Blockage
  Trap Siphonage and Sewer Gases
  Building drain odor source
  Fixture versus system blockage
  Odors in Wet Weather
  Indoor Septic Odors Outdoor Causes
  Outdoor Odor Sources
  Sewer Odor Tracking
  Remedies for Sewer Odors
  Odors and Drain Lines
  Failed Drainfields and Odors
HOME BUYERS GUIDE to SEPTIC SYSTEMS
MVOCs & MOLDY MUSTY ODORS
ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC TANK PUMPING SCHEDULE
SEPTIC TANK PUMPING PROCEDURE
SEPTIC TANK INSPECTION PROCEDURE
SEPTIC FIELD INSPECTION
SEPTIC TREATMENTS
SEPTIC CONSULTANTS
SEPTIC AUTHORITIES
SEPTIC SYSTEM BOOKS REFS CODES
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN MANUAL - Online
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
SEPTIC DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT

• Herb Reed County Extension Director, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, Calvert County Maryland - private email to DF 9/5/2006 adding comments about odors and partial blockages.

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• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Sewer Gas Odors diagnosing, finding, and curing septic tank and sewer line smells.
• Drain Noises: may indicate defective or clogged plumbing: how to diagnose and cure drain sounds


• The Septic System Information Website Home Page: public information website about septic system design, installation, maintenance, and repair
• Ten Steps to Keeping a Septic System Working, suggestions from the U.S. EPA, edits and additions by DJF
• What is a Septic System An Engineer's View & Septic System FAQ's
• Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information
• The Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems
• Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank
• Home & Outdoor Living Water Requirements
• Septic Tank Capacity vs Usage in Daily Gallons of Wastewater Flow, calculating required septic tank size, calculating septic tank volume from size measurements
• How Big Should the Leach Field Be? - table of soil percolation rate vs. field size
• Septic System Drainfield Absorption System Biomat Formation - what leads to drain field clogging and expensive drainfield repairs
• Table of Required Septic & Well Clearances: Distances Between Septic System & Wells, Streams, Trees, etc.
• Ten Steps to Keeping a Septic System Working, suggestions from the U.S. EPA, edits and additions by DJF
• Pennsylvania State Fact Sheets relating to domestic wastewater treatment systems include
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-161, Septic System Failure: Diagnosis and Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-162, The Soil Media and the Percolation Test
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-l64, Mound Systems for Wastewater Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-165, Septic Tank-Soil Absorption Systems
• Document Sources used for this web page include but are not limited to: Agricultural Fact Sheet #SW-161 "Septic Tank Pumping," by Paul D. Robillard and Kelli S. Martin. Penn State College of Agriculture - Cooperative Extension, edited and annotated by Dan Friedman (Thanks: to Bob Mackey for proofreading the original source material.)

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