Detecting a sewer smell in your house is never pleasant and even dangerous at times. Not only that it bothers you, making you uncomfortable when other people are over at your house, this smell most likely indicates a problem somewhere in your sewer, drainage or venting system. Also, gasses generating that sewer smell can be made up of methane (which is odorless) and hydrogen sulfide, which produces the rotten egg smell. If you indeed noticed a rotten egg odor anywhere at your home, it is probably sewer gas. Such smell is not the substance you’d like your family and yourself to inhale on a regular basis.
A few of the issues that often cause sewer smells and some solutions are discussed below.
A curved part of a pipe that holds water is called a P-trap part of a drain. A natural barrier is formed by that water, holding back sewer gas and stopping it from entering the house. If the drain dries up for some reason, the gas will inevitably leak inside your home. To prevent this from happening, flush water down the drain often to refill the P-trap, especially if you have a toilet or shower that is used only during a certain season like in a vacation home.
Leaks in some pipes can also produce the sewer smell and when the leaks are eliminated, the smell vanishes.
Your home’s plumbing vents run through the walls in and up in the roof. Leaks in those pipes can be difficult to pinpoint since they leak gas and not water. When a small crack forms in the vents, a sewer gas smell can eventually fill not just one room but even the entire house.
Hire a professional plumber from a reputable company (like the Brea/Orange County Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning) to fix this problem. He can use a smoke machine to puff smoke into the vent and find the leak. Once the leak is located, the professional plumber will easily find the solution.
When the wax ring around your toilet becomes worn out, the small gap between your toilet and the wax ring could make sewer gas evaporate from the drain underneath your toilet. As a result of the wax ring deterioration, your toilet might become slightly slanted or develop a wobble. To fix the problem, you’ll need the wax ring replacement – the task which is better left to the expert plumber.
However, to determine the exact cause of sewer smell in your house, you will need to call in a professional. The problem is not necessarily difficult to locate and might not be expensive to fix, especially for a reliable plumber. So next time when you experience a sewer smell in your household, do not hesitate and call Brea/Orange County Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning. We will help you diagnose the source of a smell and eliminate it ASAP.
Brea, CA 92821 | (714) 919-3992
