Posted by Troy, From: on December 31, 1999 at 16:10:52:

In Reply to: Odor/Smell and Main Line Problem posted by Travis on December 30, 1999 at 14:18:00:

: I have a series of what I think are related issues. Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated. We recently moved into a new house. We have had three main line blockages in the past four months. These manifest themselves by the system overflowing into a basement sink. I have checked the septic system and confirmed that is not anywhere near full. When you open the cover on the clean-out (just inside the foundation of the house in the basement) it is full of sewage. Each time the problem is solved by having my local guy snake from the house out to the septic system through this same drain. This solves the problem for the time being but is obviously frustrating for it to occur on a periodic basis. His theory was that we simply had poor pitch from the house to system. However, the previous owner swears that he never had the problem and there is no evidence of prior snakings being done (i.e. the threads on the cleanout drain do not evidence any "rubbing" from the drill and the carpet is perfectly clean there.) The neighbors also never remember him having people over to clean out the drain. One plumber I had in suggested I buy myself a "jet bag" and try to do it myself to save some money. I did this about three weeks back (I had to do it a number of times before I got the hose to extend all the way to system.) A couple of days ago we noticed a strong septic smell in main floor of the house after running the shower upstairs in the house. I assumed that the main line must be backing up again and went to clean it out again, but it was competely clear. It was so clear that I could actually run water and hear the water drop into the cesspit. I could actually never hear this before. It is probably wishful thinking but perhaps I somehow solved the original problem with the hose/jet bag ... ?

: However now we definitely have an odor problem that we have not had in the past few months. The smell is very localized around a wall where I believe the main vent is located and only occurs when we run an upstairs shower. Incidentally, the upstairs sinks and shower have drained very slowly ever since we bought the house with air bubbling up occasionally out of the drains.

: I assume that all of the above is somehow related, and would appreciate any ideas/help on possible next steps ...

: Any help much appreciated.

: TRM

You do have a tough problem! As for the blockages,most of the time a sewer line backup that can be opened with a snake or jet but re-occurs later time and again ,is the sign of a broken fitting or a sewer line that is extended too far inside the septic tank so it is too close to the baffle inside the tank.Roots also cause the same problem. Usually they are growing inside the tank right where the sewer line enters.
As far as the odor and bubbling fixtures, that sounds like a blocked plumbing vent.Sometimes the vents can become clogged by leaves or even squirrels....lol(I found a deceased squirrel in a system not too long ago). They go in but they cant get out! If your area required a plumbing inspection during the building of the house there may have been caps or plugs put into the vents openings on the roof and sometimes these are overlooked and left there even for months or years causing all kinds of mysterious problems! These are just some of the first things that I would look for first.A blocked vent can cause odor problems and the bubble back that you were talking about. If there is no obious blockage on the roof,try running some water down it and see if it is open.One caution though, if the vent pipe has a crack or broken place in a wall somewhere (you mentioned smell seeming to come from the wall area)you may cause a leak inside by running water down the vent.A safer way might be to listen with your ear to the vent while someone flushes a toilet.You should be able to tell if the vent sounds open and clear. Hope this helps!

Replies: