I do my blogging with the hopes that along the way I am imparting info to folks in need and am really happy when I get comments and emails from readers either having found their solution or with stubborn problems. As I have said before one of the most frequent questions and by far the most frequently read of my blogs are the ones on plumbing smells. Recently I received the following inquiry from a desperate homeowner and mother with a very stubborn smell from one of her bathrooms and have included my answers and what we hope will be the final conclusion.
Q: I just found your post about the horrible smell from bathroom...We are having the same problem. Definitely water under tub, changed wax seals, recaulked both tubs, after we take baths the smell intensifies, water came out of seal of toilet once, we did just have a few days of rain.... Plumber did perk test, camera, and pressure tests and said our house is fine. My yard and neighbor's yards are definitely water saturated! I'm begging city to do smoke test, but not having luck. City is saying it's not their problem even though all neighbors surrounding us are having drainage issues as well. Any other suggestions?? We are MISERABLE and our 3 kids are gagging everytime they go to bathroom!!!!!!!!!
A: Im sorry to hear of your problem and agree that a smoke test is probably the only way to resolve the issue at this time. I urge you to continue to pressure your utility or look into the cost to have the smoke test run yourself. It sounds as if there is a drain line broken on your yard or an adjacent neighbors yard and water is pooling under your foundation and the gas is seeping through a crack in your foundation or through poriosity. The smell is not only distasteful but can potential be dangerous if methane gas pools and can be ignited. Please let me know how it turns out
Her Response: Well, We pressed the city for a smoke test and got one done this AM. The test showed the city was ok. Now we hired another plumber who thinks it may be a pipe below bathtub that's broken. He's bringing his camera tomorrow AM. We are so ready to have this problem fixed! We had to move out b/c the smell is just too bad and after considering your comment about the methane. Yikes. Thanks so much for your time. I'll let you know how it turns out.
And then the bad news: Yikes, not good news! Another plumber used a camera in our pipes and found that almost all the cast iron pipes are bad. UGH! Even worms in there. I'm thinking the first plumber just lied to us b/c the pipes were in really bad shape, so maybe he didnt want to tackle that job. Which makes me pretty upset since I sat here spinning my wheels for another week! Oh well, worse things have happened... staying positive!!!!
My response: Sorry to hear that but before they start digging up your foundation and yard look into having the existing pipes relined. Here is a link with some simple info but there are several alternatives to doing it so price it both ways, http://plumbing.about.com/b/2009/02/20/tale-of-two-broken-drain-lines.htm and a You Tube video explaining the process , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhaf-AWZ99U
The bottom line is there is not always a simple answer to “what is that smell?” For every simple answer we find there can be the tough ones. It can be as simple as a dry “p” trap to totally compromised drain lines or septic system. Whatever it is it is annoying, embarrassing and potential dangerous to your home and health.
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