Sewer Gas Smells, Stinks

We get a lot of these calls in the spring and in the fall.  They can’t quite put their finger on it, but their home stinks.  A smell that is so distinctive but, even trying as hard as they can, they can’t come up with another smell to compare it with – and neither can I. 

But I know right away what it is – sewer gas.  How does it get into your home and how can you prevent it?

Sewer gas is just part of the plumbing system and it’s always there.  We prevent it from coming into your home with a p-trap.  Every fixture in your home and a fixture is considered a sink, toilet, shower, tub or a floor drain, has a p-trap below it except for a toilet where the p-trap is built into the bowl.  If you don’t know what a p-trap looks like, open the cabinet door underneath the kitchen sink and you will see a part of the drain piping that is shaped like a ½ circle.  This ½ circle hold water in it all the time to prevent the sewer gas from coming up into your home.  They will either be chrome, black or white in color.

The most common calls we get from our clients are that they complain of smells and it is usually after they have been away from their homes for a long period of time – usually 4 weeks or longer.  What happens is the water in the p-trap evaporates which allows sewer gas to come up from the drain and through the (plumbing) fixture.  If you have a fixture that does not get used very often, it’s a good idea to run some water through it once a month.  Floor drains in the basement, usually by the furnace or water heater, is one that you probably never think about.  Pour some water in it once a month.