Sewer Smell

[Jose1079]

I just bought a rather old mobile home. The person that lived here before me, never complained about sewer smell nor did he have a washing machine connected. My problem is that so far when it rains I am smelling sewer from seems like the washing machine area. The bathroom pipes and washing machine pipes are all connected. Also, when it rains the toilet will not flush correctly, when it does flush correctly the water in the bowl comes almost to the bottom of the rim and then the waste goes down. A little bit of water will drain into the bathtub when clothes are washed, but not enough for me to be concerned(?). Can you please help, I am desperate.

Thank you in advance,
Jose1079

[LazyPup]

I have a couple of possibilities for your probem but would require a bit more information before I could give a good answer.
1. Do you have a washing machine and use it regularly? 2.Is there perhaps a laundry sink or other drain that is not used often? 3.Is your mobile home situated on a private lot or are you perhaps in a mobile home park? 4. What is the general terrain where you are situated, flat, hilly,etc. 5. If the terrain is hilly are you by chance on the low end? 6. Have you examined the drain lines under the house to insure they are all adequately hung in place without sags? 7. Is your sewage connected to a municipal sewage line or do you have a septic tank. 8. If you are on a septic system, are there by chance any other mobile homes sharing that tank?

[Jose1079]

1. Yes I do have a machine and use it every week.
2. No, all drains are used regulary.
3,4,5. The mobile home is in a park and the land is flat.
6. I have looked under, but not done a great inspection.
7. The water and sewer are connected to city lines.

I spoke with the manager of the park today, asked him to call the plumber to check the pipes outside. I am hoping for my finances that it is outside, but if it is not, giving the information that you have, do you have any suggestions.

Thanks once again.

[LazyPup]

In you r original post you stated that the smell seems to occur after it rains. That would lead me to believe that storm runoff water is getting into the drain system and overloading the lines causing sewer water to back up into your lines. In most jurisdictions it is a violation of code to purposefully discharge storm runoff into municipal sewer lines, but in a mobile home park there is another possibility that often occurs. I would ask the park manager to have his maintenance man check all vacant lots and insure that the unused sewer taps are properly capped to prevent sewage from coming out, or ground water from going into the sewer lines. You could make this inspection yourself. Go to each vacant lot and look for the sewer pipe. Normally they are a short piece of 4 inch PVC pipe sticking up about 4 inches to a foot above the ground. If you happen to see one that is not capped examine the ground around the pipe to see if there is evidence of sewage leaking, bits of soggy toilet tissue are usually present. I fyou find any you should notify the manager to have his maintenance man install a glued cap or test cap on that line.

Look under your trailer and examine the waste lines. There should be a 3 or four inch diameter line running from the floor of your trailer to a connection on the ground. The pipe could be either PVC (white plastic) or ABS (black plastic) Make sure there are not ABS pipes or fittings mixed with PVC. It is a violation of code to glue different types of plastic pipes or fitting together. If you have black pipe, all the fittings must also be black, and conversely, if the pipe is white, all the fittings must be white.

Look at the pipes real close. They should be run with a minimum of 1/8 of an inch per foot downward pitch in the direction of the sewer connection on the ground(a 1 inch drop for each 8 feet of length). Look real careful to insure there are no sags between the pipe hangers. The bottom of the pipe should be perfectly flat and pitched in the direction of the ground connection.

Also, check how the pipes are supported. It is a violation of code to use wire or metal straps in direct contact with PVC or ABS pipes.

Look at the ground carefully under each joint to make sure there is no leaks that is allowing sewage to fall on the ground and the odor possibly coming up through the floor from under the house.

You said the backups occur after a storm so I am assuming everything drains well the rest of the time. That would indicate that your lines are not blocked up.

You said the average terraine is fairly level so there could be a slight problem with the pitch of the common drain from the mobile homes to the municipal sewer at the street. Under normal circumstances all is well, but if excess storm runoff is getting into the municipal sewer it may be raising the level in that line above the level of the common drain tap, which would then cause a backup. Ask you neighbors if they have had a similar experience after a rain. If so, they may have to install a backflow preventer on the common line near the municipal sewer tap. r.rinard..journeyman plumber