septic smell in house

[njraddoc]

help...we moved into a new house 6 months ago, with septic system on property, and have an unsolvable problem of intermittent septic smell at a few locations in our house[xx(]. has occurred four times, always in the morning at about 8-11 am, then clears over 1-3 hours. ocurred once during an extremely heavy downpour in september, and the other three times following near-zero nighttime temperatures in january. smell strongest in an upstairs princess bathroom and also occurs in the room (kitchen) directly below. at another site towards the front of our house near a 1/2 bath we can smell it at the same time. the smell seems to permeate into these sites from an unknown origin. it's not the drain traps as we've flushed them recently. the drains function well otherwise. i've consulted a few books at the library to no avail. what's the source, and what's the fix for this problem??

[mrcaptainbob]

Could be a clogged stink pipe. You mention the smell occuring at two points.....one was after a haevy rainfall, the other is in relatively late morning, after showers, sinks and toilets. Seems to happen after a large intake into the system. Two problems, I think: 1st (easy) is to check/unclog the vent stack(s). The 2nd (difficult) figuring why the septic system is being so affected by haevy rain. THAT is not good! I trust the system was pumped and inspected at point of purchase.

[JC]

Hi,

Have you tried buying chemicals that are especially aimed toward septic systems?

The conditions you stated make it sound like there is something with the venting capability of the system when the air is heavy. When you flush, do you hear gurgling from anywhere? Are you sure that a bird did not build a nest in the house or septic system vent? Also, is the exterior septic vent real close to the house where the bathroom and kitchen?

The only other thing that I can think of is that a trap is running dry in that part of the line. That would also probably be tied to a venting issue though.

[simplesolution1]

another possibility is that the odor is coming from the vents themselves and the sewer gas is entering the house somehow. (roof soffit etc) If that is the problem it can be solved with an activated carbon vent filter.

Lou Pagano
Simple Solutions Dist LLC
www.stopsepticodor.com