Ooooh Ohhh That Smell !

   / Ooooh Ohhh That Smell ! #1  

BSVLY

Silver Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
220
Location
Desert Southwest
Tractor
Kioti CK30 HST
Anyone having issues with septic system stench? Our home is on a septic tank and has three vents on the roof for the plumbing; baths, sinks etc. Oftentimes the faint to sometimes strong stink of sewer gases gets into the house. We have a fresh air makeup furnace and the fan on the roof can pull in the sewer gas from the nearby vents when the wind is just right/wrong. Drives me nuts.Hate this stink.:mad:

OK-I found a few companies selling carbon septic sewer vent filters. These are not cheap! Had to pop for these to remedy the bad smells, so I selected what I felt was the best one and ordered them online. They came in and I sanded and painted these to match the color of the red roof so that they would blend in somewhat. Then I filled each one with a pound of the supplied activated charcoal. Got out the ladder and crawled up and plugged the filters onto the three vents. Not too bad of a task-other than the price of these things. Supposedly you can recharge with activated charcoal in 5-8 years as needed.

Test Results: After half a day, I went to a spot in the yard where I can usually get a whiff of sewer gas. Nothing! Great. Went inside to the utility room by the furnace where it can be nasty smelling sometimes; enough that I get a fan going to clear it out sometimes. This time I could distinctly detect the strong smell of sulpher. Dang it-I was concerned. But then I saw my wife in the kitchen peeling a batch of hard boiled eggs she had just boiled up. Whew.

Results so far are excellent. Not even a faint order from the septic inside or out. Nice!! If you are having similar issues-I recommend finding some vent filters.
 
   / Ooooh Ohhh That Smell ! #2  
I am glad to hear that you have you have corrected the problem. Just out of curiosity, how old is your septic system? Have you pumped your septic tank lately and is your leach bed operating properly?
 
   / Ooooh Ohhh That Smell ! #3  
On thing that is often overlooked is unused drains. Usually a floor drain. The trap will dry out and allow gasses to pass into the house.
 
   / Ooooh Ohhh That Smell !
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I am glad to hear that you have you have corrected the problem. Just out of curiosity, how old is your septic system? Have you pumped your septic tank lately and is your leach bed operating properly?i

Thanks.The system is 15 years old. When we purchased ths property 5 years ago-the septic was pumped and a new leach line placed. The tank only had 3 inches of sediment-so it was not really needing the pump-out anyways. The ground here percolates very well. Mostly sand. Very little clay.

The real problem is the Blend-Air intake fan is located within 3 feet of one of the sewer vents. The roof only has 12/2 pitch, so the roof is not steep. Prevailing winds usually pull the sewer gas right into the intake ducts. Just a real dumb design.
 
   / Ooooh Ohhh That Smell !
  • Thread Starter
#5  
On thing that is often overlooked is unused drains. Usually a floor drain. The trap will dry out and allow gasses to pass into the house.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye out and make sure the traps are wet!
 
   / Ooooh Ohhh That Smell ! #7  
On thing that is often overlooked is unused drains. Usually a floor drain. The trap will dry out and allow gasses to pass into the house.

For unused drains, you can always pour a little corn oil into the drain. It floats on top of the water and slows evaporation from the floor trap.
 
 
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