Septic Smells

[Quaffer]

pumping smoke down the roof vent

How are you going to do that?

 

[Dftodd]

Pumping really depends on usage, size of tank, and what goes down your drain.

We only had to do our septic tank once every 10 years with just my wife and I using it. But we had a 1,000 gallon tank.

It it still wasn't bad. And only 1/2 full of solids.

But we were super cautious about what went down the drain. Little to no grease an oil

Our neighbor had to pump theirs every 5 years, but everything went down the drain. Grease, oil, food wast from a garbage disposal, etc...

Our new property has a 1,200/300 gallon 2 chamber tank. The 300 gallon chamber is for the septic pump.

Our system does vent at the lids to allow the water to equalize into the second chamber to get pumped to the leach field.

Currently we are living in a camper on the propety.

The only time we get a smell as when draining the black water tank, and the smell sticks around for maybe 20 minutes.

Since it's a 300 gallon tank on your system, I would recommend getting it pumped first and go from there.

 

[ruffdog]

Haven't read the rest of the posts below this post, but many folks are telling me something similar - that it shouldn't need pumped for a long time if ever.

Hey, it's your septic system......and your odor. Good luck!

 

[Bill Guenthner]

When we had our cabin built, they placed a 300 gallon septic tank about 15' from the front door.

That was in 2017. Over the years, maybe even the beginning, we smelled sewer off and on. We could never figure out if it was the vent pipe on top of the roof, the outlet pipe which is open air dumped about 100' away, the cleanout, or the lid not being airtight. The smell has gotten worse over time and I'm at a loss.

I ordered some plumbing smoke bombs that I plan to force smoke from the roof vent down and see if I can tell where the leak is. The lid doesn't seem tight all the way around the tank, or riser, I'm not sure what's there as I haven't opened the lid up yet.

Thoughts? I heard baking soda will nuetralize some of the odor if I can get the ph in the tank corrent.

I have a plumber on standby but wanted to see if I can locate the source of the leak first. What else should I check?

Check your vent pipe(s) on the roof. If they do not extend high enough, are partially blocked, or are being air locked by prevailing wind or improper plumbing in the walls, you will get the periodic smell you are experiencing.

 

[ruffdog]

Sometimes critters will get stuck down the vent pipe too.

 

[paulsharvey]

I dont think it's your issue, but washing machine drain connections, if you don't have a machine set up, P trap can go dry and allow gasses to go back up too. as well as floor drains.

It sounds to me like the lid that is visible could use a bit of roofing tar spread around the base of it. If you need to open the lid later, the roofing tar can be removed with a scrapper.

Also, on the roof stacks, I dont think anyone is saying they are the Source of the smell, just that them not properly venting, the gas will fins another path. The vent allows the gases, air, and vacuum from when you flush or drain a tub to all balance out.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, another aspect, and with out really know where the gray water goes, it's hard to give advice, but if this is a spray or lagoon type set up, or heck it just dumps effluent in the woods; you can sprinkle hydrated lime on the area, and it will help with oders.

NOTE: do NOT put the lime into the tank, or flush it,

 

[paulsharvey]

Oh, and it could also be a nail or screw into the roof stack, somewhere in the wall. That would also lead to smell issues around that location

 

[the old grind]

Three things I advise not to feed esp into an 'undersized' septic are:
1) Kitchen grinder. Too much organic material to digest.
2) Dishwasher. No-touch cleaning agents are strong and kill off both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.
3) Clothes washer. It's gray water, not sewage. Detergents and o'all volume can be a bit much there too and push yuk into the field.

Bought my last house in '89 and it hadn't had the tank pumped in quite a while because a rip-rap patio partially covered it. Moved out in '01 and sold it it '07 to a family of five. Resold twice and only the last owner had the system pumped, then the field replaced. Big families several kids, sink grinder, and lots of washing. We are on well perked sand and don't see greener grass above our lines

Moved here in '01 1/2 mi down the road (uphill btw) and haven't been pumped yet. No dishwasher or grinder, and laundry has its own discharge. House in front of me has 500 gal tank has been pumped several times. 10 yrs ago we replaced all lines and added T-baffles to inlet and outlet. (not even there before) things settled down after I got them to ditch the DW and send laundry water out into the yard vs into the septic. Made 'em a dry well for wash water and all is well.

My philosophy in all maters is that if more than one cause is possible it's never just one that creates a problem.

 

[gstrom99]

Three things I advise not to feed esp into an 'undersized' septic are:
1) Kitchen grinder. Too much organic material to digest.
2) Dishwasher. No-touch cleaning agents are strong and kill off both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.
3) Clothes washer. It's gray water, not sewage. Detergents and o'all volume can be a bit much there too and push yuk into the field.

It sounds like the OP has just a small hunting type cabin. I doubt there is any of these appliances there.

 

[grsthegreat]

Ok, so, pumping, I'll give you what I see; the septic contractors that run a pump service will recommend having a system pumped every 1-5 years, the septic contractors that just do new installs and/or repairs (and the pumping required for repairs) general don't locally recommend pumping. A functional system should last many many years. Honestly, if your needing to pump every year or every 2-3, either you are paranoid, or have a problem. Tons of folks go 20-30+ years having never pumped.

Now, to the smell; can you visually see the access or is it buried? You say "lid" which to me, is the top slab on a concrete tank, but the majority of tanks are poly or fiberglass now, although concrete is still used. If we mean the actual access (often there are two), is visible, clean around it, and see if that is where the smell is coming. A septic tank, by vary definition should be without air, totally different bugs than a aerobic system like a sewer plant.

Being used so little, it is possible that is the source of the problem, but I'm guessing it's more likely the "lid". You still want to maintain access for future, but you could seal the outside with a tar/bituminous product. It won't be "easy" to open, but it still can be.

As far as checking if it needs pumped, and if we are able to see the actual access, you can open it, and take a pipe or stick and get an idea of how much solids have built up. The tank will be full, but we should have oils on top (thin layer, shouldnt be a lot), water, and the very bottom will be sludge and solids. I Highly doubt, that after just a few years, of seasonal usage, the sludge/solids are needing pumped.

I wire in septic pump motors for 3 contractors…new construction only….and all 3 recommend pumping every 5 years as a minimum. They have all told me of having to establish new drain fields for people that dont pump their systems. And none like to deal with old, used systems. They beg their clients to pump them.

And their not in the pumping business.

I dont care how the system is set up, they all get sludge built up.

 

[CADplans]

Is there a dead cat under the porch??
How about a mouse in the gutter??

These could smell very similar,, and have nothing to do with the septic,,,

 

[shock]

How are you going to do that?

Smoke bomb in a 16 gallon vaccum and blown into roof vent... with drains in cabin covered. Hope it works!

 

[shock]

Three things I advise not to feed esp into an 'undersized' septic are:
1) Kitchen grinder. Too much organic material to digest.
2) Dishwasher. No-touch cleaning agents are strong and kill off both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.
3) Clothes washer. It's gray water, not sewage. Detergents and o'all volume can be a bit much there too and push yuk into the field.

Bought my last house in '89 and it hadn't had the tank pumped in quite a while because a rip-rap patio partially covered it. Moved out in '01 and sold it it '07 to a family of five. Resold twice and only the last owner had the system pumped, then the field replaced. Big families several kids, sink grinder, and lots of washing. We are on well perked sand and don't see greener grass above our lines

Moved here in '01 1/2 mi down the road (uphill btw) and haven't been pumped yet. No dishwasher or grinder, and laundry has its own discharge. House in front of me has 500 gal tank has been pumped several times. 10 yrs ago we replaced all lines and added T-baffles to inlet and outlet. (not even there before) things settled down after I got them to ditch the DW and send laundry water out into the yard vs into the septic. Made 'em a dry well for wash water and all is well.

My philosophy in all maters is that if more than one cause is possible it's never just one that creates a problem.

2 of the 3 we don't have - no grabage disposal, and we don't put coffee grounds, grease, or anything else in drains. and no dishwasher. We do have a washer which we occasionally run (every 3 or 4 months) usually 1 load....Thanks for your reply.

Edit: I did notice the odor last time there when I ran a lot of water to give my dog a thorough bath. The odor was as bad as I remember after that. Maybe overwhelmed the system?

I plan to lift the lid, check the sludge depth, and look for cracks, airtight or loose connections next time down.

 

[ponytug]

Smoke bomb in a 16 gallon vaccum and blown into roof vent... with drains in cabin covered. Hope it works!

I haven't ever done this, but I have to ask; have you ever done this before?

Are you planning on capping all of the roof vents? (Generally, one per sink, shower, washing machine...)

It just seems like a big flow mismatch between a capped drain system and a vacuum. I'm also visualizing lots of spray and burps out of the various traps and drains in the cottage.

It's your nickel, but this sounds like a great recipe for a must watch YouTube video...

All the best,

Peter

 

[paulsharvey]

So, IMO, this is 100% not a pumping issue; if the tank can't take a couple years of minimum use... the bugs will eat the "solids" and sure, slug will build up, but no more than your use, it would be well less than 1" per year.

 

[shock]

I haven't ever done this, but I have to ask; have you ever done this before?

Are you planning on capping all of the roof vents? (Generally, one per sink, shower, washing machine...)

It just seems like a big flow mismatch between a capped drain system and a vacuum. I'm also visualizing lots of spray and burps out of the various traps and drains in the cottage.

It's your nickel, but this sounds like a great recipe for a must watch YouTube video...

All the best,

Peter

Never done it either, but I'm not a quitter!!!lol
There's only 1 roof vent. There are 2 sinks, 1 stool, a floor drain, a bathtub drain, and a washer drain.......what could go wrong? lol

 

[murphy1244]

Has he ever looked to see how much sludge is in the tank? Our tanks must be pumped if the sludge level is at the 1/3 capacity of the tank. I have a feeling that he is treating it as "out of sight, out of mind" and will call when there are issues. Then it is too late. Florida does many things different but we value our ground water quality here.

We could not even find the tank so its been at least 20 years now

 

[paulsharvey]

We are 30 on ours. What I've always been told, don't mess with it, pumping can cause as much trouble as it fixes. Now, of coarse, this changes if your flushing non digestible materials, "rags", cotton wipes, "rubber products" ect. Also, I am fully aware that by the time you notice a problem, it's probably time to replace the drain field.

 

[dodge man]

They need to be pumped but the time varies. There are also lots of different systems, some modern, some not. Ours dumps out on the ground and it’s suppose to and meets code. It’s a Multiflo units and is aerobic with a filter system. The bad of that type of unit is it uses electricity, maybe $200 a year.