Sewer Smell and Water Seeping Through the Floor

“Poor ventilation. Clean out the stink stack. [re: Wtf is happening to my basement toilet]”

“Under stairs in my basement - lost power a few weeks back because of a bad circuit i didn’t even realize it was back there. just plugged in back into a different circuit but it smells horrid and is leaking some brown sludge onto concrete submitted by /u/Time_Birthday_3639 [link] [comments]”

“We’ve been noticing a sewage/sewer gas smell in our basement, but there is no visible sewage or backup. We recently had plumbers come out and snake the drain, and they told us it was more backed up than it should have been. We don’t have a typical floor drain in the basement. If water gets into the basement, it follows a pathway/channel that leads to a sewer drain. But the sewage drain is capped. I’ve also noticed a similar sewage-like smell from our upstairs bathroom sink when I run the water.”

“Hi all, I’ve tried being resourceful and diagnosing myself but given the not straightforward answers I’ve found, I’d like to ask those here. Purchased home this year built in ‘99. AO Smith Water heater 6-7 years old, unknown flush/drain history. Copper piping throughout interior walls. Clothes washer and dishwasher are first two appliances in line. Cleaned both of these appliances inside with affresh, then with vinegar. New hoses and supply valves on washer, washer fully drained outside. When ru”

“The big white pipe is the discharge . Ever since I finished my basement the smell from the sump pump is terrible . The ejector pit right beside it did have a hole in it so I caulked it and sealed it . I have a theory the water boiler blower motor has no make up air and is sucking air out of the pipes and making it stink. I don’t know . Any suggestions ? submitted by /u/No_Asparagus4230 [link] [comments]”

“Hello! We recently remodeled our master bathroom and finished our basement, adding a new sewage ejector pump with a dedicated PVC vent. We never had an ejector or plumbing issues before the remodel. Since the remodel, we’ve noticed the new master bathtub and kitchen sink P-traps can lose their water when the ejector runs, causing a sewage smell, especially in the master bathroom. I can hear the ejector kicking and making very loud noise then the water will start draining (almost like a vacuumed)”

“I was down in the basement and happened to notice what appears to be a bit of a leak surrounded by this foamy substance. Could anyone shed some light as to what it may be? I’m hoping this isn’t a sign the water heater is going out submitted by /u/highly_suspect94 [link] [comments]”

“Whenever I take a shower, a drain in my basement washroom will overflow. Google said I should snake the main sewer line. So today i opened it up and see the water level in the pipe seems high? Should the water be lower? I tried snaking it with rinky dink hand drum auger but I think I might have to rent a better one. I did manager to put a little bit of something out so I’m assuming there’s a decent blockage down there. Any advice? Thanks submitted by /u/Skreech24x [link] [comme”

“Three weeks ago we had an overflow of maybe one gallon of light brown waste water (post flush/no solids overflowed) into the bathroom floor heating vent and to the duct below. We checked the furnace immediately after and didn't see any water on the bottom surface. There were 3 small leaks from the duct to the basement floor, maybe one puddle 12in x 12in closest to the furnace (see photo the leak came from in the duct which is the closest leak to the furnace) and just more like condensation i”

Put solved at the top

Main sewer clogged

“Ove the weekend I noticed water running across my basement floor, this pipe in my crawlspace seems to be the culprit. Around the same time I noticed the shower down there also had some sort of back up despite not being used at all. Any suggestions as to the cause of the leak or what may need to be done would be greatly appreciated. submitted by /u/bubble963 [link] [comments]”

“So we’ve been clocking a septic-like smell in the basement and trying to pin it down. The smell is strongest around this part of the basement, where the pipe leaves for the septic. Looking around the only thing I see that looks suspicious to me is this water line connection from our washing machine. I don’t know what this rusted piece is that the hose is connected to, or if I’m off base.. is it possible that this is the cause of the smell? Half of the pipes around this have been replied recently”

“I just moved into a basement apartment. These drain pipes are in the utility room by the HVAC and water heater. There is crusty crystallized residue around a few of the joints. It smells musty in there but doesn't stink like sewage. When I touched with my finger, nothing felt wet. Should I try testing for moisture with a single ply of toilet paper? Are there accessible sewer gas leak detectors that I can use to sniff around the joints? Should I be worried? Thanks! submitted by /u”

“Every time I pass by the closest with the tankless water heater it stinks, it's a very foul smell. Closet is upstairs and sometimes downstairs under that room I can perceive the smell. House was built in 80s, it was neglected before we bought it. Not sure what's causing the smell and how to get rid of the smell, water heater works perfectly fine. submitted by /u/a_me_ [link] [comments]”

“Is the condensate drain on your furnace hooked directly into the sewer? If there is not a sufficient P-trap when the air conditioner or furnace runs it can create suction which will suck sewer gases and distribute it throughout the house”

“For the last 5 months or so, my dad’s house where I currently live has had a sewer gas smell come and go. Sometimes it’s very faint, other times it’s super strong. We’ve had plumbers come out and take a look at the house, they’ve done a smoke test but nothing came of it, just told us to keep filling p-traps with water. But the smell seems to keep coming back every week to every 2 weeks now even with using all the drains in the house. My dad doesn’t have a sense of smell so he can’t smell the gas”

“The two pvc pipes run out from the furnace, the other one is a drain from the tankless water heater. Does a tankless water heater purge or release water like this possibly? First time seeing it and have only owned this home for 10 months. submitted by /u/mymanmitch21 [link] [comments]”

“​Hi everyone, ​I’ve just moved to Taiwan (not sure if that’s relevant) and I think I’m having plumbing problems in my bathroom. I live on the 12th floor of a 15-storey building. I’m completely at a loss at this point. Here’s the situation: For the past three weeks, my bathroom has smelled strongly of sewage, and I don’t know where it’s coming from. It started suddenly; everything was fine before that. I have the extractor fan running 24/7 because it would be unbearable in the bathroom (which is”

“Hi, I've been trying to investigate an issue where sometimes flushing the upstairs toilet makes the basement and first floor smell like sewage, despite no dry p traps. But when I took the lid off the basement drain and looked inside, I realized that other drains flow directly into this drain. Below the floor but before the p trap, there's a pipe that empties into the drain. For example, my wife was washing dishes, and I could watch the soapy water draining into the basement drain. Is thi”

“Can please someone help - Is it normal to have water in the drains of my old city home basement? My HVAC and dehumidifiers have been running to these for the past four years and just happen to notice it while doing a little cleaning. The drain in my yard doesn’t seem to be filling up as much but the two of my basement seemed to only be a few inches from filling up submitted by /u/LarryNotDavid123 [link] [comments]”

“I live in a multi-story condo building and have been getting a sewage smell when running my AC system. It tends to happen in bursts, maybe once or twice a day when it is the hottest (early/mid afternoon). I’ve never noticed the smell when my AC is off. My air handler is located in a pretty extensive plenum space that spans the entire length of my unit (maybe 50’). My condensate line runs through this plenum space and drops down under my bathroom sink, where it is connected to a dishwasher tailpi”

“Check the floor drain. It would be unusual for it to drain into the footing drains.”

“We just moved into a new house with a septic system. The house was built with an unfinished basement but roughed in for a future bathroom and sink. After being in the house 6 weeks we now notice a sewer gas smell in the basement. However, all the rough in plumbing was glued and capped. There is a floor drain and a utility sink that both go to footer drains. There is a shower drain and toilet drain on the other side of basement which is where the smell is, but both capped Any suggestions on how t”

“a sewage smell has been coming out of my basement floor drain and I read about P-traps so since it was completely dry I vacuumed out the drain and poured some water it, but the water wasn't going anywhere it was just filling up. I know there is supposed to be some water in the p-trap but it was starting to back up into the connecting pipe Looking down the pipe curves out of sight a few inches below, and there is an unknown pipe feeding it slightly beneath the drain cover. Why won't my wa”

“In 2018 we replaced our standard water heater with a tankless unit. The prior water heater vented into a "Y" that joined the pipe from the furnace (4-inch branches to 5-inch main) and vented straight up from the basement ceiling 3 stories (1F/2F/Attic) and exited at the roof. Once the old water heater was removed, the old "Y" was removed and the "orphaned" furnace vented alone through the existing flue. For 3 years after this, we had no issues. In 2021 we had a 15 y”

“Link to images: https://imgur.com/a/KDAER9X I have a floor drain in my basement for the A/C runoff and the water softener. Unremarkable since I moved in, up until the last time it ran and it stopped being able to keep up with the water softener discharge and was making a puddle in the basement. It was still draining, just very slowly. So I opened it up and I see it covered in a white film. Pretty sure that was just salt deposits because it rinsed off pretty easily. In the linked images you'l”

“I have a house built in 1969 and I'd like to update this basement bathroom. It appears the sink, shower, AC condensate and maybe the washer (?) dump directly into this floor drain. I can't imagine this is sanitary or up to current code, but I'm not even sure what I'm looking at. The bathroom is located in the utility room and is elevated on 2x4s (step up) above the drain. My plan is to demo everything and get a plumber out to take a look, but I'm not even totally sure what I&”

“There's water seemingly coming up from under the ground here where an AC condensate line is buried. Because water would only flow partially or not at all through this line to the outside, I have since capped off this line and installed an AC condensate pump instead to bypass this line. I have capped it outside as well (far right in grass). My pump drains to a nearby washer drain. Idk what these old outdoor pipes are. What might cause water to seemingly come up around this area? It occurs bas”

“Hi all, I noticed a sewer gas smell coming from under my kitchen sink and noticed an air vent had been installed. I didn’t notice it when we moved in last October. This house was built in 2006. From what I can tell (and from what code is) there is a plumbing vent coming out of my roof. This is the only sink in the house with a vent. Is it necessary because of the s shape formed with the p trap and the San t to the sewer? submitted by /u/DodgeK [link] [comments]”

“There’s a drain in my basement and I noticed that water is coming up as the tub faucet runs on the second floor. As soon as the water turned off upstairs, the water started receding. Is this normal? Please tell me it’s normal 😭. Nvm I know it’s not normal 😩. What can I do at home before I have to call someone that I can’t pay 😀?? submitted by /u/SnooGuavas8988 [link] [comments]”

“Had an issue with the ac evap drain pan leaking onto the furnace. Cleaned the drain lines from the evap drain pan, and reconnected. Water wasn’t draining. Pulled off the drain pipe to the sewer, the water emptied into my bucket. Reconnected and it seems like the water was flowing properly. But, it ten started dripping from the pvc pie in the furnace itself. I have circled it in the pics. I hand tightened it a bit more, but it still drips every 8 seconds or so. Any advice would be appreciated! Wo”

“First time homeowner. The house has an unfinished basement that has a distinct smell. There is also a crawl space that is fairly humid and likely causing the smell. I’ve been noticing the smell coming through the vents on the main floor and especially in the upstairs bathroom at night while showering. I do not have central air, so there shouldn’t be any air pushing through the vents. Attaching a picture of the furnace, crawl space, and upstairs bathroom vent that’s underneath the vanity. The cra”

“Twice now the main sewer line has had a block and this has overflowed water into our basement. I’ve seen plugs that we could use to block the hole but we have the AC condensation line that drains here. Are there any recommendations on a way to block this line but still allow one way drainage? Or other solutions? submitted by /u/Redhb9 [link] [comments]”

“Doesn’t puddle, just creates area of dampness that dries quickly (dark area in photo). Only happens when the washer or dishwasher dumps a lot of water quickly. The pipes all feel dry. Old ass rowhouse so I’m afraid they’ll tell me I need to replace the whole pipe, although I’m having no other drainage issues and this is localized to right below where this goes under the slab. What am I dealing with here? Best course of action? submitted by /u/10tonheadofwetsand [link] [comments”

“Need advice. Drain pan will fill in 24Hrs, the bottom of the unit appears to be filling up with condensate, and I need to fix the problem. The drain pipe from the unit does drain. I have replaced condensate pump and no difference, ran vinegar through the pump to condensate hose. Assume no significant blockage in hose as it does pump tthhhe water out/up. What is the next step? submitted by /u/Alt3rN8or [link] [comments]”

“I had a combustion air duct installed in my basement mechanical room but they did it with rigid duct and only insulated the first 10 feet of a 30+ foot run. That led to condensation forming in the duct and dripping out of the seams. It dripped all over a particle board work bench that I had in the basement, so I dried it and had fans run on it for a few days, and the company came back and insulated the remaining length of the duct. Through all of this I started noticing a sweet smell in the corn”

“Ok bear with me as I think this is going long (with a complex solution). The house we bought (1.5 years ago) is equipped with forced air, however it has in-floor plumbing for the basement and main floor (no pipes on the second floor). The wife has asked to hook up the in-floor heating as the floors were VERY cold last winter (nasty Edmonton winter ). I have done a ton of research and I think I'm on the right track, but want some other opinions. I have settled on a Rinnai IP090160C for both D”

“Smelled something when I got home today. Checked basement and noticed decent amount of sewage coming out of a drain. Sewage seems to only rise when using upstairs bathroom. What should I do?? submitted by /u/Helpful_Ad_7757 [link] [comments]”

“Apartment building with an underground garage level (1989.). I own one enclosed garage unit, about 20 sqm. Shared building drainage runs across the ceiling. The smell: faint but unmistakably sewer gas. Only noticeable when the unit has been closed for a day or more. The moment I open the door it disperses and is basically gone. No pooling water, no dripping, no visible active leak. What I can see: Black cast iron soil pipes crossing the ceiling, including a bend and a Y branch. Looks original to”

“We've been getting a lot of sewer smells in the house which I initially assumed was due to under filled traps in the basins. However, when my big nose followed the smell, it seemed to be coming from the extractor fan in the kitchen. I took it apart and could see that the conduit of the fan punches through the plasterboard above and tracks along to the external vent....that all makes sense to me (a very non plumber). The cut out in the kitchen ceiling, through which the (rough guess would be”

“We have been able to smell the sewage through half of our house (smell coming from our shower drain), especially when doing laundry (smell comes from kitchen sink). I assume there is a vent line or something somewhere that can be fixed to stop the smell right? submitted by /u/SadSunflower420 [link] [comments]”

“I tried google image searching, but it just kept telling me my house is rotten. I know that! Anyway, is this the sewer vent? If so, should it be shaped like that? I keep getting whiffs of poop in my house, please help! submitted by /u/Unusualshrub003 [link] [comments]”

“Hey hope this is the right place to ask. But I've noticed a few times that my unit upstairs is leaking Near the drain and then through the floor into our main floor bathroom. The drain pipe leads outside and leaks slowly, but getting more water coming through the floor. It's an older unit. Do you think this is something I could open and clean or maybe unclog the pipe? I am assuming a clog. I run my hand under where the filter goes and I just pick up tons of wet dust/dirt. submitted”

“Long story short, I live in a first floor apartment and there are other tenants living directly above me. We have had mold problems in our bathroom and it has a constantly musty smell- today I was getting fed up about it and began checking everywhere for a new source we hadn't already detected (I live in Oregon so some amount of mold is unfortunately common). I noticed a square sized shape directly above my shower head, and upon touching it, found that it is damp (the area directly around it”

“Hello, I live in a fairly large building with 7 floors. I’m on the 6th floor. I’ve had maintenance come out 4 times for this awful sewer smell specifically under the bathroom sink. It’s mostly in the evenings. It comes and goes with no rhyme or reason. Last time, a plumber came and said he put a camera through but found no broken pipes. Previously, they found a broken pipe inside the wall in another section of my apartment. They fixed that and patched up the wall but the smell under the sink was”

“This pipe is open and smells like sewage. It is not a super strong smell, but enough that I noticed it and figured out where it’s coming from. I thought the odor was from litter boxes, but no. We are on septic and it looks like this was used to drain a water softening system that has not been used since we moved here 10 Years ago. Can we close this off, or install a valve? could I pour water down it to control the stink? Does this indicate a bigger problem? thank you for any and all advice! &#32”

“Kind of like sewer gas. I already use the sink quite frequently and already used a drain opener to declog it, unsure what is the cause. The pipes are hidden inside a cabinet, and whenever I open the cabinet, a warm, sewer like smell comes out. submitted by /u/Delicious-Expert-180 [link] [comments]”

“We have an old house, about 115 years old. Every so many years we have to get the pipes in the basement snaked due to roots/clogs. About a week and a half ago, we could smell sewer, went down in the basement and the last access to the pipes going out of the house was backing up with sewage. My husband got the shop vac, cleaned it up and we got a plumber the next day to snake/rooter the pipes. Everything was fine. I went to Menards for some things, my husband asked for some bleach to sanitize the”

“AC condensation line backed up and the auto shutoff didn’t engage. didn’t notice until it was under a good portion of our floors. I pulled up the LVP everywhere there was water, soaked up the water and turned on the fans and dehumidifier before leaving town for a week. Friend will empty dehumidifier periodically. didn’t see any mold. Slight musty smell. I was careful removing and drying out the old LVP. Has rubber backing and didn’t seem capable of absorbing water. Broke several, but most are in”

“UPDATE: there’s standing water in my Gas Hot Water pan. It’s coming from that. As the title says, a secondary condensation drain line has water flowing out of it today. The main drain lines for the units are still dripping as well. I’ve been here for 8 years and haven’t noticed this before (although maybe I just didn’t notice). Also, it’s summer in South Carolina and 81% humidity today. I did check the pans in the units in the attic and they’re clear. Also, I used a wet vac on the main lines jus”

“This HVAC was installed in 2021 and has always collected water that does not drain. If the level gets high, I shop vac it out. The floor is not level as evidenced by the water pooling to the left (dry spot on the right). I am thinking the pan leaks because the concrete will eventually be damp. I change the filters 2x a year and have annual maintenance. One maintenance guy speculated there is a crack in one of the pipes or the pump. Should the floor be leveled or the pan be leveled somehow? Thank”

“The jet pump on our incoming waterline broke in our unfinished basement, flooding the entire thing to a depth of about 3 inches. This somehow spread a horrifying smell throughout the basement and onto and into anything that has contacted the water (boxes that were on the floor for example). ~ We had the water pumped out and the entire floor squeegee dry within eight hours. 2 dehumidifiers and eight fans running since then, have run the ozone generator twice. I can’t find a single thing online ab”

“I’m renting. Upstairs neighbors toilet hose was dripping for a month or more. After the hole was cut out to find the issue a real bad smell started coming. smells like urine or sewage. Plummer replaced the hose upstairs and didn’t do anything else. They said that closing the hole with sheetrock will get rid of the smell, but I smell it in the other bathroom now and feel like theres another problem here. Any suggestions? submitted by /u/lookingforterm [link] [comments]”

“Previous homeowners had this setup for the washing machine drain hose (seen in “Old Setup”) and periodically we get sewer gas smell down there due the pipe being completely open at top as shown in first drawing and no trap. This is my thought on the new setup, would this be a correct setup and solution? submitted by /u/Ft123321 [link] [comments]”

“Hoping someone has came across the issue before because 5 AC techs and 6 plumbers cannot figure this out. Live in a manufactured home and about a year ago, the AC would smell like sewage or dirty water when we use the kitchen sink or flush the toilet in our bathroom. Have been told by many AC techs and Plumbers the systems are not connected but it is happening only when we use the kitchen sink and/or flush our bedroom toilet. There are 0 bad smells when the AC is running and we do not flush the”

Dry floor drain

“Photo 1: a look at the whole situation in my basement ceiling. You are looking at the 4inch house vent. Note the “strange 2 inch vent thing” in front, and the sanitation Y that is going nowhere but seems to be capped off correctly. Photo 2: the interface between the “new” pvc and the existing old cast iron vent pipe. Ya, it doesn’t look the best to be either, would love advice on how to seal that correctly without removing the existing pipe (if possible) Photo 3: the top of the “strange 2 inch v”

“Significant mystery water outflow from the home. Constant. The main pipe in the basement is warm. All obvious sources checked, sinks, toilets, fridge, washer, dishwasher, outside faucets. Its less than those sources would normally sound like, but significant and constant. I'm stumped and going to call a plumber unless any of you all can help. Any guidance appreciated! submitted by /u/Embarrassed-Spare524 [link] [comments]”