Sewers

My house is on septic and I smell sewer gas in the back bath. What is causing it? How do I prevent it?

This only happens every once in a while. Usualy happens when there has been a lot of water used that day.

Public Comments

1. I would suggest you put some enzymes in your system. Or it could be time to have it emptied. My dad always had problems like that when there were heavy rains.. it got in the system or something I guess.
2. The field line cant keep up with liquids there is not much you can do except dig it up put more field line more gravel about it,It is not stopped up when it rain's the ground gets soaked no run off I bet you are on a flat lot.House gutter water run away from septic tank,try to keep as much rain water from around septic tank ditch or another pipe
3. Hmmm...we have septic as well, but toilets, tubs and sinks have protection against the odor. Do you also pump your own water? If so, it could be a sulfur odor from using lots of water.
4. u probly have to empty ur septic tank cuz my house is on one and we have to empty evry 5 to 10 years it depends on how much u use it and how long its been since it was last cleaned
5. your septic tank needs to be emptied, also have drains lines flushed.............
6. It is possible that one of the "traps" in a shower or sink leading to your septic tank is not filled with water. For example, I have a shower in a bathroom that is hardly ever used. Over time, the water in the s-trap under the drain evaporates allowing septic gas to escape. I turn on the shower every month or so just to be sure there is enough water to form the water seal. Toilets have a built in trap, but sinks and showers rely on an s-trap below the drain.
7. you need an s trap or p trap in your drain line under the tub to prevent smell. its easy to do
8. I had this problem once and the whole house smelled like rotten eggs,,we had to dig the floor up and replace some of the plumbing..the pipes had a crack in them and the water was building up and its very dangerous..the city told us and the land lord that if it wasnt fixed they would condem the house..so the land lord paid us to fix it the next day..well then it happend again when we went to move out, it was in the house next to ours and the water was on the same line they ended up diging up the yard and replacing all the sewer pipes..
9. Put a plug in the bath.
10. add on to existing drainline