Sewers

smell of sewer gas in cellar-we have a septic tank?

Public Comments

1. Dump some water in your floor drains. The traps might have dried up.
2. first, do you also have propane or natural gas? if so, you may have a gas leak. otherwise, you either have a plugged vent, or a leak.
3. As Larry said in his answer, it sounds like your traps don't have any water in them. As water flows out of your house, it travels through a pipe with a "U"-shaped dip in it (look under your sink for an example). Water is "trapped" in the bottom of the "U" which blocks the sewer gases and keeps them from entering your house. If the drain has not been used in a long time, the water may have evaporated completely allowing the smell to enter your house.
4. also pour some white vinegar down into your septic tank, it will speed up the process as well as stopping smells
5. I've not seen many septic houses with floor drains, but if you have them, keep the traps full. A more likely culprit after a leak, would be a broken or disconnected vent pipe. You could also have gotten some nasty stuff in your sump well or your laundry pump chamber.....