On 3/6/2016 5:51 AM, Art Todesco wrote:
This may be a little OT because it's not for home, but church. My church has
developed a really bad sewer like smell in one corner of the building, actually
by the main entrance. I thought it might be the new drinking fountain and it
was just installed and maybe there was some kind of drain leak ... apparently
not. BTW, there is a basement right under that corner, but is smells ... well
it doesn't, at all. Someone found a a bag of meat left out from the food
pantry tucked away in a corner of a room ... apparently not that. A plumber
was called and he found a somewhat loose toilet so he replace the wax ring and
tightened it ... not that either.

Ok, all that said, does anyone know of a way to trace where it is coming from?
My smeller is pretty good, however, it's hard to pin point the spot when it
seems to be everywhere. And then, on some days, nowhere; although the bad
smell days far outnumber the non smell days. Any ideas? Thanks.

Make sure the traps in *all* drains have water in them (an unused drain
can dry out in short order).

Vent the area (you said it was proximate to the main entrance so some
fans running for a few hours should vent EXISTING fumes). Then, start
hunting. I.e., finding the highest concentration in an otherwise
"clean" area is easier than finding it in a perfused area.

[I had a *tiny* natural gas leak, here. SWMBO, plumber, neighbors, etc.
couldn't smell it. I borrowed a portable gas analyzer from the local
hospital and used it to isolate the point of the leak.]