We have a ranch style house with a basement and overhead sewer. The
house wastes (bathroom and kitchen) drain by gravity into the sewer
lateral which is about 6 feet above the basement floor.

There's a sump in the basement laundry room that receives water from
the drain tile surrounding the house.

The laundry sinks and the washing machine drain into a basin under the
basement floor. That basin drains into the sump. When the sump fills
to a certain level the pump automatically pumps the sump's contents up
to the sewer lateral.

My wife complains that sometimes the sump has an offensive odor. I
can't smell it because by olfactary apparatus isn't top shape, but
visitors have said that from time to time they've smelled the odor,
too.

We tried just running fresh water into the laundry tubs to sort of
flush the basin and the sump, but that didn't help.

I dimly recall someone else having had this problem and someone
suggested that bleach or some other chemical added to the sump now and
then might help by destroying bacteria or other nasties growing in
there.

The water column in the sump is about 5 feet deep and roughly 30
inches in diameter. If my high school geometry is holding me in good
stead, that's about 24 cu. ft.

So what chemical, and how much might be a good dose for my smelly
sump?

All suggestions welcome.

-Len

Bleach a gallon is a start. you may want to turn it off and let it fill
so the bleach will get the whole sump wall. Leave it in maybe 4 hrs.
then pump out. It takes time to work leaving it in longer or more bleach
wont hurt anything. Try running bleach in the sinks also. Anywhere water
sits can grow mold , even floor traps and washing machine

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 00:30:04 GMT, LenS wrote:

We have a ranch style house with a basement and overhead sewer. The
house wastes (bathroom and kitchen) drain by gravity into the sewer
lateral which is about 6 feet above the basement floor.

There's a sump in the basement laundry room that receives water from
the drain tile surrounding the house.

The laundry sinks and the washing machine drain into a basin under the
basement floor. That basin drains into the sump. When the sump fills
to a certain level the pump automatically pumps the sump's contents up
to the sewer lateral.

My wife complains that sometimes the sump has an offensive odor. I
can't smell it because by olfactary apparatus isn't top shape, but
visitors have said that from time to time they've smelled the odor,
too.

We tried just running fresh water into the laundry tubs to sort of
flush the basin and the sump, but that didn't help.

I dimly recall someone else having had this problem and someone
suggested that bleach or some other chemical added to the sump now and
then might help by destroying bacteria or other nasties growing in
there.

The water column in the sump is about 5 feet deep and roughly 30
inches in diameter. If my high school geometry is holding me in good
stead, that's about 24 cu. ft.

So what chemical, and how much might be a good dose for my smelly
sump?

All suggestions welcome.

-Len

You probably got rotting debris in the bottom of the pit. Turn the
pump on manually *hold float up* until you pump out as much water as
possible. Then use a shovel to scoop put as much solid junk as you
can and put it in a pail to dispose outdoors. You can also use a
wet&dry shop vac to remove the sludge. Once cleaned, pour some bleach
in and add some water. Let it sit overnight with pump unplugged so it
can work into the drain tiles and such.

Just bleaching will stop the natural decomposition of the sludge and
sooner or later it will get deep enough to clog your pump.

Mark

LenS wrote:

We have a ranch style house with a basement and overhead sewer. The
house wastes (bathroom and kitchen) drain by gravity into the sewer
lateral which is about 6 feet above the basement floor.

There's a sump in the basement laundry room that receives water from
the drain tile surrounding the house.

The laundry sinks and the washing machine drain into a basin under the
basement floor. That basin drains into the sump. When the sump fills
to a certain level the pump automatically pumps the sump's contents up
to the sewer lateral.

My wife complains that sometimes the sump has an offensive odor...

How about making an airtight cover (well-sealed to the floor a foot around
the edge of the hole) with a vent pipe to the sewer vent or the outdoors?

Nick

"LenS" wrote in message
...

We have a ranch style house with a basement and overhead sewer. The
house wastes (bathroom and kitchen) drain by gravity into the sewer
lateral which is about 6 feet above the basement floor.

There's a sump in the basement laundry room that receives water from
the drain tile surrounding the house.

If true, this is a bad error in construction. The drain tile ought
to lead water away from the house (not into the basement.)

The laundry sinks and the washing machine drain into a basin under the
basement floor. That basin drains into the sump. When the sump fills
to a certain level the pump automatically pumps the sump's contents up
to the sewer lateral.

This seems also non-standard. Sumps do not (in this part of
the world) pump into the sewer: they have their own exits (to
the exterior and away from the house.)

The water column in the sump is about 5 feet deep and roughly 30
inches in diameter. If my high school geometry is holding me in good
stead, that's about 24 cu. ft.

This is an anomaly which you can confirm by looking at
sump pumps at the hardware store. The standard size
is less than 30 inches overall, designed to pump out water
when it gets to be 18 or 20 inches deep and stop when
the sump holds only a few inches. (Depth settings for On
and Off are set by adjustable floats.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

first play with the bleach, air out the basement and treat pet
accidents.
go to www.grainger.com and search for kill oder. click on the catalog
page 1601.
buy a gallon of the concentrate now you'll thank me later.
we like the cherry almond but they have other ones now also.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...e&CatPage=1601

now your basement smells so nice, go read about mold at:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldguide.html

Drain tile has with no negative issues been used in the best of houses
draining into a basement sump in the chicago area for over 100 years.
Drain outside, in a neighboorhood where houses are next door at -20f. no
way it would freeze and be a public liability from freezing, Not to
mention it would not drain at -20f it would freeze. This is the way its
done here and always has been.

LenS wrote:

There's a sump in the basement laundry room that receives water from
the drain tile surrounding the house.

You may have picked up a mouse or something, which is now decomposing,
if the tiles have any openings, like in window wells.

See if you can pump as much water out as u can, and see if there is
anything left that smells.

info note: i see you are getting mixed replies because the disposal of
rainwater in some cities is required to go to the sewer where in others
it is not permitted. some dry cities have no rain gutters, other cities
are built below sea level.
in buffalo ny depending what part of town you are in the sewer may be
leaving the basement below the basement or in one case we own just like
yours, above the basement floor.
often the best advice comes from a neighbor with more years in a
similar house who has the same drainage of soil and ordinances, as well
as the name of an old time plumber.

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:52:06 -0500, "Don Phillipson"
wrote:

"LenS" wrote in message
.. .


There's a sump in the basement laundry room that receives water from
the drain tile surrounding the house.

If true, this is a bad error in construction. The drain tile ought
to lead water away from the house (not into the basement.)

Dunno what to tell you on this. Our house, like the many others built
at the same time in the same development have drain tile that empties
into the sump. Also the basement window wells drain into the drain
tile.
The laundry sinks and the washing machine drain into a basin under the
basement floor. That basin drains into the sump. When the sump fills
to a certain level the pump automatically pumps the sump's contents up
to the sewer lateral.

This seems also non-standard. Sumps do not (in this part of
the world) pump into the sewer: they have their own exits (to
the exterior and away from the house.)

Well, in this part of the world the sumps don't pump into the sewer
any more, either. When our house was built, however, emptying into the
sewer was standard. Code on that has been changed, however, and new
sumps now must pump out onto the lawn or some other part of the
property. We have a second sump (added later) kitty-cormer from the
one with the problem that empties onto the front lawn.

Thanks for the comments.

-Len

LenS wrote:

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:52:06 -0500, "Don Phillipson"
wrote:

"LenS" wrote in message
. ..


There's a sump in the basement laundry room that receives water from
the drain tile surrounding the house.

If true, this is a bad error in construction. The drain tile ought
to lead water away from the house (not into the basement.)

Dunno what to tell you on this. Our house, like the many others built
at the same time in the same development have drain tile that empties
into the sump. Also the basement window wells drain into the drain
tile.

A mouse or other form a wild life found its way into the drain tiles
from the window well drain, and is now rotting in the sump.

Had this exact same problem at my folks house as a kid.

lint accumulation? the plastic washtub maytag washer washer 4 years old
we recently replaced [for a transmission problem] was starting to get
musty/mildewy/moldy odors
from lint buildup between the inner and outer tubs. your washing
machine may also have a residual lint holding dampness problem which
holds odors. this same lint is being passed to the sump and may tend to
accumulate since its last cleaning.

replying to LenS, Josh wrote:

The water column in the sump is about 5 feet deep and roughly 30
inches in diameter. If my high school geometry is holding me in good
stead, that's about 24 cu. ft.
So what chemical, and how much might be a good dose for my smelly
sump?



Some states it's illegal to put waste water into sump. When I get sick of
paying for holding tank pumping, I run my shower into sump. This makes it
smelly. Probably anything putting organic matter in there will do it..
Maybe have the waste water put elsewhere.


--

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 12:44:05 PM UTC-5, Josh wrote:
replying to LenS, Josh wrote:

The water column in the sump is about 5 feet deep and roughly 30
inches in diameter. If my high school geometry is holding me in good
stead, that's about 24 cu. ft.
So what chemical, and how much might be a good dose for my smelly
sump?



Some states it's illegal to put waste water into sump. When I get sick of
paying for holding tank pumping, I run my shower into sump. This makes it
smelly. Probably anything putting organic matter in there will do it..
Maybe have the waste water put elsewhere.

--

It's been 10 years. The water dried up 9 years ago. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Stinky Monster