septic tank problems
 

I just bought an old farmhouse an am going thru all the repairs that
need to be done and have a puzzle.

when a large load of waster is flushed down the pipes (i.e. bathtub
emptying) the basement fills with septic gas. found a cleanout cover
rusted out (and now fixed) but still having the gas.

I'd say that when the water enters the tank, the gas gets pushed back,
after the fix it has dropped noticeably, but it appears it has now been
directed to the tank vent.

still some gas in basement, and a fairly good stinker from the septic
vent, have i been living in the city soo long to forget that this is
normal?

septic tank problems
 

Try getting the tank pumped out or put some chemical treatment down it
perhaps it is gotten inactive due to lack of use
Tater wrote:
I just bought an old farmhouse an am going thru all the repairs that
need to be done and have a puzzle.

when a large load of waster is flushed down the pipes (i.e. bathtub
emptying) the basement fills with septic gas. found a cleanout cover
rusted out (and now fixed) but still having the gas.

I'd say that when the water enters the tank, the gas gets pushed back,
after the fix it has dropped noticeably, but it appears it has now been
directed to the tank vent.

still some gas in basement, and a fairly good stinker from the septic
vent, have i been living in the city soo long to forget that this is
normal?

septic tank problems
 

jim wrote:
Try getting the tank pumped out or put some chemical treatment down it
perhaps it is gotten inactive due to lack of use

forgot to add some pertinent information......

darin feild outlet seems to be draining correctly, tank was pumped out
before purchase (paid for by me) and the house was not ocupied for
approx 6 months before we purchased.

and some websites say that chem treatments are nothing more than snake
oil. aside from that SWMBO purchased a bottle of such stuff to see if
it does work or not.

septic tank problems
 

"Tater" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just bought an old farmhouse an am going thru all the repairs that
need to be done and have a puzzle.

when a large load of waster is flushed down the pipes (i.e. bathtub
emptying) the basement fills with septic gas. found a cleanout cover
rusted out (and now fixed) but still having the gas.

I'd say that when the water enters the tank, the gas gets pushed back,
after the fix it has dropped noticeably, but it appears it has now been
directed to the tank vent.

still some gas in basement, and a fairly good stinker from the septic
vent, have i been living in the city soo long to forget that this is
normal?
Shortly after I bought my present house, I also found a rusted cleanout
cover. I replaced it and that stopped the sewer smell in the basement. I
do get sewer smell whenever my wife does laundry but only in the back yard.
I believe, however it is coming from one of the roof vents as my septic tank
has no vent. I lived in the city for 17 years and had also forgotten that
these things come with country life. We live with a pretty constant wind
from the West that after going over the house is backdrafted down behind the
East side of the house, thus I believe why the smell is in the back yard
when laundry is done. If you're still getting smell in the basement,
perhaps you have a plumbing trap that is empty of water, thus letting the
sewer gas through.

Tom G.

septic tank problems
 

On 30 Sep 2006 18:58:13 -0700, "Tater" wrote:

I just bought an old farmhouse an am going thru all the repairs that
need to be done and have a puzzle.

when a large load of waster is flushed down the pipes (i.e. bathtub
emptying) the basement fills with septic gas. found a cleanout cover
rusted out (and now fixed) but still having the gas.

I'd say that when the water enters the tank, the gas gets pushed back,
after the fix it has dropped noticeably, but it appears it has now been
directed to the tank vent.

still some gas in basement, and a fairly good stinker from the septic
vent, have i been living in the city soo long to forget that this is
normal?

You need to install a trap in all your sewer lines and air vents to
the roof. Those two things should cure all your problems.

septic tank problems
 

On 30 Sep 2006 18:58:13 -0700, "Tater" wrote:

I just bought an old farmhouse an am going thru all the repairs that
need to be done and have a puzzle.

when a large load of waster is flushed down the pipes (i.e. bathtub
emptying) the basement fills with septic gas. found a cleanout cover
rusted out (and now fixed) but still having the gas.

I'd say that when the water enters the tank, the gas gets pushed back,
after the fix it has dropped noticeably, but it appears it has now been
directed to the tank vent.

still some gas in basement, and a fairly good stinker from the septic
vent, have i been living in the city soo long to forget that this is
normal?

I remember a year or two ago, there was a poster who had a mansion
house with many rooms. He was complaining that his house often filled
with sewer gas fumes and smelled like sh*t..

The solution was simple. He walked thru the empty rooms once every
day or two and ran a cup of water in each drain and refilled the
'traps' which blocked the sewer gas.

septic tank problems
 

I've found vents hidden inside walls, someone took a short cut and used
pvc one way valves in an attempt to make drains work better. That might
be alright at first (though I doubt it would pass code), but if the
rubber flap or what ever makes it one way fails you have an open pipe.

septic tank problems
 

Eric in North TX wrote:
I've found vents hidden inside walls, someone took a short cut and used
pvc one way valves in an attempt to make drains work better. That might
be alright at first (though I doubt it would pass code), but if the
rubber flap or what ever makes it one way fails you have an open pipe.


Vents like these are supposed to be on risers that take them up into the
attic so that they can be serviced.

In theory, you can bring all vent pipes to a single vent trap like this
and run a single penetration of the roof.

septic tank problems
 

Suggested was to drop in a little oil that would float on top of the
water and would not evaporate.

On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 20:19:03 -0500, DK wrote:

I remember a year or two ago, there was a poster who had a mansion
house with many rooms. He was complaining that his house often filled
with sewer gas fumes and smelled like sh*t..

The solution was simple. He walked thru the empty rooms once every
day or two and ran a cup of water in each drain and refilled the
'traps' which blocked the sewer gas.

septic tank problems
 

Tater wrote:
I just bought an old farmhouse an am going thru all the repairs that
need to be done and have a puzzle.

when a large load of waster is flushed down the pipes (i.e. bathtub
emptying) the basement fills with septic gas. found a cleanout cover
rusted out (and now fixed) but still having the gas.

I'd say that when the water enters the tank, the gas gets pushed back,
after the fix it has dropped noticeably, but it appears it has now
been directed to the tank vent.

still some gas in basement, and a fairly good stinker from the septic
vent, have i been living in the city soo long to forget that this is
normal?

Time to have it inspected. It could be unhealthy so call a reputable outfit
to check the whole thing out.
Try Google and you'll get lots of info on the subject.