The end of the year is when you’ll probably entertain more houseguests than any other time. You want the inside of your home to be a welcoming place, clean and tidy. You absolutely don’t want strange, foul odors of sewage wafting through the rooms!
Of course, you don’t want these odors to occur at any time. They likely mean an issue with your plumbing that could point toward more serious concerns in the drainpipes and sewer line. If sewer gas is entering your house, it also poses health hazards. These gases not only smell terrible, they can cause dizziness and respiratory problems and lead to the spread of bacteria.
But what’s causing this in the first place? Below are the common reasons for these terrible plumbing smells. In some cases, you’ll need the help of a plumber in Plattsburgh, NY to solve the problem. Keep our number handy, and we’ll come to your rescue when you need it.
Dried p-traps
This is a simple problem, and easily fixed. If you can track the bad odors to a single drain, then you’re likely dealing with a dried p-trap. The p-trap is the curved pipe section of the drainpipe, which uses gravity to trap a plug of water. This water barrier prevents the rise of sewer gas through the drainpipe from getting out of the drain. The water will eventually evaporate if the drain isn’t used, which is why this problem is likely to occur in the bathroom of an unused guest bedroom. All you have to do to fix the problem is run water down the sink for about a minute to restore the water barrier.
Leaks in drain vents
You can’t see most of the pipes in your plumbing, so you’re likely unaware that there are pipes that carry sewer gas from the drainage system up through the walls of your house where the gas is released through vents in the roof. This is done to prevent a rise in pressure in the drainage system. But like any pipe in a plumbing system, these vent pipes can leak. This allows sewer gas to seep into rooms in the house. It takes the work of professional plumbers to locate the leaking pipe and repair or replace it.
Blocked drain vents
If the drain vents on the roof are blocked by bird nests or debris from storms, the pressure in the drainage system will rise to the point where sewer gas is forced up through the p-traps. You may hear a gurgling sound from the drains telling you this is happening. Please don’t go up on the roof! Call plumbers for help.
Sewer line trouble
The most serious possibility is the sewer line has become clogged or broken. This will begin forcing sewer gas into your home—and worse is on the way! This work requires skilled plumbers with the finest equipment to solve it. You may need sewer cleaning, a sewer repair, or even a replacement of an old sewer line.
