I am a first time homebuyer and bought my 1097 square foot, low-level home last July. The home was built in 1974. Since shortly after buying the home and closing, there has been a strong sewage smell that plagues the residence. It was around this same time last year (August/September). It is intermittent. However, this smells deters me from inviting anyone over and it accompanies what seems to be an infestation of gnats.
I can't sleep, sit, eat, or anything without a gnat aggressively attacking me. They help me do my hair, help me clean, help me cook, etc. It's driving me crazy. Last year I had the plumbers out because I thought it was a plumbing issue with setting water, but it's back again this year the same time or year with the gnats! I don't have a sceptic tank. I've also noticed like a week or so ago my plumbing backs up, of course my issue began long before this manifestation, but I don't think that helps the cause!
Last year I did the vinegar traps and yes they caught many gnats, but there were equal amounts still living and the smell is still present. It seemed last year like it only went away when the weather got cold. It did not happen all summer, but with the season change it seems to be back in autumn. I've spent a lot of money on this house even after paying an inspector to catch the important stuff, but at this point I need to know where I can begin or what to do cheaply to address this and not deal with it every year around the same time? Someone please help me! What could this smell be with this accompanying infestation of gnats and what can I do to remedy this?
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
I have been a master plumber for 45 years, and I have ran into this problem before. Not every time, but most times, it is a vent pipe in the attic that has come apart. When you have an open vent pipe, the only place that the odor can go to is inside the house.
Sounds like a drain that is not getting used enough. Pour water down all drains, showers, sinks in the home to fill the p-traps. When drains are not used the p-traps dry up allowing sewer and soil gases into your home. The bugs are most likely drain flies taking advantage of the situtation. The water poured down the drains should take care of the bugs as well.
make sure you pour some bleach or pool shock down the drain. It will stay in the trap and keep it from growing bacteria which also causes foul odor as well as drain gnats. Have your water tested and see what the sulfur content it, you might need to instal an open tank or cistern to allow the gas to evacuate before being pumped inside.
That gnat thing- black flies. happened to me. There is an open drainage opening that should have been capped off. they had to go into the walls to close the drain pipe off. IT IS HORRIBLE.
This may help with the gnats. Apparently this is related to your sewage problems since they breed in drains.
I really hope you get to the bottom of this.
I believe the prior owners must have had the problem and hoped you would not realize it has been occurring since before you bought the house. I suggest that you discuss your house problem with an attorney and strongly consider filing a suit against them and their real estate agent for withholding knowledge of a serious problem. They should be responsible for the problem and should pay for the remedy.
Re the smell, etc., I doubt there are any inexpensive changes you can make or do to help remove the smell. You should consider having an odor removal service try to find and remove the problem.
I would suggest that you call a different plumber than you called last time, unless you have had a long history of good service with that plumber. In which case, I'd phone him and say that you've had him in to fix this problem and here it is back again, and so you want it fixed properly this time. The plumber on here has suggested a solution, and that sounds very sensible. From watching home repair shows on TV, it seems as if many, many times vents are not properly installed, break over time, end up getting blocked, or get disconnected by some home handyman who hasn't a clue what he is doing.
In my last apartment I had a lot of sewer smell to the point of feeling sick. I found when I flushed the toilet 3 or 4 times in a row the smell seemed to go away for most of the day.
The problem is most likely a wax seal under the toilet. $10 diy repair if the leak hasn't rotted the floor. Could possibly be a hole in the plumbing stack but that is less likely
Look for a small pool of water near your home, possibly caused by water leaking or drainage. That's where gnats breed and accumulate. Once the water is dried up they will disappear.
Sounds like missing or empty P-trap somewhere in your plumbing drain system. The "gnats" are probably sewer bugs.
I had something similar happen. No matter what I tried, they just kept coming back. Oddly enough they would rest on my ceiling quite often. In the end, a bug guy came and found a moist spot of drywall under my sink. He said that they were like fruit flies, only they eat mold.
You may not have adequate traps or vents, or a seal may be broken. Didn't the plumbers check for that?
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
