Sulfur gases smelling up home?


  #1  
Old 08-15-16, 05:12 AM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Sulfur gases smelling up home?

Just purchased a home on a septic and uses well water with a pretty new water softening system.

The problem is that the smell sometimes is so strong downstairs where my mom stays that it could make her gag.

When turning on any faucet cold or hot after a few hours there's a distinct smell.

When flushing the upstairs toilet the smell downstairs happens that smells up the entire house almost it seems sometimes. It seems to happen in the AM more or less when it's the first flush of the day.

I have checked the downstairs toilet to see if it gurgles. It does not. I poured water into the catch drain in the wash room and the water remains in the bottom of the pipe.

Is this because of the sceptic? Or because of bad piping which may not have the water traps in place correctly?

I have called a water softening system company and they wanted to charge 135 to just come out and explain the system to me. Since it kind of seems like all the water shouldn't be to stinky but it all is.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I was told to pour water into every drain to make sure all the traps are blocked. so I'll be doing this when I get home.
 
  #2  
Old 08-15-16, 07:31 AM
P
Group Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: NC, USA
Posts: 27,653
Received 2,152 Upvotes on 1,927 Posts
Yes, first make sure all the traps in the house have water in them. Don't forget floor drains in the basement. Unfortunately they often get covered over when converting the basement to finished space.

If all the traps have water in them you likely have a leak in the drain plumbing somewhere. It may be leaking liquid or it could be in the vent part of the plumbing and just letting sewer gas escape. It's not related to the septic system as houses on city sewer can have the same problem.
 
  #3  
Old 08-15-16, 07:57 AM
pugsl's Avatar
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 8,161
Received 77 Upvotes on 70 Posts
Is this a sewer smell or from your well? If Well do you have a Aerated system( a tank outside to vent water)?
 
  #4  
Old 08-16-16, 07:23 AM
J
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 4,463
Received 128 Upvotes on 113 Posts
Had the water tested to see what type treatment it really needs?
When I've ran into this issue I installed a whole house activated charcoal filter and the smell went away.
 
  #5  
Old 08-16-16, 08:55 AM
G
Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: MI
Posts: 2,364
Upvotes: 0
Received 2 Upvotes on 2 Posts
In an answer to a similar question this week it was explained that sulfur gas is released when it first comes into contact with air...so it would seem a system that oxygenates and vents the water BEFORE the tap is what you need.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: