Earline Gray
: We recently had a new home built. A septic system was installed and we are having problems with odors. The odor seems to start in the laundry room and is worse when we use the washing machine. Our contractor has been out a couple of times and can not find anything wrong. Our neighbors said they experienced the same problem when they first moved into their house, but it went away in a couple of months. Does the septic system need time to develop bacteria to take care of the odors,r should we have another plumber come out to check on our system, or could there be another answer to our problem.I have just received approval from our council for a septic system. With the approval came some information regarding odour problems which is as follows – For correct functioning, septic tanks need to operate under alkaline conditions. Some factors which can cause acid conditions and odour problems include: – Excessive use or use of the wrong type of cleaning chemicals. – Shock volumes of incoming water (eg several loads of washing in quick succession or a large number of people at a party. – Lack of use of the system while the house has been vacant.The normal bateria may die off under acid conditions resulting in offensive odours. It is quite simple to restore the balance using hydrated lime available from hardware stores.- Mix 0.5kg of lime with 10 litres of water. Flush the mixture down the toilet 2 or 3 times a day for 3 to 4 days, until a total of about 5kg is used. If desired, 5kg of lime to 10 litres of water can be used in one hit, however this can be more difficult to flush through the system, especially with new dual flush cisterns. If the odour persist, repeat after 7 days.Hope this helps.
