sewer smell on chilly mornings

[MasterPlumbersKeymaster]

My problem began about 3 years ago when I had a vent put in on the outside of my house and a trap in my basement floor. The vent was placed outside (about a foot out of the ground)on a side wall while the sewage exited the back wall. And only on chilly mornings do I have the smell and it seems to be after showering or washing clothes. At that time, our boro was in the process of switching from septic to sewage, and when I called the plumber to tell him of my problem, he told me to wait until after we connected to the sewage. We tapped in about a month ago and this past week we had a few chilly mornings and the smell was back. I talked to the plumber when we were tapping in and he said if the smell came back, I must have a cracked pipe in my basement floor and will have to dig it up. I do not wish to dig up my floor and I find it odd that this only happens on chilly mornings after water has run. If a pipe was cracked why wouldn’t the smell be constant? Is it possible that there is a problem with the trap being low to the ground? Any ideas will be most appreciated!!!! I look forward to your response.

[Robert Stephen MortonParticipant]

Please read previous posts. I do not say that Inversion is the problem but talk to a pilot or a person involved in atmospheric conditions. Your problem may be fixed by simply, extending or relocating the vent.

[Phil_HParticipant]

Is your vent termination only 1 foot off the ground? Is your complaint or problem the foul odor coming out of the vent termination? Is your plumber licensed?

[GuestParticipant]

The complaint that I have is the odor that is in my basement only on cool mornings and sometimes at bedtime. And what really upsets me is that I never had this problem before the plumber who is licensed put in the trap and the vent. I read the above answer to my question and the other post suggested and went to Home Depot today and bought a 5 ft. pipe (which I hope is long enough) and connector to try to bring up the level of the outside vent. I figured that would be cheaper and less work than digging up my basement floor, which the plumber suggested I do. Not being a plumber by NO stretch of the word, it only stands to reason that it has to do with the outside vent being this only happens with cooler weather. I am open to any other suggestions too. I appreciate any response because it just doesn’t make sense to me. Thanks!

[Author]

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