Tackling the disgusting sewer smell in your house

If you are disgusted by the sewer smell in your home, the best thing to do is to hand your problem over to a plumber before it gets worse. However, you can first do your own inspection to discover the source of smell and to ensure that the problem really is related to the plumbing.

Making sure you do so in a safe manner, climb up on the roof and check if a bird’s nest may be clogging your plumbing stack vent. Make the most of the occasion to put a cap on the vent and to install a new seal.

Check the state of your pipes and the working order of your toilets, sinks and drains. If the wastewater is draining more slowly than it used to, you will easily sniff out the source of your sewer smell problem. Try to identify the quality of the smells in question. These details will prove to be useful should the sewer smell be less present than usual during the plumber’s visit.

There’s no need to do too much detective work before you contact the super hero of the day(the plumber), because if your plumbing knowledge isn’t up to snuff you could easily misdiagnose the problem. That means your ignorance in plumbing matters could lead your sewer smell problems to get even more horrific! In fact, you may be tempted to pour various products down your drains in an attempt to mask the unpleasant odours, but it’s best to refrain from doing so or you could just make matters worse.

When the plumber arrives, fill him or her in on the olfactory drama going on in your house. The plumber may tell you that a faulty S- or P- shaped water seal is the cause. However, the sources of sewer smell are multiple and their level of seriousness varies greatly. Your problem could also be caused by:

• Defective u-bends
• Insufficient ventilation
• Mould
• Stagnant water
• Debris
• Humidity levels that are too high
• Improper plumbing connections

Plumbers typically have thousands of hours of experience; they can quickly put all their knowledge at your disposal and finally put an end to your sewer smell. Your plumber will take advantage of the occasion to check on the condition of the sewer lines and the water-tightness of the drain plugs and the backflow valves. He will replace and clean any damaged parts, if required, so as to avoid any future problems. Won’t it be nice to once again sleep in peace — without a nose plug!

Before you allow the plumber to leave, ask him to explain to you, in all seriousness, how to assume your new role of “maintenance foreman” in the home. He will show you what needs to be checked under all those elbows and conduits and how often you should do it. Staying on top of your home plumbing will let you nip in the bud any future sewer smell problems.