Sewer Gas Smell In Basement
Sewer smells are very distinct and off-putting. Even if the smell is contained in your basement, there’s a good chance you can smell it in other rooms with drains as well. There are a couple of reasons you might have a sewer gas smell in the basement, and if you do, it’s important to eliminate the cause as soon as possible. This is not something you should wait on. When you smell sewer gas in your home, it might be a sign that there are some bigger problems in your home or sewer system.
When you take a trip down to your basement, are you noticing that it smells like rotten eggs? If so, make sure to call a professional right away to inspect the source of the smell and make any necessary repairs. Failing to get the problem taken care of and eliminating the hydrogen sulfide buildup can create serious health issues.
Make sure to call B&W day or night for plumbing and drain cleaning services for your home. We offer 24/7 emergency service to make sure that if a serious problem occurs of any kind, you have a professional team to turn to. Trust the professionals in the big black trucks to get rid of terrible smells coming from a drain pipe.
What Is Sewer Gas?
The fetid, rotten egg smell of sewer gas is pretty distinct. We’ve all gotten a whiff of a rotten-egg smell coming from a drain before. The distinct “rotten egg smell” comes from hydrogen sulfide. Not only is a foul sewer smell in the basement hard to tolerate, but it can also be dangerous too. The danger resulting from the foul odor of sewer gas comes from the breaking down of organic materials that are commonly found in sewers.
These gasses are made from a wide variety of chemical compounds including hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, esters, carbon monoxide, and more. The effects can be hazardous to your health if you’re exposed to them for long enough. Some of these gasses can even be flammable.
Where Is the Sewer Gas Smell Coming From?
When we experience a foul sewer smell in the basement, the large drain in the basement is usually where it is coming from. The drain may be clogged, but something simple like a dried-out water seal in a basement floor drain could also be the culprit.
Other times a sewer odor is a sign of a bigger problem. Sewer drain clogs can affect multiple drainage points in your home, like toilets and showers. Here are some other common reasons you may be smelling sewer gas:
- The drain line is clogged or damaged
- Blocked or broken sewer line vents
- Bad or broken seal on a vent, drain, or toilet
- Cracked and leaking pipes
- Dry plumbing
As you can see, there is not just one reason why you’re smelling sewer gas in your home. If you are having other drainage problems, on top of bad odors, talk to your neighbors to see if they’re experiencing the same issues. If they are, there could be something wrong with the main sewer line.
When a big issue seems to occur, like a shower drain becoming clogged, be sure to get help as soon as possible. There could be a variety of issues causing your shower to clog, so it’s essential that you find the cause and get it fixed immediately.
From a dried-out water seal in your basement floor drain to a bad or broken vent pipe, a variety of causes can force a sewer odor to plague your basement. With so many causes for why you could be experiencing a sewer odor, it is important to call a professional plumber like B&W to investigate the problem.
What Can Be Done about the Sewer Smell?
If you think that you can ignore the sewer smell in the basement or that it will eventually go away on its own, think again. Even though sewer gas is so putrid, we can eventually become desensitized to it. Since sewer gas can be so potentially hazardous to your health, what could seem like a little problem for you could lead to major health problems down the road.
Whenever you smell a sewer gas odor, it is important to call a plumber right away. The plumbing professionals at B&W treat a sewer smell as an emergency and are available 24/7 to fix the problem as soon as possible.
Smoke Machine Service
The EZSmoke® leak detection systems allows a technician to use low-pressure, non-toxic smoke with a pleasant lemon scent and UV dye to quickly locate annoying sewer gas leaks that are often difficult and time consuming to find in cuts, cracks, fractures, punctures, porosity or unsealed fittings inside or outside residential or commercial buildings.
The core of EZSmoke®’s convenience is that it uses patented technology to send non-toxic smoke containing a trace dye (UltraTrace UV) through the air (not a liquid) that is contained within pipes, wall cavities, or other forms of enclosed spaces. Any visible smoke immediately provides an indication of a large leak.
However, if smoke alone cannot provide the source of the sewer gas odor, technicians can rely on UltraTrace UV, which is carried within the smoke vapor, to pinpoint very small leaks of annoying sewer gas.
What Are the Dangers of a Sewer Gas Smell?
Initially, a small amount of exposure to sewer smell and hydrogen sulfide might lead to a headache, irritability, and other minor symptoms. However, with more exposure comes more intense symptoms.
After serious exposure to hydrogen sulfide, symptoms can grow to become very serious. Dangers as extreme as organ failure, loss of consciousness, and even death can occur.
When sewer gases are discovered in your home, it’s critical to act as soon as possible to limit the amount of exposure to those within your house. Even a small amount of hydrogen sulfide can provide dangerous symptoms to your loved ones within your home. Protect the overall health of your home and those within it and contact a plumber that you trust to inspect your home and find a solution that works for your family.
Call B&W for All of Your Commercial & Residential Plumbing Services
Whether it’s plumbing or drain cleaning, you can trust the professionals in the big black trucks to help with your plumbing, heating, and cooling needs at your commercial and residential properties. Our professional team of plumbers has seen it all. Don’t hesitate to come to us with any problem that’s plaguing your property. Whether it’s a problem with your sump pump or if you’re smelling foul sewer gases, we can help.
Having a plumber that you can trust is crucial to keeping your home in order. Whenever you experience any kind of plumbing issues, you need to have somebody to call immediately. Trust your home with a reputable plumbing company that has years of experience in repairing numerous plumbing problems.
Don’t allow sewer gases to plague your home and those within your house. When you smell sewer gas in your basement or even your laundry room, trust B&W to fix it fast. Call or contact B&W today for service on any plumbing problems you might experience.