To all the sifus and experts on this forum,

I need advice on how to get rid of the sewer smell coming into my house. My house is 44 year old and recently the sewer line from the master bedroom to the inspection chamber was clogged. The blockage was cleared and water can flow from the toilet to the inspection chamber. However there is a strong sewer gas smell coming in from behind the house and also from the front garden. I have called in many plumbers and contractors. Most said nothing could be done and one contractor suggested replacing the sewer lines under the house. This will involve hacking the floor in the living room, dining room and kitchen. Inputs and advices from members of this forum who had come across such cases would be much appreciated. Thank you

Is your sewer pipe have a vent on top ? That should vent out the smell.

Do you know where the smell come from more detail?

The sewer vents were restored. They were cut off during renovation of the toilets 8 years ago. The smell comes from under the house. It is stronger when the neighbours' water from their sinks pours into the drain or using their toilets or bathrooms. When I flush my toilets, the smell will come up from the back and the garden in front of the house.

The sewer vents were restored for the toilets upstairs. Does the toilet downstairs need to be vented also?

The ventilate hole is on the main pipe ontop the roof. All the toilet smaller pipe is joined to the main pipe.

If there is another toilet at another place in the house then there will be another main pipe and ventilate hole ontop of the roof.

I suspect the sewer pipe underground is broken. That causes waste leakage. If this is the case, then no choice got to lay a new pipe. Which requires hacking the floor.

Is this a terrace house ? The neighbor supposes to have their own sewage pipe and chamber. Before go into indah water main pipe.

[quote=ozak,Jan 11 2021, 09:20 AM]
The ventilate hole is on the main pipe ontop the roof. All the toilet smaller pipe is joined to the main pipe.

If there is another toilet at another place in the house then there will be another main pipe and ventilate hole ontop of the roof.

I suspect the sewer pipe underground is broken. That causes waste leakage. If this is the case, then no choice got to lay a new pipe. Which requires hacking the floor.

Is this a terrace house ? The neighbor supposes to have their own sewage pipe and chamber. Before go into indah water main pipe.

[/quote

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, it is a terrace house. How do I confirm that the sewer pipe is broken?

When I poured 3 to 4 pails of water down the toilet, there was water coming out of the sewer pipe concerned in the middle of the chamber. However when I flushed the toilet repeatedly and poured basins of water into it, there was no water flowing out. Only some water came out at the hole nearer to the drain that led to the IWK main sewerage line. I was told by the plumber who unclogged the sewer pipe earlier that the sewer pipe has a branch that drains at the bottom of the chamber.

[quote=Bobby2021,Jan 11 2021, 01:17 PM]
[quote=ozak,Jan 11 2021, 09:20 AM]
The ventilate hole is on the main pipe ontop the roof. All the toilet smaller pipe is joined to the main pipe.

If there is another toilet at another place in the house then there will be another main pipe and ventilate hole ontop of the roof.

I suspect the sewer pipe underground is broken. That causes waste leakage. If this is the case, then no choice got to lay a new pipe. Which requires hacking the floor.

Is this a terrace house ? The neighbor supposes to have their own sewage pipe and chamber. Before go into indah water main pipe.

[/quote

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, it is a terrace house. How do I confirm that the sewer pipe is broken?

When I poured 3 to 4 pails of water down the toilet, there was water coming out of the sewer pipe concerned in the middle of the chamber. However when I flushed the toilet repeatedly and poured basins of water into it, there was no water flowing out. Only some water came out at the hole nearer to the drain that led to the IWK main sewerage line. I was told by the plumber who unclogged the sewer pipe earlier that the sewer pipe has a branch that drains at the bottom of the chamber.

[/quote]
Is the basin pipe separate from the toilet pipe? Cause for new piping, all is pipe together and go to Indah water sewage. Local council not allowed any more dirty water flow to drain for new housing.

But for old terrace house piping, Basin and kitchen sink piping is go to outside drain. Only Toilet piping go to indah water sewage.

To check the leakage, you got to block the end. Pour few liter of water and wait. Than unblock it. If able to collect back the water, you can measure the amount before and after. That should tell you the leakage.

I m confuse with your explanation.

[quote=ozak,Jan 11 2021, 01:59 PM]
Is the basin pipe separate from the toilet pipe? Cause for new piping, all is pipe together and go to Indah water sewage. Local council not allowed any more dirty water flow to drain for new housing.

But for old terrace house piping, Basin and kitchen sink piping is go to outside drain. Only Toilet piping go to indah water sewage.

To check the leakage, you got to block the end. Pour few liter of water and wait. Than unblock it. If able to collect back the water, you can measure the amount before and after. That should tell you the leakage.

I m confuse with your explanation.


Thanks for your reply. You are correct as there is no sewer gas smell in my back and side neighbours' house. The leakage is only in my house.

Yes. the basin pipe is separate from the toilet pipe in my house.

Do you have any contact who can do the checking? The sewerage pipe is clay type. The inspection chamber is very deep and easily can be 8 to 10 feet deep as the back of the house is about 5 feet above the back lane where IWK sewerage drain is.

I have a few questions regarding the putting in new sewer pipe.

When putting new sewer pipe under the cement slab, is it better to dig out the old sewer pipe to replace it in the same position or to put a new sewer line while sealing the old sewer line?

Since the house is 44 years old, is it better to replace all the three sewer lines at the same time? How do I make sure that the contractor vents the downstairs toilet when he does the replace the sewer line?

Sorry I don’t have any plumber contact. Most of the plumbing for my home is DIY.

If you can confirm that only the basin or sink sewage pipe is leaking and not the toilet, I might have an idea for you.

You can modify the basin/sink sewage pipe to the toilet main pipe. After all the new regulation is doing so.

So you don’t need to dig the ground and replace. Or minimise digging.

But if there is no choice, than replace whole sewage pipe underground. Once and for all since the house is old.

Choice to replace the old or leave it is depend on the plumber best decision and the actual situation he survey. Cost too.

Vent is a must for sewage pipe and no way he miss it. It is easily inspect with the main pipe all the up to the roof.

Thank you very much for the answer.

-- Deleted --

This post has been edited by geekystef: Jul 15 2022, 11:25 AM

[quote=geekystef,May 14 2021, 05:14 PM]
Hi, did you manage to resolve your problem? I may be facing a similar problem.


The problem is still not resolved yet. Contractors/ plumbers that I called in could not detect the sewer gas odor which comes in off and on at different time. Please let me know if you could solve yours.

Here's what my old single storey old family house did..

We had basically the same problem with sewer gas/smell and the plumber proposed an above ground sewer pipe..

It doesn't look as good but the it was cheaper and quick.. might be an option for you..

Any photos to show ?

Need to wait a bit till i happen to visit there but you can ask your plumber if it is an option for your place..

Its been boxed up so the pipe isn't visible thus even with a picture you can only notice the box up at the floor level..

I wasn't staying that house anymore but there was no excavation for new sewer pipe..

If i get the picture i"ll update in this post but no promises..

Search YouTube " How to fix a concealed toilet - Plumbing tips" video.. its like that but boxed up so the pipe is no longer visible..

Talk to more plumbers to get a wider idea..

This post has been edited by Richard: May 20 2021, 07:44 AM