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tuesday_tues

Basement smells like a sewer

tuesday_tues
15 years ago

hi,

my basement smells like a sewer. a few years ago my neighbors told me to put water down the 2 basement drains and that used to work. for some reason this year that does not work. i even had the hose run for an hour on each drain, the smell improved (went away) for about 3 days, now it is back like a giant monster! what can i do? I have read a few things and it sounds like i have to clean out a trap--where the heck is the trap? i have this large round thing outside my back door to the 1st floor of the house that i think is a well or trap or something. i also had my entire kitchen redone this past year, had everything gutted 100%, do you think that has anything to do with it? please help! i am a single woman and me and my dog are grossed out!

Comments (2)

  • hendricus
    15 years ago

    The trap is generally within a foot of the drain opening. I've cleaned floor drains with a wet vac, pour water in the drain and trap and vacuum it out at the same time.

    Post this on the Plumbing Forum, lots more action there.

  • tuesday_tues
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    well, after lots of sluething around my basement, i found the wall the smelled the worse. i moved everything from it hoping to find a dead something or other--nothing.

    so, in tears, i go to my neighbors. they came over and we all then decided it must be a dead animal under my front porch. there used to be a skunk that lived under my porch from time to time, we tried to get rid of him but putting rocks and dirt down the hole. so we go out there, and the hole is there, we do a bit of digging, huge flies, maggets and all of a sudden--that SMELL.

    so we decide it is a dead animal under my porch. now, my porch is a concrete slab on the dirt so we throw some moth balls in it and mix up a 50lb bag of cement with rocks and put that in the hole.

    i am sure i will have to deal with the decaying smell for a while but i hope it goes away soon. the hole probably has a long tunnel so trying to dig under the porch is nearly impossible unless i wanted to get a construction like company out there to do it.

    i am so tired. and i just realized my granite counter top has oil stains on it from making brushetta so i have to figure out how to get the stains out and get it sealed. i am getting tired of being a home owner.

    sue