Now, we have a c 1850 farmhouse. We just replaced the tub faucet so I know the piping runs through the inside wall and that the wall is not insulated. I was thinking that somehow the smell was in the attic and that when the hot water is on it heats up the air and starts to rise and the smelly air from the attic falls down to the first floor or the upstairs hallways. Of course this doesn't explain why the smell would be in the attic. We have one turn-style vent in the attic, and the occasional soffit vent but I suppose this isn't enough.
We do have a vent pipe that sticks up out of a roof extension so it is possible that the stink could be getting sucked into the roof soffit. It is really difficult to see this vent because of the location. My husband said he saw it when he was cleaning a gutter though and he couldn't reach it because of the location of it on the roof. However it IS NOT on the highest part of the roof.

But first of all, does my theory sound plausible or not? Anyone else have any ideas?? Does one vent produce THAT much stink??? We are hooked up to a city sewer system. I figure that vent works for the kitchen sink and upstairs bathroom and that it may be tied directly into the main sewer pipe, judging by the location. We have a second downstairs bathroom that has it's own vent.

thanks for you help!!!

-Renee

We still have 'stank'. Turns our our drainage pipes weren't done correctly and 2 of them leak,(sink and shower thankfully no the toilet)... i suspect they release just enough gas for me to notice some days. I would attempt to chekc your drian pipes if possible for any leaks.

-renee

To fill all the traps just run a lot of water down them.

Hope it's that easy to fix!

(Is it getting any cooler, yet, where you are, I am 'way east of you and I'm waiting for good news ........!)

Molly~

Something I noticed also, Yesterday morning I took my shower prior to work and it was already like 90 degrees. It was SO hot for us! When I came downstairs it smelled worse than ever. Then it takes like a little while and the smell goes away. Today I woke up and it was cooler out because a front just came through so it was much more comfortable. I took my shower and went downstairs and there was NOTHING. I ate breakfast and went back into the room and there was still no smell. So it really seems to have something to do with the air temperature in the house. Our windows were closed yesterday and today so it isn't coming through an open window.

It is SO frusterating! My husband and I were trying to see the vent on the roof but it is impossable to see from the ground. I was trying to figure out if it could be getting sucked in the house somehow. I worry that the vent pipe may be broken in the attic because then we will have to hire someone to crawl around in there, because I am NOT doing it.
it is WAY too creepy in there!!!

Molly, the front came through here around 1am last night. I am SO happy it has finally cooled down to normal temps!

-renee

Sound more like an opening to the sewer system somewhere in the house. Dry traps are the most common example, but it could be a loose clean out plug somewhere, or just a loose pipe connection (wouldn't necessarily leak water). With an old house like that, maybe a drain/vent line in the wall has a loose connection.

I don't know why this would only occur in hot weather though, except that high humidity seems to make everything more rancid smelling.

I have no idea how to get to any drain lines to check to see if the connection is loose. What is a clean out plug??

Oh, when the ceiling was down I still could smell it sometimes and I would look at the piping with a flashlight and touch areas to make sure it wasn't moist and still couldn't find anything, which is why I am thinking there isn't a leak there.

This is so frusterating and embarrasing!
What am I supposed to tell my friends??? I guess I could say my house is old and has gas???
ha!

This is not really very helpful to you, of course, because you can't go tearing down plaster on the hunch of a broken vent pipe "somewhere". You're going to have to try and pinpoint it somehow, maybe by getting up in that "creepy" attic and let your nose lead you to where it seems to be coming from. Just keep in mind that a drain/vent system should be entirely air tight except where it leaves the house (roof vents and main drain) and where there is a water trap to seal it.

I hate to say it, but it's possible somebody did some plumbing at one time by adding a drain for something (e.g. another sink) and for a vent just stuck a pipe up into the wall cavity or the attic (it's a lot of work to either properly connect it back into the existing vent or send a new vent through the roof). Such a shortcut might only create an issue in certain conditions, such as you describe.

BTW, I wouldn't bother logging temperatures - your general description of the conditions should be enough.

Hey, finding a vent stack leading to the attic wouldn't faze me at all. TRUST ME, we have seen way worse things.

YOu never asked me why the ceiling was down, well we tore it down because someone nailed though the waste pipe from the sink while putting a subfloor down and fixed it with some epoxy and a paper towel. When my long hair plugged up the drain (uhm ooops) and my husband decided to plunge it (uuhm double oops) you can only guess what happened!!!

So, I think we can deal with the vent stack if that is the problem. I just wish we knew where it is. Our attic is very old and the hole to get in it is VERY tiny. My husband can barely squeeze through and I would rather not squeeze through although I have a feeling it will be me.

So, Where do vent pipes from bathrooms usually come from? Are they usually just attached to the sewer line?? I think the first thing we can do is check to see if the attic smells when the room smells. Then if it doens't I am not sure how to pinpoint the smell further and I can't really figure out why the bathroom never smells. The only thing I can think of is that the ceiling we put up isn't as "tight" as the older ceilings so it actually allows air in and out from the cavity above it. The attic access panel is not very secure either so I would think that is where the smell comes from in the hallway.

If we do find a pipe, don't we just extend it out of the house??? We do have to think about getting a new roof soon so is it safe to leave it the way it is untill we do that. I guess it can't be any worse than it is now.

-renee

If the vent was terminated in the wall, that would be more of a problem, of course, since you'd have to get access somehow. Although above mentioned valve is not code-approved for wall cavities, it would probably do the job there too as long as it got enough air.

Back to your comment about the nail in the drain pipe: there is a good possibility THAT is where the smell is originating (if you didn't replace the pipe) As I mentioned earlier, the whole sytem has to be air tight, and if he put a hole in the top of the drain pipe it's not air tight. (Since the hole is on top, it would rarely or never leak water.) Better get some more epoxy and paper towels (or a new section of pipe) and see if that solves the problem.

I think you are right about the fact that where it smells and where it doesn't is more a function of household air patterns rather than the precise location of the leak. You probably smell it most is places with air currents coming from the leak location.

Broken pipes......bad connections or dry traps will quickly emit smoke pointing the finger at the problem to be solved .....

Could that possibly be your smell?

Check out the link below for one couple's quest to solve their sewer gas smell.