Laundry Room Sewer Gas Mystery - Help!

6 years ago

Hello - wondering if anyone has any insight on this issue.

2nd floor laundry room and we intermittently smell sewer gas (is almost constant but goes away when we wash clothes). We’ve tried the following:

2 different plumbers
Black plug in floor drain
Studor vent under laundry room sink
The washer hose is not too far down the wall pipe (it is not in the trap water)
There always seems to be water in the traps when I look (but smell is present).

Has anyone else experienced something like this?

Any other ideas we could try to fix it?

It’s a terrible smell. Almost seems to be worse when it rains.

Featured Answer

Cavimum

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

FWIW, our Master Bathroom would get the sewer gas odor from time to time. Scary stuff. During our recent bathroom remodel, I asked our contractor to have the plumbers take a look at it. I mentioned there was a pattern to the odor, and over the years we noticed it when the wind blew from the north.

What the plumber determined was that the sewer gas pipe came out of the roof a few feet (to the north ) from the attic ventilation turbine whirly thing. Their theory was that the gas was getting blown into the attic vent and came down thru the bathroom exhaust fan. IDK if that was a correct theory, but they moved the sewer gas pipe far away from the turbine vent and we will see, this winter, if that fixed it, My money is on it being solved.

While this may not be what is going on in your house, it could be something odd like ours was. Good luck. I hope you can get it solved!

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Comments (8)

michelle_wren0110
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes, fairly positive. I bleach it, wipe the door after washing clothes, use cleaner regularly. I also bought a gas detector probe and does not detect anything inside washer. Seems to pick up something in the drains, but water is still there.
scottie mom
6 years ago
Plumber replaced the studor under the sink? And you’re sure where the washer vents?

Your description leads me to suspect a faulty studor. They go bad after a while.
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D Nelsmama
6 years ago
We are having the same issues, new build, although our smell is in the basement, plumber has been here many times, also seems worse when it rains, frustrating
michelle_wren0110
Original Author
6 years ago
Plumber added a studor under the sink to try and fix the issue. The laundry room vents out the roof. I forgot to mention this is a new build too.
Stax
6 years ago
So, I guess you ruled out the Washer... sorry to have butted in.
formulaross20
6 years ago
Is your washer a front loader? Could the smell be from mildew? Other than the plumbing p-traps being absent (and I can't imagine the plumber missing this on a new build) and allowing sewer gases into the house (ugh!!), we have a similar smell that comes from our new (1 year old) front load washer if we LEAVE THE WASHER DOOR CLOSED AFTER WASHING LAUNDRY. Mildew seems to grow in the crevices of the door seal where water is trapped. This appears to be a fairly common complaint with front loaders. Aside from using bleach periodically, or washing an empty load with extremely hot water to kill the mildew, our solution has been to leave the washer door open after use so things can air dry such that the mildew doesn't have a chance to grow.
dadoes
6 years ago
Leaving the door ajar is standard recommended procedure for any frontloader. Doesn't have to be wide open ... just not latched.