Plumber recommendation for basement Sewer smell

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Mar 24th, 2022 1:16 pm

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Mar 15th, 2022 1:57 pm

stephan001 [OP]: Member; Mar 14, 2011; 224 posts; 20 upvotes; Ajax

Mar 15th, 2022 1:57 pm

Plumber recommendation for basement Sewer smell

I have a sewer smell in the basement of my newly purchased home (not a new build).

It seems to be coming from the laundry room floor drain or utility sink. I dumped a gallon of water down the floor drain and also let the water run for a bit on the utility sink which did get the smell to go away for a bit. Unfortunately, it returned within a day and it is a really bad smell. The floor drain doesn't seem to have a P-trap from what I can see.

Any other recommendations? Or any good plumbers in the Ajax area that you would recommend?

17 replies

Mar 15th, 2022 2:00 pm

jacquesstrap: Deal Addict; Nov 9, 2008; 1852 posts; 875 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 15th, 2022 2:00 pm

If it's a 4" drain, odds are it's a toilet roughin and this would be correct as there is a trap within the toilet. You will want to put a cap on this - a few bucks at home Depot.

If it's a 2" drain, who knows.

Either way, cap it to stop the sewer gas smell.

Plumber will likely just confirm what you know and cap it, or ask what you want to do with it.

+1

Mar 15th, 2022 2:22 pm

tew: Deal Fanatic; Jun 13, 2010; 6929 posts; 8934 upvotes; GTA

Mar 15th, 2022 2:22 pm

Happened to me three times. It was roots in the sewer/drain pipe partially blocking it about 3 feet from the house. Luckily the region clears the pipe for free as long as it's over 3 feet from the house otherwise I would have add to hire a company to cut the roots and clear the pipe. I removed the tree/bush from the front yard and it hasn't happened since.

Mar 15th, 2022 2:24 pm

DoorCrasher: Penalty Box; Nov 21, 2013; 8128 posts; 9304 upvotes; Montréal

Mar 15th, 2022 2:24 pm

Drain or p-trap may have been dried out du to low usage. Pouring water is good. You can try bleach as well, to kill bacterias and odors. A Cap would do the job for sure

Mar 15th, 2022 9:00 pm

tempperm: Sr. Member; Mar 10, 2004; 845 posts; 328 upvotes

Mar 15th, 2022 9:00 pm

Buy a cheap waterproof telescopic camera from amazon to get a better look.

Mar 15th, 2022 11:06 pm

stephan001 [OP]: Member; Mar 14, 2011; 224 posts; 20 upvotes; Ajax

Mar 15th, 2022 11:06 pm

Only tree is at the very front of the property. Do you think that would still be a possibility?

@jacquesstrap I will look into this, I would like to keep the drain open in case of a leak.

@DoorCrasher I tried pouring water down the drain already, its only a temp solution as the smell comes back the next day. I will try bleach.

Mar 16th, 2022 7:57 am

Firetech: Banned; Mar 14, 2022; 392 posts; 405 upvotes; Outer GTA

Mar 16th, 2022 7:57 am

@stephan001, are you able to provide a picture?

Mar 16th, 2022 9:09 am

Cowboy905: Sr. Member; Dec 26, 2012; 693 posts; 624 upvotes; Hamilton

Mar 16th, 2022 9:09 am

my basement stunk as well and i got the drains snaked. Eventually it stunk again so i got them scoped. It turned out that my old clay sewer was broken in a couple spots and completely severed in another spot under my house. no idea how long it was like that as i moved in 2020 and the house is from 1905. Either way, they had replaced the sewer from the stack to the outside of my house and now the smell is gone.

Mar 16th, 2022 9:09 am

tew: Deal Fanatic; Jun 13, 2010; 6929 posts; 8934 upvotes; GTA

Mar 16th, 2022 9:09 am

stephan001 wrote: ↑ Only tree is at the very front of the property. Do you think that would still be a possibility?

@jacquesstrap I will look into this, I would like to keep the drain open in case of a leak.

@DoorCrasher I tried pouring water down the drain already, its only a temp solution as the smell comes back the next day. I will try bleach.

@jacquesstrap thinks you are talking about a toilet rough-in and not an actual floor drain. Do not cap your floor drain. It won't solve your issue, it will only cover it up and it will get worse. You have a partial blockage in your pipe somewhere beyond the drain. It will get worse as more TP and waste is flushed and adds to the blockage. Call the Scarborough Region/City of Toronto and ask if they will send someone to look into the issue if they won't then hire a company to do a camera inspection to confirm the blockage and have it removed. It's a free service if it's beyond a certain distance from the house.

https://www.toronto.ca/services-payment ... the-house/
Click on the Underground tab.

Mar 16th, 2022 9:28 am

torontotim: Deal Addict; Nov 17, 2012; 4844 posts; 4386 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 16th, 2022 9:28 am

Just call Rotor-Rooter or DrainWorks and have the drains inspected and be there for the inspection.

I used DrainWorks 10+ years ago to do a routine scoping of my under-slab drains so I knew what their condition was. I ended up digging up a section where the new drains from the previous owner's reno work connected to the original clay drain which was in perfect condition. He did a lousy job of the connection and we had the beginnings of root infiltration.

So I took the opportunity to gut the powder room I had DIY'd 6 years earlier and reconfigure to a 3 piece bath and install a new floor drain.

Everyone including you is guessing at what might be wrong. For all we know you have a dead rotting rat in the pipe somewhere.

+1

Mar 16th, 2022 2:41 pm

jacquesstrap: Deal Addict; Nov 9, 2008; 1852 posts; 875 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 16th, 2022 2:41 pm

tew wrote: ↑ @jacquesstrap thinks you are talking about a toilet rough-in and not an actual floor drain. Do not cap your floor drain. It won't solve your issue, it will only cover it up and it will get worse. You have a partial blockage in your pipe somewhere beyond the drain. It will get worse as more TP and waste is flushed and adds to the blockage. Call the Scarborough Region/City of Toronto and ask if they will send someone to look into the issue if they won't then hire a company to do a camera inspection to confirm the blockage and have it removed. It's a free service if it's beyond a certain distance from the house.

https://www.toronto.ca/services-payment ... the-house/
Click on the Underground tab.

Correct - my answer was based on OP stating there was no trap in the drain in the floor, which would mean a toilet rough-in. Perhaps I should have asked how the OP checked there was no trap.

If there isn't a trap beneath the floor, then it should be capped.
If there is a trap beneath the floor, then it sounds like it's being siphoned which means you've got issues downstream / with ventilation. I would agree with Tew in this respect. You could still cap the drain temporarily to stop gas from entering your home but should have this addressed.

Mar 16th, 2022 3:34 pm

stephan001 [OP]: Member; Mar 14, 2011; 224 posts; 20 upvotes; Ajax

Mar 16th, 2022 3:34 pm

Yes, I can attached a picture later today.

@Cowboy905 House was built in 1986, shouldn't be clay pipes but will keep this in mind, thank you.

@tew Yea, I really didn't want to cap it. I am in durham, so maybe there is a similar service here.

@jacquesstrap Will cap it temporarily until I can find a plumber for this job. Was hoping a RFDer would recommend a plumber that they have used. I hesitate to use franchise plumbers because it can be a hit or miss.

+1

Mar 16th, 2022 3:47 pm

jacquesstrap: Deal Addict; Nov 9, 2008; 1852 posts; 875 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 16th, 2022 3:47 pm

stephan001 wrote: ↑ Yes, I can attached a picture later today.

@Cowboy905 House was built in 1986, shouldn't be clay pipes but will keep this in mind, thank you.

@tew Yea, I really didn't want to cap it. I am in durham, so maybe there is a similar service here.

@jacquesstrap Will cap it temporarily until I can find a plumber for this job. Was hoping a RFDer would recommend a plumber that they have used. I hesitate to use franchise plumbers because it can be a hit or miss.

http://quickresponseplumbing.ca/

Owner/operator is Bob. Great guy and fair prices. He has done some work for my neighbour and friends as well.

He did a bunch of drain work for us in including replacing the remaining clay drain pipe on private side (pipeburst it with HDPE) and the last remaining below-grade portion of our cast iron stack.

Mar 16th, 2022 4:14 pm

tew: Deal Fanatic; Jun 13, 2010; 6929 posts; 8934 upvotes; GTA

Mar 16th, 2022 4:14 pm

stephan001 wrote: ↑ Yes, I can attached a picture later today.

@Cowboy905 House was built in 1986, shouldn't be clay pipes but will keep this in mind, thank you.

@tew Yea, I really didn't want to cap it. I am in durham, so maybe there is a similar service here.

@jacquesstrap Will cap it temporarily until I can find a plumber for this job. Was hoping a RFDer would recommend a plumber that they have used. I hesitate to use franchise plumbers because it can be a hit or miss.

You should change your location it says Scarborough. Here's the place to call https://www.durham.ca/Modules/contact/s ... mid_=14538
I would call them before a plumber since it has a chance to be free if the blockage is past a certain distance from the house. It could be the roots from the tree out front or a partially collapsed clay pipe. They will use a camera to determine the cause. I had the same "symptoms" as you and tried the same "fixes" with the same results. Keep dumping buckets of water down the drain every so often to clear the dirty water until someone can come.

Last edited by tew on Mar 16th, 2022 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mar 16th, 2022 4:22 pm

stephan001 [OP]: Member; Mar 14, 2011; 224 posts; 20 upvotes; Ajax

Mar 16th, 2022 4:22 pm

Oops, sorry - newly moved to durham

.

Thanks, definitely will give them a call!

Mar 24th, 2022 12:57 pm

tew: Deal Fanatic; Jun 13, 2010; 6929 posts; 8934 upvotes; GTA

Mar 24th, 2022 12:57 pm

stephan001 wrote: ↑ Oops, sorry - newly moved to durham .

Thanks, definitely will give them a call!

So OP what's the update?

Mar 24th, 2022 1:03 pm

stephan001 [OP]: Member; Mar 14, 2011; 224 posts; 20 upvotes; Ajax

Mar 24th, 2022 1:03 pm

Was going to do an update but totally forgot!

City workers came and told me to keep dumping hot water and bleach down the drain. Did it about 4-5 times using the utility sink and a hose. Smell is gone!

Thank you all for your help.

+1

Mar 24th, 2022 1:16 pm

DoorCrasher: Penalty Box; Nov 21, 2013; 8128 posts; 9304 upvotes; Montréal

Mar 24th, 2022 1:16 pm

stephan001 wrote: ↑ Was going to do an update but totally forgot!

City workers came and told me to keep dumping hot water and bleach down the drain. Did it about 4-5 times using the utility sink and a hose. Smell is gone!

Thank you all for your help.

glad to hear that my suggestion helped you out

+1

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