Sewage Smell
Has anyone ever experienced a strong septic or sewage smell in their home, but only at night? During the day it’s fine, but once the evening comes, the odor seems to spread through the whole house. If you’ve dealt with this before, what was the cause and what helped fix it? Any advice would be appreciated!
Marie You didn't specify where you are... but my wife and I refer to the drive down 57 as 'Stinky Mansfield'.... every time we pass through....
Josh 
ConsigliereIs there a seldom used tub or sink in the house?, the water in the P trap may have evaporated. Run some water down the drain.
Roywhite I live in the Hills of Independence condominium complex and I occasionally notice the smell of sewage in my condo especially at night.
Navy vet If you are on a septic system and if it is a pump system, you could be getting odors whenever the pump cycles. If you have a vent on the pump tank you could add a charcoal filter to the vent. You can purchase the charcoal filters from Home Depot and they are simple to install. Installs easily with just a screwdriver. When the pumps run it stirs up the tank and gives off a bit of odor from the vent. The charcoal filter should clear that. If it is just inside your house I would recommend what others have said to make sure that any of your traps aren't dry. I have also had smells coming from individual sinks when they get clogged up with hair and gunk. I usually remove the trap and clean the pipe coming from the sink, then fill it back up with water.
M & K Thanks for your comments M&K. Could the problem in my house be the result of blocked vent pipes causing odors to back up into the house? Appreciate knowing your thoughts. Thanks.
In my house, it’s the cat. We think nerves, maybe her hunting game, but still investigating. Honestly smells worse than septic, worse than any dog, but “septicy,” and takes hours to dissipate. First time we checked every toilet, drain, sink, shower, basement, etc. It was that bad, impossible to source, and seemed to be expanding everywhere. I use hepa air scrubbers and it flies under their radar so must be smaller particles than dust, covid, etc.
Doubt it’s your issue, but we didn’t believe it either.
Babbit Navy Vet I'm not sure. Are you talking about the vent pipes through the roof of your house? The vent I was refering to to the original poster was the vent on the pump tank. My thought was fumes coming from the septic pump tank were seeping into the house while the windows were open.
M & K, yes I was referring to the vent pipes that extend through the roof. I was wondering whether the odor might be due to the vents for the plumbing being clogged causing stack gas to backup into the house. Another thought is that during an inversion of the atmosphere the stack gas might be getting pushed downward and seeping in through the windows.
It's pretty uncommon for vents to become plugged if they were up to code when installed. Do you have any drains that might have dried out (P trap evaporated)? Although professionals disagree a product like Rid-X (I use BioClean) can clean out accumulated gunk - and if you're on a private septic system those products can help break down waste and reduce odor.
If you are on a private system tanks should be pumped every 5 years. Most newer drain fields have a filter at the inlet that needs to be pulled and washed off every 5 years as well.
bill M&K, he said the inlet to the disposal field, not the tank... so, you're both right (-:
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