WHAT IS THAT SMELL?
What is that Smell???
It smells like rotten eggs but you know all the Easter Eggs were found and accounted for and the dirty gym bag was left at school. So what is that smell??? Its sewer gas (methane gas) and it’s known by its very unpleasant odor. Sewer Gas can naturally occur and is a mixture of gasses that are produced and collected in sewage systems by the decomposition of organic household waste.
Sewer Gas is restricted from entering your home by plumbing traps (that funny looking pipe under the sink) which create a water seal and also by exhaust vents on the roof. If everything is working properly you should not be able to smell anything indoors. If you do, there a few things you should check.
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1. Dry Traps: Because of lack of use the water in the trap under the drain has evaporated. This allows sewer gas to come through the drain into your room. To fix this problem pour a pitcher of water down the floor drain or run the tub/shower at least twice a month to prevent the traps from drying out.
2. Air Admittance Valve: A non functional air admittance valve will allow sewer gas smell to seep into your home. The Air Admittance valve also allows airflow to prevent a vacuum so you don’t end up with dry traps. If this is the case a plumber will need to install a new air admittance valve.
3. Cleanout plugs: If a cleanout plug is broken or missing it will leave a space for the sewer gas to bypass the water trap. Sometimes to clean sewer lines the plug is removed and not replaced. A technician will need to come out and install a new plug.
4. Toilets: If a wax ring seal between the toilet flange and the base of the toilet is broken sewer gas will find its way under the toilet. (Have you recently installed new flooring that would have caused the toilets to be reinstalled?)
These are just a few causes of sewer gas smell in your home. If you ever smell the “rotten egg” odor in your home call your plumber immediately to come and trouble shoot the problem and repair.
Grease traps (also known as grease interceptors, and grease recovery devices) are plumbing devices designed to intercept most greases and solids before they enter a wastewater disposal system. Common wastewater contains small amounts of oils which enter into septic tanks and treatment facilities to form a floating scum layer. This scum layer is very slowly digested and broken down by microorganisms in the anaerobic digestion process. However, very large amounts of oil from food production in kitchens and restaurants can overwhelm the septic tank or treatment facility, causing a release of untreated sewage into the environment. Also, high viscosity fats and cooking greases such as lard solidify when cooled, and can combine with other disposed solids to form blockages in drain pipes.
Grease traps have been used since the Victorian era. They are used to reduce the amount of fats, oils and greases (FOG’s) that enter the main sewers. Effectively they are boxes within the drain run that flows between the sinks in a kitchen to the foul sewer system. They only have waste water flowing through them and are not served by any other drainage system such as toilets. They can be made from a number of different materials; e.g. Stainless Steel, Mild Steel, Plastics, Concrete, Cast Iron and can hold anywhere between 40 liters to 45000 liters and above. They can be located above ground, below ground, inside the kitchen or outside the building.
A septic tank, the key component of the septic system, is a small scale sewage treatment system common in areas with no connection to main sewage pipes provided by local governments or private corporations. (Other components, typically mandated and/or restricted by local governments, optionally include pumps, alarms, sand filters, and clarified liquid effluent disposal means such as a septic drain field, ponds, natural stone fibre filter plants or peat moss beds.) Septic systems are a type of On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF). In North America approximately 25% of the population relies on septic tanks; this can include suburbs and small towns as well as rural areas (Indianapolis is an example of a large city where many of the city’s neighborhoods are still on separate septic systems). In Europe they are generally limited to rural areas only.
The term “septic” refers to the anaerobic bacterial environment that develops in the tank and which decomposes or mineralizes the waste discharged into the tank. Septic tanks can be coupled with other on-site wastewater treatment units such as biofilters or aerobic systems involving artificial forced aeration.[1]
Periodic preventive maintenance is required to remove the irreducible solids which settle and gradually fill the tank, reducing its efficiency. In most jurisdictions this maintenance is required by law, yet often not enforced. Those who ignore the requirement will eventually be faced with extremely costly repairs when solids escape the tank and destroy the clarified liquid effluent disposal means. A properly maintained system, on the other hand, can last for decades and possibly a lifetime.
Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations. In the most common usage, it refers to the municipal wastewater that contains a broad spectrum of contaminants resulting from the mixing of wastewaters from different sources.
Sewage is correctly the subset of wastewater that is contaminated with feces or urine, but is often used to mean any waste water. “Sewage” includes domestic, municipal, or industrial liquid waste products disposed of, usually via a pipe or sewer or similar structure, sometimes in a cesspool emptier.
The physical infrastructure, including pipes, pumps, screens, channels etc. used to convey sewage from its origin to the point of eventual treatment or disposal is termed sewerage.
Human waste is a waste type usually used to refer to byproducts of digestion, such as feces and urine. Human waste is most often transported as sewage in waste water through sewerage systems. Alternatively it is disposed of in nappies (diapers) in municipal solid waste.
Human waste can be a serious health hazard, as it is a good vector for both viral and bacterial diseases. A major accomplishment of human civilization has been the reduction of disease transmission via human waste through the practice of hygiene and sanitation, including the development of sewage systems and plumbing.
Human waste can be reduced or reused through use of waterless urinals and composting toilets and greywater. The most common method of waste treatment in rural areas where municipal sewage systems are unavailable is the use of septic tank systems. In remote rural places without sewage or septic systems, small populations allow for the continued use of honey buckets and sewage lagoons (see anaerobic lagoon) without the threat of disease presented by places with denser populations. Honey buckets are used by rural villages in Alaska where, due to permafrost, conventional waste treatment systems cannot be utilised.
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