Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sewer

I need to kill a tree.

ldenneau — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:34:32 -0800

I have a ficus tree in our yard (planted by the previous homeowner) that is growing too fast and the roots have breached the main sewer line on our property. The trunk of the tree is maybe eight inches in diameter, and completely removing the tree is dicey due to terrain and sewer line considerations. I live in Hawaii. Any suggestions?

Something is rotten in my state (not Denmark).

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:43:43 -0800

Last Wednesday I was assaulted by a foul smell in my front (guest) bathroom. I have been trying to pinpoint the cause for several days. I'm about to go out of town and need advice on what to do, especially since I'm extremely broke and have tried all the usual methods of attack. Details inside... Thursday I noticed there was a bit of a poo smell going on in the front bathroom. Often, it takes two flushes, and I assumed the toilet was clogged. I plunged, cleaned, plunged, etc. and then lit a candle. I never use those drop-in toilet cleaners.

Friday the smell was WORSE. It smelled like sewage. I did my due diligence; I read up as to what the various causes may be and bought every cleaner imaginable. I opened up the drains and did the vinegar/baking soda clean on all of them.

Saturday, the smell was better... I followed it along the ground until I realized it was emanating from the bathtub drain.

Once again, removed all fittings possible, dumped some special drain cleaner (a green product specifically for drains, no lye, no bleach) down the hole, several pots of boiling water, etc.

Went around and checked every other spot in the house; there is no smell except in the front bathroom. Ran water in every sink, tub, shower, etc. to ensure there were no dry traps.

The smell has now dwindled from a sewer-gas smell to simply a musty, sort of unpleasant dust-like odor. Stale, but not poo-ish or sewer-gassy. (To contrast, when I came home on Friday, when I opened the front door I SMELLED SEWER. FROM SEVERAL FEET AWAY, WITH THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM CLOSED.)

My house was built in 2003. The drain is at floor level and the tub/shower are completely surrounded by stone and concrete. I have crawled, literally, with my nose shoved along the edge of the toilet, sink, wall, everywhere in that bathroom and it is coming up out of the drain. As of right now it smells musty and vinegar-y just a bit from all the treatments I've done. The smell is now confined to just the bathroom and is severely diminished.

I have no idea where the pipe is that goes to the roof. There is nothing under my house, it's on a concrete slab foundation. There are no signs of dampness or leaks anywhere in the walls, around the tub, around the toilet, around the sink, etc.

The shower liner is immaculate. I opened the closet door that shares the wall with the tub/shower. The inside of the closet is dry, smells pleasant, no dampness. I took a knife and pried up a bit of the carpet that runs along the wall that is shared with the drain... no dampness, nothing. Even shoved my fingers up under the wall right now where I'd pried the carpet; I feel/smell nothing. Flashlight showed everything is white and normal-looking just opposite the smell.

What I'm asking is... did an animal possibly get trapped somewhere and die? If so, can I just leave and come back assured that the smell will probably be gone? I'm in Texas and the temps are expected between 40-77F over the next week.

I really don't think it's mold. I am extremely sensitive to such things and take daily medication for allergies, and have yet to sneeze or itch at all, even with my nose shoved into the drain.

At this point were I not about to leave for 3-4 days and severely broke, I'd probably just call a plumber. My trip is non-refundable and was paid for in advance, so I can't change plans and use the money for a plumber. Also, I'm concerned that I'll call somebody and they will either tell me 1. I have something terrible going on and they have to tear the wall apart and the bill will be several thousand dollars, which I cannot pay or be here to supervise, or 2. it's nothing, a mouse died somewhere, I'll have to wait it out (plus pay $150 for a house call at a weird hour that resulted in nothing).

What say you, MeFi homeowners? What would you do?

NYC Sewer Question for Story

vVCHAZVv — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:03:42 -0800

How far below street level are the NYC Sewers? And by sewers, I mean the large tunnels that you see on TV and in the movies. What might be the minimum distance below someone's basement or cellar? Anyone have any ideas?

Is there a way to prevent people from throwing stuff down a rooftop sewer vent?

zembla3 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:14:04 -0800

Is there some sort of cap that can be put on a rooftop sewer vent to prevent to people from throwing stuff down it? My roommates and I recently endured a prolonged plumbing disaster (other people's sewage bubbling up in our toilets and tubs, flooded hallways, bailing out tubs and toilets with garbage cans at 3 a.m., etc.) and we are eager to avert a future crisis. The plumbers finally discovered large pieces of wood in our pipe, which we can only assume were thrown down from the roof, since they seem impossible to flush. There is easy access to the roof of our four-story building, and we're not interested in having some drunken putz foul up our plumbing again.

New home septic tank

ontic — Wed, 11 May 2005 16:14:02 -0800

I'm thinking about buying a house that's out in the country a little bit. It's on a septic system. It's a new construction that the contractor built and is living in while he builds the one next to it. The septic system is reported to be a "Low Pressure Drip System for Residential Sewers" made by Murdon. Is this good/bad/potentially costly? Also, the seller's disclosure form, instead of having the "Septic" box checked for sewage has a box checked called "tanks/laterals/drain fields". I'd also love to know what this means and how it relates to a regular septic system.

Google seems to have nothing to say about such a system, nor the Murdon corporation, so I'm wondering what's up.

Sewer gas smell in the basement?

nj_subgenius — Sat, 29 Jan 2005 07:13:50 -0800

SewerGasFilter. Help![+] This morning I detected the stink of sewer gas in my basement for the first time. My plumbing is clean, hasn't ever been worked on (at least in five yrs since I have lived here). Anybody, advice? I've looked for a cheap gas detector but Google-fu fails. I don't want to call the FD or a plumber if this is a transient problem. I'm in NJ where there's been some cold weather. Thanks in advance.