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Our house reeks of sewage after a hot shower. It is much worse in the winter when temperatures are colder than the summer. Our basement is plumbed for a bathroom (since summer of 2020 when we moved in). We have not finished the basement or added a bathroom so the sewage injection pump hasn't been turned on. Can the smell be coming from that pump? We've changed out the hot water heater with no luck. Any suggestions are appreciated. We also have a vapor barrier with a sump pump, but the occurrence that coincides with a hot shower makes me think it isn't the sump pump. Any and all advice is appreciated!

isherwood
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KSFarmer
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  • Heat/warm will tend to increase smells. It is possible it is just a dry unused P-trap that is letting smells out. Pictures of any unused pipes and the sewage pump will help. I imagine the basement has roughin pipes for a bathroom. They should all be capped off/sealed, but one or more caps might be loose. – crip659 Aug 07 '23 at 10:43
  • Not sure how to share photos on here, but yes, the bathroom is roughed in. What p-trap could be dry? We only have one bathroom in the house right now so there isn't anything that hasn't gotten used frequently. I have also made it a point to pour water down the stains in the basement a couple of times a week. – KSFarmer Aug 07 '23 at 12:12
  • Could it just be the film that grows in traps? I have to clean out my shower and vanity traps with a dryer brush then sanitize about every year or I notice disgusting smells. – Evil Elf Aug 07 '23 at 12:39
  • I haven't tried that. Never had an issue at our old house. What do you sanitize with? – KSFarmer Aug 07 '23 at 13:00
  • This question isn't answerable without more information about the plumbing layout in general. In my experience an ejector pump serves the whole house at the drain exit point, not just part of it. If it's not in operation I'd expect stagnation and grossness. Please revise with more detail. The editor guides you though adding images, so just pay attention. – isherwood Sep 06 '23 at 13:13

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When you say that the basement is "plumbed" for an extra bathroom, do you mean that the rough plumbing is in? This is what I'd look for, in order of most likely to least likely:

  1. The rough plumbing is not capped, the p-traps are not installed, or the p-traps are dry.
  2. The rough plumbing does not have adequate vents, and using the shower is creating a vacuum, pulling the water from the p-trap.
  3. There's a leak somewhere in the drain, where gasses can escape and the hot shower is just helping the gases come out faster.
Cheery
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